Apak's new website!

Our website apakstudio.com has been re-launched finally. It is better than ever! Our site used to be a place to point you to other sites like this blog spot for news and portfolio, but now it contains everything(except we still use Etsy for our store) Please check it out and you might see some work you've never seen before. Thanks Aaron for completing this site!

We're planning to end this Blog spot soon. You can see all our news right on our website from now on. Thank you for your support!

APAK’s Worlds of Wonder art show @ GRNY

Check Out The Show Online >>
And Here Too! >>

Giant Robot
437 E 9th Street
NYC, 10009
(212)674-GRNY
http://www.grny.net/

May 17 - June 18, 2008
Reception: Saturday, May 17, 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Giant Robot is proud to present new works by the husband-and-wife team, APAK! Living among the furry conifer giants in a little cabin on the outskirts of Portland, Ayumi and Aaron Piland unite to bring you into their fantasies, as if going on magical journeys and returning with pictures of what transpires in their collective imagination. Their works transplant the bold colors and simplicity of Japanese pop into an expansive mini universe reminiscent of “Gnomes” books from the ’80s.

For APAK!’s Worlds of Wonder, the collaborative art duo is preparing 35 medium and small gouache paintings on wood and 6 mixed-media sculptures, as well as a special window installation. The show will depict tiny races of creatures living harmoniously with magical plants and friendly animals in rich, colorful lands.

APAK interview with Grasshut

Our interview with GrassHut is up now!

Magic Show

A group show "Magic Show" at Pony Club in Portland, Oregon opens on April 3rd and lasts until April 27th. This piece is our contribution. Very magic in apak way~

Five Whats!

A nice lady, Christine invited us to be in Five Whats in her blog! She asked us five questions and we answered them with some images. Thanks, Christine. It was fun!

We Love Islands Fold!

Check out the interview with Luke & Ange from Islands Fold. We've spent a week with them in 2006 for art residency on Pender Island and did some collaborative murals in their studio. We had such a wonderful experience! We heart Luke & Ange! Please support their good cause.

Sweet Treats by Ayumi Piland!

This Spring, Ayumi's "Sweet Treats" note card set published by Chronicle Books is coming out! They are her favoite designs from her hand made Gocco Card Collection. Squirrel, Bunny, and Hedgehog are nicely presented in a cute tree box! They are not handmade but you can get 18 cards (6 cards of each design) for only $14.95. Worth keeping them in your drawers for little notes to someone special for everyday occasions.

Happy Hermits Stationery Set & Journal by Apak!

Dark Horse Comics just released our Happy Hermits stationery set and Journal. They will be available in retails stores world wide this spring!

Let's write to our friends and family!

"Balls Out!" Group show @ GrassHut March 7th

We are participating in "Balls Out!" a super group show at Grass Hut in Portland, Oregon! We did an Acrylic and gouache painting on 18"x18" wood panel. Here is the sneak preview of the partial painting... 60+ amazing artists are participating this show. It opens on March 7th and will be up for the whole month. The work is available for online purchase after the opening reception. If you're planning to be in Portland, be sure to stop by Grass Hut's new spacious store (same building just the next door)! Their new site, which Aaron helped design is up and running now!

"Lost in Dream" showcase in Melbourne - March 1st

"Lost in Dreams" APAk showcase at Outre Gallery in Melbourne, Australia is up from March 1 - 21, 2008. We did 10 small gouache paintings on paper, which are online at the Outre Gallery site! And on flickr! Thanks for looking.

Worshipping the Gods!

We did a little piece for our friend Martin Ontiveros! This is his awesome character, Ojo Rojo. His show "Rock and Roll Fantasy"opens on Feb 1st @ Grasshut here in Portland. Martin is a god.

APAk Commissions

Happy New Year, everyone! We wish you healthy and peaceful 2008.
We're very excited about our upcoming shows this year. We'll have a small solo show at Outre Gallery in Australia in March. A big solo show at Giant Robot New York in May. A group show at GrassHut in Portland in August. A group show at Junc Gallery in LA in the Fall. A solo show at Schmancy in Seattle in Dec. And we'll be in small group shows here and there throughout the year, so please check our blog when you can. Oh don't forget to check out Ayumi's new Gocco greeting cards coming up this Spring at our Etsy, too!

Today we'd like share some of the commission pieces we've done in the Fall and Winter 2007. We also like to thank our fabulous fans who gave us the opportunity to create those fun pieces!

This is our first tattoo design for Diana in LA. The two owls represent her and her twin sister.
Can't wait to see the actual tattoo on you, Diana!


This piece was created to match with "Sanctuary" piece which Caroline purchased from our show at GRSF in April 2007. The flute player represent herself as a musician. Thanks Caroline for lending both paintings for GR50th exhibit at Japanese-American Museum.


This piece was commissioned by Marion in Ireland. She loves Happy Hermits and cupcakes! Hope it makes Marion smile and give her good energy every time she looks at it.


This piece was commissioned by Celena in LA and has a very personal touch of her Maltese, Suni who recently passed away. Hope this painting reminds Celena that Suni is in her favorite cupcake land every time she looks at the painting.


This painting was commissioned by Cheryl in Canada. We misread her request and created a painting with Future People instead of Happy Hermits... but she is kind enough that she decided to keep it. Thank you for being so supportive, Cheryl!

Calendorks @ Grasshut in Portland!

Join us Dec 7th (1st Friday) 6-9pm at Grasshut!
Apak, Evan Harris, Cho-Chan, Mark Todd, Amy Ruppel, Matthew Feyld, Luke Ramsey, Bwana, Scrappers, Martin and more...
After the Dec 7th you'll be ale to buy the Calendork online.

GrassHut All Stars group show in Chicago

Bwana Spoons, Scrappers, Martin Ontiveros, Cupco, Le Merde, and APAK are all showing at DVA Gallery in Chicago. The opening party starts at 7-11pm on Dec. 1st. If you're in Chicago, please stop by and cheer Bwana and Le Merde who are representing All Stars! If you can't make it, here is the link to a virtual gallery... We did 3 pieces of gouache paintings on paper wrapped around a chunk of wood. They are done in a new style and we really enjoyed working on them. We'd love to hear what everyone thinks. Also some of Ayumi's paintings are shown, too. Thanks for your support as always!

The Giant Robot Biennale at JANM!

We had a lot of fun in LA! The people were nice, the art was amazing, the food was yummy, and we feel lucky to have been a part of it! Check out Eric's Blog about the show>>
And more pics here>>
Featured on Fecal Face>>

The Seasons!

We just finished a new series of paintings in honor of the changing seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.... If your in LA November 3 - January 13 stop by the Japanese-American National Museum to see them in person. Enjoy!

Giant Robot Biennale!! Nov.3-Jan.13

We're invited to be a part of Giant Robot Biennale 50 issues Art Exhibit at Japanese-American National Museum in LA . We'll be showing about 20-30 paintings and sculptures from previous shows lent to us from our generous fans and friends plus a few new works as well. If your in LA Nov 3rd - Jan 13th please stop by. Hope to see you at the opening reception from 6-10pm on Nov. 3rd. It's going to be really fun!

"The Biennale’s works will range from Pryor Praczukowski's cinematic photography to David Choe's graffiti-like murals. The pieces in between include panels by leading indie-comics artist Adrian Tomine and the pop culture inspired works of Seonna Hong, Gary Baseman, APAK, Souther Salazar, and Saelee Oh. Sashie Masakatsu's oil paintings reflect the nostalgia of pop culture-influenced youth while Eishi Takaoka's sculptures can dominate a room with their meditative presence."

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We want to thank some of the owners of our original paintings for lending their pieces for this exhibition. Thank you very much for your help and support!

-Apak ( ._. )( ._. )

APAK kids

This is probably the first time to write about our personal life here... Here is the picture of our kids, Ocho and Peanut. Check out Ocho playing a piano on Youtube.
Peanut is not quite ready to play his part, but he will soon...

Commission piece for Carla

We did a hedgehog family painting for Carla in San Francisco. Thanks, Carla! Hope you enjoy it for a long time...

p.s. Thanks for many requests for commission work. We have many people waiting on our list and need to catch up now! We probably can't take any more until year 2009, but we'll let you know when we're ready for more. Thank you for your interest...

Snack Isle @ Giant Robot New York

We have 2 pieces for this awesome group show "Snack Isle" at Giant Robot NY!