Epic Rights Named Global Licensing Agent for Contemporary Artist Gary Baseman

LOS ANGELES, May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Epic Rights, a full-service global branding, licensing, and rights management company, has been named global licensing agent for contemporary, celebrated painter, illustrator, video and performance artist, animator, TV/movie producer, curator, and toy designer, Gary Baseman.  The announcement was made today by Epic Rights' CEO Dell Furano and Baseman.

Epic Rights will implement a comprehensive licensing strategy to develop the Gary Baseman brand based on the artist's illustrative works and family of characters launching with Toby, Creamy and The Wild Girls.  The primary program will be broad-based, targeting adults 18–35-years-old, and featuring product categories that include apparel, accessories, home decor, stationery, collectibles, and publishing.  The Gary Baseman licensing program will focus on character development, weaving in the humorous, ironic and surprising attributes of the human condition while celebrating the beauty of the bitter sweetness of life. The products will reflect the fantastical feel of Baseman's art, capturing the importance of friendship, the beauty of innocence and the impish and mischievous devil in all of us.

"Gary Baseman's extraordinary and truly unique artistic vision, combined with his family of characters, is the heart of our licensing program," said Furano.  "We look forward to working with Gary on developing whimsical interpretations and extensions of his innovative and imaginative art and inventions and introduce his work to new fans around the world through licensed products."

"I try to push the boundaries of my art so that it traverses fine art to commercial art and back again," added Baseman.  "I see myself as an artist who likes to do everything. Creating art that may not be everywhere but it's perceived everywhere.  I'm excited to be working with Dell as he's a legend in the licensing world and I know we will collaborate to create a program that will be an art form."

About Gary Baseman:

Gary Baseman blurs the lines of fine art and pop culture, moving between his roles as a painter, illustrator, video and performance artist, animator, TV/movie producer, curator, toy designer and more.  He manifests and transcends art, commerce and life.  

Baseman's fine art has been displayed in galleries and museums around the United States, most recently with a major solo exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, and internationally in Brazil, Germany, Israel, Italy and Russia. 

He has been published in many prestigious periodicals including The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Time, and Rolling Stone.  The Los Angeles Times has described his art as "adorably perverse," humorously playful and dark, childlike but often with adult themes.  

Los Angeles based Baseman has had his work featured in several books, including Dumb Luck, Dying of Thirst, Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World's Greatest Graphic Designers, Strong Stuff: Herakles and His Labors, Toy Design, and The Upset: Young Contemporary Art.

He also created the three-time Emmy® and BAFTA award-winning animation series, Teacher's Pet, which stars Nathan Lane and aired on ABC. The show's success earned him a spot as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment, as named by Entertainment Weekly magazine.  He also designed the best-selling game, Cranium.

Baseman's highly anticipated retrospective show, The Door Is Always Open, will open this summer (June 27 – August 24) at MOCA Taipei.  This innovative exhibit which spans over three decades is an examination of his prolific career encompassing the range of his work proving as Gary says, "As long as you stay true to your aesthetic and have a strong sense of meaning, the work can be appropriate in almost any medium, from print to TV to film to paintings to commerce." 

About Epic Rights:

Epic Rights is a full service global branding, licensing and rights management company dedicated to establishing next-generation partnerships between brands and entertainment-based intellectual properties.  Working with a roster of celebrated brands, Epic Rights' services include music merchandising, such as concert merchandise, VIP ticketing, fan clubs & experiences and overseeing music artists' official online shopping sites.  Epic Rights also oversees sponsorships and endorsements, digital archiving of all creative/photos/media assets and manages worldwide e-commerce for its clients in addition to providing in-house legal resources for trademark registration and audit management.  The company works with a network of domestic and international partners to develop and implement global licensing and merchandising programs across a broad range of product categories. Epic Rights is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.  For more information, visit: www.epicrights.com.

Contact:
Michelle Orsi
Three.Sixty Marketing & Communications
310.418.6430

SOURCE Epic Rights