Zine fanatics, toy enthusiasts, pop culture nuts, and all-around lowbrow lovers can rejoice in Vincent Price Art Muesum’s current show, “Silent Wonderment: Exploring the World of Giant Robot”. The exhibition is divided into sections for each main artist—including pop-culture creator Matt Furie, husband and wife team Rob Sato (painter) and Ako Castuera (sculptor), illustrator Albert Reyes, and installation artist Yosaky Yamamoto. Also on display are works by 20 other artists including painters Seonna Hong and Andrew Hem and toymakers Luke Chueh, Mari Inukai, and Nathan Ota.

Jen Tong, Deep Sea (2016), courtesy of the artist and VPAM.

The entire show has a lighthearted air of youthfulness and experimentation, not excluding the installation piece Hope It Will Reach You Eventually (2016) by Yosaky Yamamoto where gallery-goers fill out postcards to be mailed out of the mini-house to loved ones. The installation sits next to another structure inside the exhibition—an exciting “zine habitat” by Tiny Splendor in collaboration with Giant Robot, where a selection of zines and magazines are on display for viewers to flip through freely.

Andrew Hem, Don’t Believe Me (2015), courtesy of the artist and VPAM.

While contemporary lowbrow aesthetics may often times be associated with lack of technical skill, many of the pieces could withstand the scrutiny of viewers searching for marks of ‘fine art’. The eye-candy colors and meticulous line work in Jen Tong’s Deep Sea (2016) are exemplary of an artist inspired by traditional Japanese woodcuts and illustration.

Kozyndan, Leaving Encante (2012), courtesy of the artists and VPAM.

Leaving Encante (2012) by husband and wife team Kozyndan illustrate a firm grasp of composition and color reminiscent of Francisco Goya’s Witches’ Flight (1798). Furie’s Welcome to Your Doom (2015) shows a command of his medium (ink and colored pencil), and is like a doom-metal version of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights (1510).

Matt Furie, Welcome to Your Doom (2015), courtesy of the artist and VPAM.

“Silent Wonderment” is a celebration of how far Giant Robot has come since its origination as a DIY photocopied zine in 1994. Giant Robot’s pseudo-punk spirit of pushing boundaries and exploring its position in the contemporary art world, where many of the included artists reside on the outskirts, is in full force for followers of the underground to revel in or for art-world aficionados to marvel at.

Nathan Ota, Uprooted (2012), courtesy of the artist and VPAM.

Luke Chueh, Untitled (Color Study), 2016, courtesy of the artist and VPAM.

Mari Inukai, Soon to Be Spring (2016), courtesy of the artist and VPAM.

Various Artists, “Silent Wonderment: Exploring the World of Giant Robot”, April 23-July 2 at Vincent Price Art Museum, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chaves Monterey Park, CA 91754, www.vincentpriceartmuseum.org