The Happy, Happy Graphic Art Of Friends With You [Slideshow]

FriendsWithYou (FWY), the exuberant Florida art collective that gave the world this acid-fueled Wonka factory, has unveiled its first-ever gallery exhibit in New York, at The Hole on Bowery.

The show is a pop explosion of spinning neon candies, grinning puddles, giggle sticks, and smirking smoke flumes. In one corner of the gallery, a kinetic emoticon winks blankly at you. In another, a giant, inflatable creature fills the room, with candy-striped knobs and tumors protruding every which way, like some kind of toxic-waste mutant in Candy Land. The name of the show: =)

According to The Hole's website, the exhibit is all about fun! Friendship! Play! But it also references matterful things like Nicolas Bourriaud's Relational Aesthetics and social interaction on the Internet. Also: god. In the gallery's words: "By reinterpreting religious traditions, symbols and spiritual practices, FWY invert these solemn and serious ideas through play to open up a connection to the divine." To which we can only say: :-\

[Images courtesy of The Hole]