Luke Chueh hates bunnies

May 20, 2006 12:46 AM

Los Angeles artist Luke Chueh paints cute, anthropomorphic animals going through rough patches in life.
posted by jonson (26 comments total)

cheeky. I came across his work on BB once upon a time. Reminds me of a british artist whose name escape me at the moment.
posted by shoepal at 1:27 AM on May 20, 2006

Those monkeys: they don't look happy about the hats or the squid. Cool post.
posted by josephtate at 1:27 AM on May 20, 2006

oh shit racist! that last one is clearly br'r rabbit and a tar baby. Looking at it again, he even admits it in the description!
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 1:40 AM on May 20, 2006

joking aside, i love these. The adorable + macabre/toilet humor reminds me of perry bible fellowship.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 1:47 AM on May 20, 2006

I really like these. Thanks!
posted by anjamu at 1:59 AM on May 20, 2006

this one is awesome.
posted by juv3nal at 2:34 AM on May 20, 2006

Luke Chueh is my absolute favorite artist of all time. I blew up one of his postcards at Kinkos just so I could have a 'Luke Chueh' hanging on my wall.

Thanks for spreading the word!
posted by skammer at 2:37 AM on May 20, 2006

Well, this one pretty much sums up the flavor of Catholicism that I grew up with, although I can't exactly define why. Plucking out your eyes for christ was as sexy as boobies? I dunno, maybe I should email the nuns....
posted by maryh at 2:57 AM on May 20, 2006

Wow, this is great stuff.

Flossing my grill!
posted by dodgygeezer at 3:33 AM on May 20, 2006

This is good stuff. I love this expression.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:25 AM on May 20, 2006

*sniff*
Poignant.
posted by mediareport at 6:06 AM on May 20, 2006

I can't believe this hadn't been posted before! I'vee been looking at his stuff for a year, but I was sure meta was where I found it.

Thanks for the quality post, jonson.
posted by arcticwoman at 7:24 AM on May 20, 2006

also Kojo Griffin does similar work.
posted by NoMich at 8:31 AM on May 20, 2006

Luke and Kojo are okay. Personally I prefer Sam.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:41 AM on May 20, 2006

See also: Animals Have Problems Too
posted by scottreynen at 8:47 AM on May 20, 2006

I love Luke Chueh's work. I've been going to his various art shows in LA for about a year and a half, trying to get there before his paintings are sold (his paintings tend to sell before the shows even begin). I did manage to get one Luke Chueh original, the Monkey King painting that celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Munky King art/toy store in Chinatown. It hangs proudly in my living room.

I also recommend checking out Andrew Bell, if you haven't.
posted by kcalder at 9:48 AM on May 20, 2006

Thanks for this, I'd seen the work before but never known the name of the artist. My world has now been enriched. Luke Chueh! The guy who paints those awesome monkeys!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:26 AM on May 20, 2006

True Story: A number of years back, a street artist, fresh out of college, began selling illustrations on the streets of New York to tourists and passers-by. Anyone who was interested would pay the fellow, and he would produce a cariature of them as their favorite animal. No furry pr0n, just wimsical images of the sort you'd expect to find in a children's storybook.

As he became more established, the artist turned from animal portraits toward recurrent images of people in angst-ridden situations. Caught in a series of perils, the characters screamed, fretted, and teetered on the edge of despair, while gaining the attention of Time, Newsweek, and art collectors.

To this day, he produces art, and has made quite a career for himself. His name? Peter Kuper.
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:53 AM on May 20, 2006

Excellent stuff, thanks. The dejected looks and cheerful self-harm made me laugh. Someone should submit these to cute overload.
posted by Gamblor at 12:56 PM on May 20, 2006

The concepts and ideas are very good, but the execution is quite lacking. He's just not that good at painting.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 1:44 PM on May 20, 2006

This is my favorite - pretty much summing up how I feel about 1/2 the time at work.
posted by pkingdesign at 3:52 PM on May 20, 2006

He's just not that good at painting.

What on earth does that mean? Is there a really strong "The artist didn't mean for it to look like this but couldn't help it" vibe going on? Because I didn't catch that vibe.

It's like listening to lo-fi and musing that they should really hire a decent sound engineer.
posted by mendel at 5:10 PM on May 20, 2006

more from la luz de jesus , along with meat on hooks with televisions and a third party diety . snore
posted by mishaco at 6:55 PM on May 20, 2006

I love this. Thanks, jonson.
posted by sveskemus at 4:06 AM on May 21, 2006

Reminds me of Gloomy Bear (big in Japan).
posted by runkelfinker at 1:39 PM on May 21, 2006

I need to get these guys as backgrounds on my phone. Awesome.
posted by webfanatic at 10:15 PM on May 30, 2006