Cole Sternberg and Fred Segel unite for Children's Action Network benefit

COLE
STERNBERG

Nirvana + Stained Glass
Opening Reception: Sat. April 11, 2009 4 – 7 pm

To benefit the Children’s Action Network

Fred Segal420 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401310.395.9792

Hot contemporary artist Cole Sternberg teams up with Fred Segal for Nivana + Stained Glass, a one-of-a-kind fusion of fine art, fashion and charity benefiting Children’s Action Network (CAN), Saturday, April 11, 4-7pm at Fred Segal Man in Santa Monica. Trendy fashionistas, contemporary art collectors and celebrities mix among Sternberg’s frenetic oil, watercolor, ink and spray paint works. Along with Sternberg's array of paintings, this exhibition event will feature handmade shirts and jackets created by Sternberg in partnership with designer clothing brand, Nice Collective.

Fresh from his recent New York solo show, “the breakup.down” at Symbolic NYC, Sternberg returns to Los Angeles with a new series of socio-political, gestural works. Vivid with emotion and meaning, the new works included in Nirvana + Stained Glass are a blending of religious perspective and notes from the diary of legendary rocker, Kurt Cobain, and Sternberg's signature style of heavily applied oils that blur a vision of flashing lights, graffiti tagged statements, and sketches many times creating a colorful yet dark abyss for the viewer. Like layers of sound bites collaged one on top of the other, spray-painted words have been blackened out by his rapid brush strokes. Every line and every stroke, every blacked out phrase, has meaning. Sternberg takes the application of paint over text to another level, with seas of rich oil creating a stormy apocalyptic feel.

COLE STERNBERG Born in 1979 in Richmond, Virginia and raised in Saratoga, California, Sternberg has always been enamored with art. His first encounter with the art world was at the early age of three when his grandparents took him to local museums to view masters such as Van Gogh and Monet. At the age of nineteen Sternberg began experimenting with his painting and over the last ten years has developed a unique style that reflects his passion for life and his continued commitment to creating visions that challenge our minds as well as our souls.

CHILDREN’S ACTION NETWORK (CAN) uses the power of the entertainment community to increase awareness about children’s issues and to make them a top priority in everyday life. CAN is currently dedicated to raising awareness about and finding homes for the more than 129,000 children in foster care in the United States who are waiting for an adoptive family and improving outcomes for the more than 500,000 children in foster care.

NICE COLLECTIVE is a designer clothing brand based out of San Francisco. Founded in 1997 by Joe Haller and Ian Hannula, the clothing line has amassed a cult following by offering men and women modern clothing that combines strength & ruggedness with luxury & refinement. Their clothing is sold in specialty boutiques in the United States, Canada, England, Italy, and Japan. Nice Collective has garnered a considerable amount of attention from the media; Joe and Ian were recently named to be among the top American designers in GQ Magazine and Nice Collective has provided clothing for the recent tours of Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, and The Police. Celebrities like Gavin Rossdale and Brad Pitt are often seen sporting Nice Collective attire. Their newest collection, “Time Machine,” for fall ’09 debuted in New York at this year’s Fashion Week.

FRED SEGAL is synonymous with what's hip, trendy and essential in fashion. Its founder, Fred Segal, provided inspiration for the creation of the fashion jeans industry and is a successful entrepreneur whose personal and professional history mirrors the bold emergence of Los Angeles as a world capital over the last five decades.

For more information or inquiries about the show or Cole Sternberg, please contact Brent Turner (brent@crierpr.com) or visit www.colesternberg.com.