Downtown Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) is proud to announce the return of San Francisco-based, award-winning artist/illustrator Eric Joyner for his 12th solo exhibition at the gallery, titled Looking Sideways, set to premiere July 19th in the Main Gallery.

“Someday World” (oil on canvas, 65” x 85”

Joyner, who is renowned around the world for his “robots and donuts” scenes, has created an irresistible body of work. Joyner’s art, which has been licensed from the likes of Disney, Warner Brothers, and the hit HBO show Silicon Valley, depicts the tenuous conflict between children’s toys and adulthood as a portrait of another reality. His work is characterized by his playful and surrealistic style that creates harmony between the mix of cartoon characters, especially Japanese tin robots and colorful donuts inserted in all kinds of landscapes from the Age of Dinosaurs to the bottom of the ocean.

“Matinee” (oil on canvas, 36” x 27”) and "Ice Cream Shop" (oil on canvas, 30" x 30")

Regarding his new works, Joyner shares, “My oil paintings are dreamscapes where robots and donuts coexist in strange harmony—symbols of indulgence, routine, and the absurdity of modern life. Rooted in pop surrealism, these works unfold in familiar yet slightly askew environments—bakeries, sidewalks, and quiet corners of imagined cities—where machines begin to echo the gestures and emotional rhythms of the people who made them. The robots in my paintings are not cold or clinical. They fumble toward something human, seeking comfort, connection, and distraction, mirroring our own attempts to find meaning in a world growing increasingly fragmented. Donuts appear as both coping mechanisms and existential props: absurd, sweet, and fleeting, much like the comforts we cling to in the face of uncertainty.”

Adding, “These scenes often straddle the line between melancholy and humor, realism and fantasy, inviting viewers to consider the surreal logic of dreams as a lens for understanding our daily lives. The works ask philosophical questions with a light touch: What happens when artificial beings start dreaming? What does it mean to be conscious in a programmed world? Can absurdity be a kind of salvation? As we teeter on the edge of a murky future shaped by artificial intelligence, these paintings become reflections of our collective anxieties and quiet hopes. They suggest that perhaps even in a world of circuits and code, the desire for tenderness, joy, and a donut remains universal.”

“New Frontier” (oil on canvas, 48” x 72”)

Open to the public and free to attend, Looking Sideways is set to debut on Saturday, July 19th from 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm in the Main Gallery, alongside a solo show by Toronto-based, award-winning contemporary artist Richard Ahnert, titled Bad Company, in Gallery 2 and a two-artist exhibit featuring solo shows by Taiwanese artist Lo Chan Peng, titled Gazing at the Boundary of Beauty and Ugliness, and contemporary faux naïf artist Sun-Mi (aka Pamplemouze), titled House Warming, in Gallery 3. The shows will be on view at CHG through August 23rd.

“Moment of Truth” (oil on canvas, 34 in x 34 in)

OPENING RECEPTION

July 19, 2025 | 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm
 

ON VIEW

July 19 – August 23, 2025 

“Ice Cream Shop” (oil on canvas, 30 in x 30 in)

About Eric Joyner:

Born in San Mateo, California, a suburb of San Francisco, Eric Joyner’s childhood was filled with reading comics (mostly Mad, Creepy, Eerie, and newspaper comic strips), playing sports, going to school, drawing, and painting. He began to take painting lessons after being inspired by a visit to the De Young’s Van Gogh exhibit in San Francisco. Joyner went on to attend the Academy of Art and the University of San Francisco, establishing himself as a commercial artist, creating illustrations for Mattel Toys, Levi's, Microsoft, and Showtime. A member of San Francisco Society of Illustrators and New York Society of Illustrators, Joyner has been an instructor and speaker at San Francisco's Academy of Art University and California College of the Arts.

In addition to being shown in numerous galleries and cultural institutions worldwide (including San Jose Museum of Art's exhibition Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon), Joyner’s work has been featured on several album covers (including Ben Folds Five’s The Sound of the Life of the Mind) and in TV shows (including The Big Bang Theory). In September 2021, Joyner’s art was featured in a segment about the “Duck Stamp” on HBO’s Emmy and Peabody-award-winning show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The artist has also released two books on Dark Horse: 2008’s Robots and Donuts: The Art of Eric Joyner and 2018’s Robotic Existentialism: The Art of Eric Joyner. Find him online at https://ericjoyner.com/

“The Scrollers” (oil on canvas, 24 in x 24 in)

About Corey Helford Gallery:

Established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer/creator Bruce Helford (The Conners, Lopez vs. Lopez, Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, and George Lopez), Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goal as an institution is to support the growth of artists, from the young and emerging to the well-known and internationally established. CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today's pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti, and Street Art. Located in downtown Los Angeles (571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033) in a robust 12,000-square-foot building, CHG presents new exhibitions approximately every six weeks. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm. For more information, visit CoreyHelfordGallery.com 

All photos courtesy and copyright Eric Joyner, published with permission