HughE Dillon One-Shot: Bam Margera’s Art Exhibit

Bam Margera (second from left), with James Oliver (second from right), and parents Phil Margera (left) and April Margera (right), spent the last year channeling his pain onto canvas, while traveling around the world. All of which resulted in his first exhibition at the James Oliver Gallery in Center City. On Saturday night, the gallery hosted the opening party for the show “Bam Margera and Friends”—the friends being Geoff “Red Mohawk” Blake, Ryan Gee, Justin Muir and Bam’s girlfriend, Nikki B. It was a packed house with many friends, as well as fans and family. April told me that most of the paintings were done while Bam was visiting other countries with Nikki, or on tour with CKY (an American alternative metal rock band he has with his brother Jess). She went on to say it was an expensive project, as the canvases had to be shipped back home from various locations like Paris, Helsinki and Moscow. Then there were the hotel rooms … sometimes Bam didn’t put a sheet down to catch all the paint droppings, and Nikki tells me that there are more than a dozen hotel room phones painted by Bam. But everyone agrees that it was a cathartic experience for him after the rough couple years he’s had. I found the paintings to be autobiographical, with a lot of heavy brush strokes representing his pain. Sometimes the paintings would have quotes, one being “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, That’s Me Calling,” the reason he would give his mom for not calling on her birthday or holidays. She did say he would call a day later and express his well wishes. His friends’ photographs are also very good, and Nikki’s include shots of the two of them in Las Vegas. which could be titled “this is what happens in Vegas.” The show runs through April 21st (723 Chestnut Street).