RELIQUARIES
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This series of intimate-sized paintings is built upon postcard letters sent out from Los Angeles throughout the 20th century. Inspired by school dioramas, childhood vacations, and folk aesthetics, the postcard felt like the perfect stand-in for traditional landscape painting.
As a first-generation American, I often romanticize the idea of connection and the diasporic voices that make up a place like Los Angeles. The typography of each work is created through a layering process of glass, acrylic paint, and resin, and draws verbiage from the vintage letters written on the rear of each piece. These colloquial phrases depict moments of the human condition and allow me to reflect on my own autobiographical past.
Small but eccentric, this body of work pays homage to several visual traditions, from Persian miniature painting to modernist art histories, to signage from nostalgic small businesses, media, and landmarks. These “Reliquaries” present an idealized remembering of time and space as something both imagined and fixed.
Transplant
2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Transplant”
Dates: 2019
Art Medium: Wood & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
The Reliquary artwork series explores traditions around landscape painting and colloquial language. Though sourced from diasporic vintage postcard letters throughout the 20th Century, these phrases feel like mantras for the human experience.
All artworks in the collection are handmade in Los Angeles and champion kitsch & folk art aesthetics, often associated with “outsider art.” These sculptural paintings (or “art objects”) are perfect for adding nostalgia, fun, & thoughtfulness to any environment.
As a collection, these art pieces present documentation of a place throughout time and reveal widely identifiable tropes ranging from love and noir to satire.
Jobs
2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: "JOBS"
Dates: 2019
Size: 4 x 6 1/8 “
Art Medium: Wood & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
The Reliquary artwork series explores traditions around landscape painting and colloquial language. Though sourced from diasporic vintage postcard letters throughout the 20th Century, these phrases feel like mantras for the human experience.
All artworks in the collection are handmade in Los Angeles and champion kitsch & folk art aesthetics, often associated with “outsider art.” These sculptural paintings (or “art objects”) are perfect for adding nostalgia, fun, & thoughtfulness to any environment.
As a collection, these art pieces present documentation of a place throughout time and reveal widely identifiable tropes ranging from love and noir to satire.
Stigma
2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Stigma”
Dates: 2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
The Reliquary artwork series explores traditions around landscape painting and colloquial language. Though sourced from diasporic vintage postcard letters throughout the 20th Century, these phrases feel like mantras for the human experience.
All artworks in the collection are handmade in Los Angeles and champion kitsch & folk art aesthetics, often associated with “outsider art.” These sculptural paintings (or “art objects”) are perfect for adding nostalgia, fun, & thoughtfulness to any environment.
As a collection, these art pieces present documentation of a place throughout time and reveal widely identifiable tropes ranging from love and noir to satire.
Gator
1922 - 2019
Size:
4.13 x 6.18 x 1.5 "
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Gator”
Dates: 1922- 2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1920s postcard from Los Angeles
Rainbow
1909 - 2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Rainbow”
Dates: 1909-2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1900s postcard from Los Angeles
Moonshot
1955 - 2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Moonshot”
Dates: 1955-2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1950s postcard from Los Angeles
This reliquary meme is an artwork from Studio Hash’s personal collection and was originally sent out of Los Angeles in 1955.
The phrase “to own one yard of it” comes from the senders original letter and projects ideas of status & claim.
Often thinking about rising living costs and housing scarcity in a city like LA, the notion of owning even a small portion of this city becomes fanciful and dream like. Perhaps my own personal moonshot ;)
Hear No Evil
1968 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Hear No Evil”
Dates: 1968 - 2020
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1960s postcard from Los Angeles
A picturesque backlot, corporate execs, and lush rolling trees present a romantic portrayal of mid-century domestic prosperity far removed from the anxieties, inequalities, and infrastructural shortcomings of our time. RMSr.2- Hear No Evil delves into a societal proclivity to embrace the good while disregarding inconvenient truths, an attribute alluded to by the phrase, "the Deaf People." Depicted in courier, a font-type used commonly by screenwriters, the painting reveals an underlying notion of fiction within one's recollection of the past and the inherent folly of a future built on nostalgia.
2020
1954 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Title: 2020
Year: 1954-2020
Mixed media on vintage postcard
Dots
1988 - 2020
Size:
5x6x1.5
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Artwork: Dots
1988 - 2020,
Acrylic paint, resin, glass, & walnut on vintage postcard from Los Angeles
Inspired by "Pop" aesthetics, RM.2 - Dots, plays on one's relationship to mass-market imagery.
"I hope you don't think," a phrase taken from the postcard's original sender in 1988, poses sardonic language that conjures allusions of mistrust, assertiveness, and denial. Such narratives the artist maintains are intrinsically linked to the lore of corporate culture and consumerism. A reality that becomes rearticulated and questioned when exploring the early infrastructures of Web.3
Although intimate in size this artwork's composition draws reference from various motifs throughout the 20th-century. This layered art object projects allusions to some of the artist's creative inspirations such as Roy Lichtenstein, Lee Ufan, and On Kawara. As the elements of this work overlap in layers of resin, they create a melody of eclectic approaches to painterly mark-making.
#mickey#blackfriday#painting🎨#paintingoftheday#sculptureartist#sculptureart#artworkoftheday#artwork🎨#comtemporaryart#conceptualart#fluxus#fluxusart#folkart#kitschart#minipainting#postcard#nftartist#postcardpainting#vintageart#disneyart#disneydrawing#galleryartist#laartist#onkawara
4/20
2021
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: 4/20
???-2021
Acrylic paint, resin, and posca on vintage postcard
Los Liones
1953 - 2021
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: Los Liones
Los Liones reflects on the history of “mom-n-pop” hotels, motels, and holiday inns throughout Southern California. These often humble establishments featuring brightly colored stucco or neon signage exude a nostalgic charm that once lured passing travelers and aspiring settlers.
Since 1953, the year this postcard was originally sent, many of these dingbat structures have disappeared by way of gentrification and neglect, resulting in the erosion of the regions landmarks and their fleeting sense of cultural iconicism.
Utilizing similar materials and colloquial phrases like “this is some place” this artwork offers an ambiguous connotation that lingers somewhere between aww-struck sincerity, and tounge-in-cheek sarcasm.
R2D2
1990 - 2021
Size:
6 x 4 "
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Artwork: R2D2
Check out this #starwars postcard from 1990… 👀🎥💜
R2D2 recounts the ways in which culture and mainstream media norms have favored gendered archetypes.
Utilizing a tech-centric font, the language here is taken from the back of the postcard and questions the role of women in some of our most celebrated cinematic content.
As a male who grew up during the decade of 1990 often adoring the intergalactic galavanting triumphs of a young Luke Skywalker, I rarely was asked to consider the journey of his sister (Leia). A character who ultimately spends her time getting repeatedly imprisoned as political hostage or fetishized trophy.
Despite 30 years having passed since this postcard was originally sent, we unfortunately have made little progress in battling this cycle of neglect, hostility, exploitation, & exclusion. As we dawn on new opportunities in the sciences and space exploration, one hopes this time we will build new worlds that are far more equitable than the one we’ve left behind. ✌🏽
Trolly
2022
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: Trolly
Agent Mulder
2023
Size:
4 x 6 "
Good Looking
2025
Size:
4 x 6 "
Friends & Family
2024
Size:
4 x 6 "
Reptar
2024
Size:
4 x 6 "
Pecker
1978 - 2019
Size:
4 1/8 x 6 1/8" x 1.5 " (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Pecker”
Dates: 1978-2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
Dodgers
2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Dodgers”
Dates: 2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
Thrasher
1912 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “THRASHER”
Dates: 1912 -2020
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
RMSr.2- THRASHER takes its inspiration from a prolific skate culture magazine by the same name. Having grown up in the mid '90s, the artist looks to his collection of skate ephemera and identifies the lasting influence of the subculture on his life and Southern California at large. Highlighting words like "sick & chearful," which are scribed on the postcard's rear by its original sender, addresses a type of colloquial slang that shifts its interpretation through time and social settings.
This work was created in 2020 when the artist frequently reminisced about the small businesses and "mom-n-pop" skate shops that fortified a sense of community and cultural expression in his local neighborhood. A nostalgic pastime that now faces an increasing threat from widespread gentrification and pandemic-related shut-downs.
Spectrum
1932 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Spectrum”
Dates: 1932-2020
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1930s postcard from Los Angeles
I made RM2-“Spectrum” while thinking about exhibitions produced by mid-century light & space artists from California. The word "sunburn" depicted in a “Stussy-esque” font type, appears almost tongue in cheek and plays to our fixation on light. From digital screens to sunshine or notions of artificiality vs authenticity this idea of light is tied to a spectrum of developing ideas that hold truths that are both promising and precarious.
This work’s coating done in silver leaf and UV paint creates visual experiences that shift throughout the day depending on where the work is hung or set. The work's dynamic qualities present a literal shift in perspective, allowing audiences to view it from a range of vantage points. A contemplative endeavor that builds awareness and empathy for one's environment. Something that will hopefully prevent us all from getting burned.
Watermelon
1949 - 2020
Size:
6 x 4 "
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Artwork: Watermelon
1949 - 2020
Mixed media on a vintage postcard
Sourcing language from the postcard letter's original sender, the phrase "A Wonderful Trip" is depicted in a kitsch "eastern" style font. Though inspired by a Chinese fast food place down the street from my first apartment, this piece contemplates the ways in which cultural iconoclasm at large becomes embedded and erased from a landscape.
As a first-generation American raised by Muslim immigrants originally from Iran, I think a lot about the journeys taken in life. I feel these diasporic visual motifs though problematic at times, offer paradoxical feelings of inclusion and nostalgia for a passage taken before my time.
Intimate in size, this artwork's composition draws reference from various motifs throughout the 20th-century art historical canon. The layered object alludes to some of the artist's creative influences such as On Kawara, Ed Ruscha, & Mel Bochner. As overlapping layers of resin, glass, and acrylic paint intersect, they create 3D effects that offer diorama-like viewing experiences that play with light & space.
Newman
2020
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: NEWMAN
??? - 2020
Mixed media on vintage postcard
This artwork by Josh Hash is part of the Reliquary Meme postcard series of paintings from Studio Hash. The artwork “Newman” takes its name from the Iconic postal worker from the 90s sitcom Seinfeld. This piece was completed in 2020, when the US Postal Service faced possible bankruptcy and decommissioning. Allusions to this historical occurrence are captured not only by the fact that a piece of mail is the literal foundation of the artwork but also by the exterior collage of fragmented postage materials, which become masked by thick layer of black stucco.
The colloquial phrase “You Good” further plays to the anxiety of this time and playfully checks In on those who, when under pressure, may go postal. Ultimately, the US was able to preserve this piece of critical infrastructure, which confirms that Newman was right when he said, “The Mail Never Stops!”
Easter Eggs:
- The Phrase is done in homage to the Seinfeld logo.
- The tropical floral patterns are made in reference to Wayne Knight’s character's shirt In Jurassic Park from 1993
- The Black color choice was Inspired by Newman’s (Wayne Knight’s) Honda NSX in the Seinfeld episode, where he’s referred to as “the cleaner,” a person you hire to “make problems go away!”
Golem
2021
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: GOLEM 👹
(2021)
Acrylic paint and resin on vintage postcardThe quotation “they build here now” is taken from the postcard’s original sender as they describe the sprawling development of bungalow houses across the city of Los Angeles during the early half of the 20th century.
Such phrases echo a long history of industrial boosterism within the city and draws parallels to the heightened state of displacement across many urban communities today due to gentrification.
Heathers
1959 - 2021
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: Heathers
(1959 - 2021)
Acrylic, glass, walnut, & resin on vintage postcard
The artwork’s title takes inspiration from the 80s cinamatic cult classic “Heathers” which portrays a love struck couple fixed on dismantling the social cliques & archetypes within their school. Ultimately destroying everything they once knew via a series of escalating hijinks, they forever alter their lives and their unsuspecting community.
Union
1905 - 2022
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: Union
(1905 - 2022)
Acrylic, resin, glass, & wooden postcard box containing vintage California postcard
Check out this art-object based on a postcard from 1905, Los Angeles.
Using #foundmaterials not only contemplates time, but also the context of culture over generations. From 1905-2022 we’ve endured a ton. I like to think about how culture has evolved over time, and how in many ways it hasn’t. What ever chaos it may bring we’ll be sure to embrace the union.
Frisco
2023
Size:
4 x 6 "
Psyduck
2025
Size:
4 x 6 "
See No Evil
2024
Size:
4 x 6 "
Hear No Evil
2020
Size:
4 x 6 "
Melting Pot
2022
Size:
4 x 6 "
Black Berry
2019
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Black Betty”
Dates: 2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
Shamu
2019
Size:
5 x 7 x 1.5 “
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Shamu”
Dates: 2019
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a vintage postcard from Los Angeles
[RM.2]-Shamu is artwork from Studio Hash’s Reliquary-Meme series.
This take on mail art uses old English, a font type synonymous with Southern California’s newspapers and low-rider culture, to portray a sense of diasporic folklore and tradition.
Though California is known for its iconic natural landscapes, it’s often our desires for over-consumption and control that alter or undermine its preservation. Instead, we embolden our own realities and let others bare witness. At what point are things illusions? And when do they transcend into truth?
I recall winter breaks as a child when rain was absent from our forecast yet I would go with my family to Mountain High for ski sessions using man-made snow. Or even trips to SeaWorld to visit their artic enclosures in the middle of a hot San Diego summer. It blew my mind growing up that we could just create our own weather and fictionalized environments.
This was something I later embraced when approached by a location scout for the television series “Parks & Recreation.” They had requested to use my parent’s house in Studio City (a Southern California suburb) to film a snow scene for the sitcom.
Our front lawn had been transformed into a winter wonderland, and our family room was now the green room for acclaimed actors like Chris Pratt. I would watch the cast perform takes from my bedroom window and thought to myself this life could truly be what you make of it. Perhaps there is no qualifier for reinvention, and it is simply one’s will to imagine a more “perfect” version of their circumstances that makes change possible.
Pandemic
1926 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “
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Artwork by: Josh Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Pandemic”
Dates: 1926 - 2020
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1920s postcard from Los Angeles
For this Reliquary-Meme, we look at colloquial reassurances that sometimes mask the true nature of things.
For instance, when asked, “how are you?” Do you respond with a detailed & truthful response, or do you reply with “fine” or “good?”
Too often, we mask how we feel to uphold some proverbial status quo. Or to maintain agreeability in hopes that others perceive us as someone normal enough to be around…
Could it be that in a world as chaotic and unpredictable as ours, “everyone is well?”
Bel Air
1917 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 1/8 “ (10.48 x 15.56 cm)
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Artwork by: Studio Hash
Artwork Series: Reliquary Meme
Title: “Bel Air”
Dates: 1917 - 2020
Art Medium: Walnut, Glass, & Acrylic on a 1910s postcard from Los Angeles
Thanks Giving
1947 - 2020
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: Thanks Giving
(1947-2020)
Mixed media on vintage postcard
Faced with seemingly endless loss in 2020 from Covid-19, wildfires, and racial injustices, RMSr.2-Thanksgiving contemplates the role of optimism in dire circumstances and the empowerment that comes with focusing on silver linings. The phrase "many thanks" rendered in Old English alludes to early manuscripts and cultural traditions of praising martyrs and saints, a trope conjured again in the chaotic & political midst of 2020.
Rerun
2020
Size:
4 x 6 "
-
Artwork: Rerun
(??? - 2020)
Vinyl paint and collage on vintage postcard
Gold Rush
1949 - 2021
Size:
4 x 6 "
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Artwork: Gold Rush
(1949 - 2021)
Acrylic and resin on vintage postcard“Gold Rush” looks to California’s history of economic boom & bust cycles to reveal an underlying mania for reinvention and success.
Drawing from a wide array of cultural signifiers, including the (now-bankrupt) Blockbuster Video & famed artist Yves Klein, this work contrasts ones desire for prosperity & legacy, against looming projections of inadequacy, disparity, and obsoletion.
The Man
2021
Size:
4 x 6 "
-
Artwork: The Man
(??? - 2021)
Acrylic, resin, glass, & walnut on vintage postcard
It’s the Man, man! From political unrest to global pandemics, it starts to feel like there may be a glitch in the Matrix! Perhaps we’re just living in someone else’s machine...👀
This artwork takes its title from the colloquial phrase, “the man.” A label largely proliferated in the 1950’s & 60’s to personify both the oppressive powers that be, and those who demonstrate feats of excellence!
Intimate in size, this artwork draws reference from various visual motifs throughout the 20th-century. The layered object alludes to some of the artist's creative influences such as On Kawara, Ed Ruscha, & Mel Bochner. As the overlapping layers of resin, glass, and acrylic paint intersect they create a 3D effect that offers a diorama-like viewing experience.
Five After
2024
Size:
4 x 6 x 4 "
Waldo
2025
Size:
4 x 6 “
Groundhog's Day
2025
Size:
4 x 6 “
Black Panther
2025
Size:
4 x 6 "
Planetarium
2022
Size:
4 x 6 "
Oldies
2023
Size:
4 x 6 "