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1UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / COREY HELFORD GALLERY
Through 8/3 Los Angeles, CAS
hortly after her debut in 1974, Hello
Kitty—full name Kitty White—solidified
her iconic status not only in Japan, where
she originated from the Sanrio brand, but
around the world. Hello Kitty is a symbol
of kindness and friendship, with cultures
worldwide gravitating to her uplifting
message of connectivity and acceptance.
Throughout the decades, her instantly
recognizable image—a cat wearing a red
bow and most notably having no mouth—
has appeared as stuffed animals, in fashion
designs, on stationary and even in TV and
movies. She also has appeared in artistic
explorations, with the show Hello Kitty 45th
Anniversary at Corey Helford Gallery being
the next to bring together reinterpretations
of the character and her friends.The show, which is presented in partner-
ship with Sanrio, will feature work in a
wide variety of mediums and aesthetics.
“As a little girl, I remember when the first
Hello Kitty store opened near me. I would
walk down the aisles and it was like a
Hello Kitty dream,” says Corey Helford
Gallery co-curator Caro Buermann.
“I had Hello Kitty pens, pencils, erasers
and even my pencil box had her face on it.
The artists in her 45th anniversary exhibit
all have similar stories.
“Everyone knows Hello Kitty and just
looking at her can make you happy,”
continues Buermann. “With her cute face,
six whiskers and a little yellow nose, Hello
Kitty herself is a work of art. In her simplicity,
she is an abstraction. It opens a whole otherdoor to exploration. I think the tradition of
Hello Kitty art shows has been so successful
because the artists are driven by something
nostalgic and personal to them and also
completely relevant to the viewer.”
Camilla d’Errico’s oil painting Hello
My Love, depicts a girl with pink hair and
several of the characters from the Hello
Kitty world, including Cinnamoroll, Badtz-
Maru and My Melody. “I have always adored
Hello Kitty and her friends ever since I first
laid eyes on their cute faces,” the artist says.
“My painting is a reflection of that love.
Each character is a little piece of my heart
that I want to share with the world.”
As a young Asian girl, Kristen Liu-Wong
says she was obsessed with everything
Sanrio, and one of her highlights wasUplifting Icon
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