Sam Gambino (left) grew up with kustom
kulture art as the son of an original 1956 Detroit, Michigan
pinstriper. He has a great love and appreciation for vintage
ad art; so much so that much of his art is sometimes mistaken
to be 40 or 50 years old. He has created comic panels for King
Features Syndicate's New Breed comic strip and shown his work
in gallery art shows inside and outside of the United States.
Working primarily in enamels, he also uses 23 carat gold leaf
in much of his art. In addition, he creates digital and pen
and ink art. His subject matter many times includes campy, vintage
and kitschy cult characters - usually with a different spin
than one would expect to see with these personalities. He designed
the Sam's Shrunken Head and Sam's Dinky Noggin mugs by Tiki
Farm; the 2007 tiki mug for the legendary Sam's Seafood Restaurant
in Huntington Beach, California; and Mort, Maury and Merv -
the Bowling Moai Brothers mugs and decanter by Tiki Farm. There
is also a line of his vintage style tin and wooden pub signs
which are sold in stores worldwide.
On any given day, you can find him combing
junk stores, thrift shops and flea markets. He seeks inspiration
by collecting unique relics and old instructional books anywhere
they can be found.
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