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James Gobel (Born 1972 in Portland, Oregon, United States). is a mixed media artist who uses fabric and string to create works of art. Gobel is best known for his collection of works surrounding the gay "Bear" subculture that subvert the common conception of what is typically considered attractive in the gay community. Gobel himself is a gay man who has advocated for many LGBT efforts. Currently, Globel works at the California College of the Arts as a professor in the Painting and Drawing Program.

Early life and education
James Gobel was born in Portland, Oregon in 1972. Gobel moved to Las Vegas when he was 15 and instantly fell in love with the city.

Career
In 1995, Gobel deliberately gained 35 pounds in one month, and went on to create a series of works that in which he grouped piles of objects that equaled to the 35 pounds that he had gained. Gobal is most well known for his works that depict large gay men in a variety of scenes/poses. Gobel begins the creation of these pieces with photographs, and then crates drawings of the pictures using pencil, and then yarn. To finish his work, Gobel uses felt and other craft materials to fill his yarn outlines. These pieces are modeled after a subculture in the LGBT community, refered to as "Bears". These men are of a heavier set, and are considered to be more masculine; Gobel subverts this trope though, by depicting the men's softer and more feminine qualities in his pieces.

Major exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions:


 * 1999 - Fatty - Sheppard Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
 * 2000 - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2000 - Huge - Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA
 * 2000 - UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
 * 2001 - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2002 - Hayworth Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
 * 2002 - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2005 - Ridicule is Nothing to Be Scared of - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2007 - I❤ JCRT - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2008 - Happy Hour - Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
 * 2008 - Bear Hunting - Marx & Zavattero, San Francisco, CA

Group Exhibits:


 * 1995 - Liberace, A Visual Tribute to Mr. Showmanship - Liberace Museum, Las Vegas, NV
 * 1996 - Liberace! The Man, the Myth - Contemporary Art Collective, Las Vegas,NV
 * 1996 - Debbie Reynolds Exhibition - Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
 * 1996 - The Magic Show - O'Sheas Movie and Magic Museum, Las Vegas, NV
 * 1997 - Cranberry Show - Ocean Spray Factory, Henderson, NV
 * 1997 - Easy to Chew, Hard to Swallow - College of Creative Studies Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
 * 1998 - Fat City - Gallery 1434, UC Santa Barbara, CA
 * 1998 - 1-15 - Post Gallery, New York, NY
 * 1998 - 100 Dollar Show & Up - Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
 * 1998 - Sweet - FM Gallery, New York, NY
 * 1998 - ShopPost.com - Post Gallery, LA
 * 1999 - James Gobel, Gina Magid, Aaron Romine - Kravets/Wehby Gallery
 * 1999 - Summer Group Show, Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 1999 - Grin and Bare It - Ridley Tree, Santa Barbara, CA
 * 2000 - Sheppard Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
 * 2000 - College of Creative Studies Gallery, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
 * 2000 - Tan Lines - Purple Orchid Gallery, Dallas, TX
 * 2000 - Collector's Choice - ExitArt, New York, NY
 * 2001 - Before They Become Who They Are - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2001 - Spring - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2001 - Summer Group Show - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2001 - Installed Collections/ Collections Installed - Zimmerli Museum of Art, New Brunswick, NJ
 * 2001 - The Magic Hour-Art and Las Vegas - Center for the Visual Arts, Cardiff, Whales
 * 2001 - [Las Vegans] - James Kelley Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
 * 2002 - Subject Matters - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2002 - Almost Heaven - Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL
 * 2002 - The Dubrow Biennial - Kegan Martos Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2002 - Summer Group Show - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2002 - Outside: A Group Show of Three LA Based Artists - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2002 - 21 Paintings from LA - Fullerton Art Museum, Cal State San Bernardino, San Bernardino, CA
 * 2003 - Art a Century Apart: 1903 and 2003 - Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MI
 * 2003 - Summer Romance - Sandroni Rey, Los Angeles, CA
 * 2003 - Today's Man - John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
 * 2003 - Beauty: A Group Painting Show - Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
 * 2004 - One Hundred Artists See God - ICI
 * 2004 - Art as Autobiography - Rare, New York, NY
 * 2004 - Eye of the Needle - Robert & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA
 * 2005 -The Altoids Curiously Strong Collection - Consolidated Works, Seattle, WA
 * 2005 - Smack - The Brewery Project, Los Angeles, CA
 * 2005 -Unexpected Developments - Playspace Gallery, San Francisco, CA
 * 2005 - The Altoids Curiously Strong Collection - The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
 * 2005 - Superfat - Brooklyn Fire Proof, Brooklyn, NY
 * 2006 - Gigantic - Auto Gallery, Oakland, CA
 * 2006 - Naughty - Heather Marx Gallery, San Francisco, CA
 * 2007 - Las Vegas Diaspora: The Emergence of Contemporary Art from the Neon Homeland - Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, NV
 * 2008 - Blood & Glitter - Bandini Art, Culver City, CA
 * 2008- Sexy Time: A Group Effort - Morgan Lehman, New York, NY
 * 2008 - Boys of Summer - moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL
 * 2009 - Big Rock Candy Mountain - Naomi Arin Contemporary Art, Las Vegas, NV
 * 2009 - Collage - Fred, London, England
 * 2009 - Laugh It Off - Walter Maciel Gallery, Culver City, CA
 * 2009 - I Want You To Want Me - Marx & Zavattero, San Francisco, CA
 * 2010 - Pattern ID - Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH
 * 2010 - Underground Pop - Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY
 * 2011 - Embodying - Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA
 * 2011 - The Mysterious Content of Softness - Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
 * 2011 - Surface Value - Anna K. Meredith Gallery, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
 * 2011 - The Elegance of Refusal - Gensler Architecture Design & Planning, San Francisco, CA
 * 2011 - Sea Change: The 10th Anniversary Exhibition - Marx & Zavattero, San Francisco, CA
 * 2012 - All I Want is a Picture of You - Angles Gallery, Los Angeles, CA