To us Brits, Los Angeles retains a mystique learned during childhood and UK visitors often struggle to square their very defined sense of the city with the sprawling, overwhelming mass of humanity we encounter. But culturally speaking it remains one of the most significant places on earth, and what better way to engage with that culture than through a 66-year-old family-run printers.
The Colby Poster Printing Co. has been a fixture of the city’s scene since 1946 (take a look at its wonderfully old-school website) producing eye-catching work for clients ranging from fashion houses to grass-roots political campaigns, often with a technicolour twist.
For a new show at London’s KK Outlet opening tomorrow, Anthony Burrill has raided the Colby archive to present a selection of their finest work alongside some newly-produced Colby/Burill collaborations.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the gallery has also commissioned a set of behind-the-scenes photographs to document the kind of world which sends print fetishists (like us) into a swoon. LA rarely looked so appealing.
Made in LA runs until October 27.