Brian M. Viveros fans, the wait is over. Thinkspace Projects presents Tougher Than Leather, a fifth solo exhibition opening October 12, and first comprehensive presentation of all new work in almost four years, featuring some of Viveros’ largest and most accomplished paintings to date. The epic gallery takeover will showcase 15 new paintings, pastel works, charcoal on paper, collaborative works with Sandra Chevrier and Ken Flewellyn, a new print edition, a free poster for the first 200 patrons to visit the opening reception, a new limited edition enamel pin (the artist’s first), a site-specific installation, a new sculpture, and a 60-page exhibition catalog in support of the show. Tougher Than Leather promises something magical for all of his Dirty Troops, veterans and new recruits

Viveros’s well-known “bad-girls” power stronger than ever in Tougher Than Leather, and embodying the tenacity and fight personifying Viveros himself through the past years that have been fraught with personal struggles. After losing close members of his close-knit family, a fighting spirit pulsates through this new body of work.

The artist's phenomenally detailed, hyper-realistic paintings actualize a complete universe unto itself. Well-known by fans and collectors, Viveros's “Dirtyland” plays host to a colorful cast of familiar female characters: some part-vixen and some part-superhero, but all full-badass. These unapologetic survivors, often bloodied and bandaged, smoking and defiant, boast the battle scars of their warrior worth.

Viveros has pushed his obsession with detail to new extremes while continuing to expand his palette by incorporating stark tonal contrasts between warm and cool hues, crimson reds, lush pastels, brilliant blues, and shimmering golds to glimmering life. Tougher Than Leather delivers Viveros’s most complex work to date, Tame The Beast, which captures one of his iconic Matadors, for the first time ever, in full battle glory with a raging bull. Filled with firsts, this special showcase also includes EviLAst!, the artist’s largest and most complex sculpture, which delivers as the exhibition’s showstopper. This exciting new piece captures the beautiful ferocity of Dirtyland, incorporating signature elements from several of the artist’s past iconic paintings.

Tougher Than Leather is dedicated to the fighter in all of us. All those who fight for their lives, fight their inner demons and fight the evil that is cancer. The artist’s iconic female warriors epitomize the refusal to submit. Tough but sensual, they demonstrate the courage of the feminine as the empowered victor. These heroes cannot be broken. They bleed, they fight, they are Tougher Than Leather.

Tougher Than Leather opens at Thinkspace Projects on October 12, with an opening reception from 6 to 9 pm.