A big part of &gallery merchandise is toys.

There are action figures, plushies and masks to name a few, including custom toys. The upcoming exhibition “Hard Times Soft Vinyl” pays tribute to Sofubi Toys, a soft vinyl Japanese toy, as well as the late Amy Osowki of Lulubell Toy Bodega. 

Robert, also known as Manic Images, is a freelance photographer as well as the curator of the upcoming show. He credits Osowki as one of the reasons he got into Sofubi toys as both a collector and photographer in his curator statement. 

“It’s very nerve-wracking. It was really exciting on paper at first, and once Cynthia [Irasema] from &gallery broke down the steps I needed to take in order to curate, I thought ‘Wow, there’s a lot more that goes into this than I thought.’ Curating a show has been nerve-wracking but it’s also very exciting,” Robert said.

According to Robert, he had only ever watched Osowki curate shows at her Mesa location when it was open. He’d see the care put into working with artists and what it was like to connect with them.

Robert first started getting into toys in 2008, when he read about Android vinyl figures. From there, he started to become a toy collector as he fell down the rabbit hole.

“The best way to describe the show is, times are difficult for a lot of people, especially now. Things are very difficult for people all over the world. In this particular niche subculture of toy collecting, it brings people together,” Robert said.

To Robert, toys are important because they are essentially the same category and medium of sculptures. A majority of the toys being collected are sculpted and painted by human hands as well. 

But Robert isn’t just a toy collector, he’s a photographer as well. He started out taking photography classes all four years of high school before using that artistic medium to photograph his toys.

“I was taking a lot of natural elements around Phoenix and implementing them to what I felt like would work well with a lot of the toys’ aesthetics I was working with at the time. It just picked up more and more from there,” Robert said.

Robert says he hopes to create and publish a tabletop book of the toys he has photographed and include a background on the artists as well as the characters. To him, the world is expansive with a lot of storytelling, especially when it comes to the collectors themselves.

Cynthia Irasema, the owner of &gallery, is a toy collector as well as a custom toy painter. She says this type of show is one that had been on her list for a while now.

“I have always wanted to do a toy show. I’m a big toy collector and I made a change with the new location. I started bringing in guest curators,” Irasema said.

According to Irasema, Robert is a big Sofubi collector and has worked in Sofubi for years. He was perfect with his background in toys as well as toy photography to curate a show like this.

The toy art medium is something many people get excited about even if they aren’t collectors. That was a factor that had Irasema thinking about this show.

“It’s one of the first ways we use our imagination as we grow up playing with toys as babies, kids and adults in various forms. Of course, it makes sense that there is an art medium for that and there are different types,” Irasema said.

 From kaiju to horror, many of the Sofubis look different and have several different themes. 

To Irasema, toys are tangible art. Whether it’s posing or customizing them, toys show how 3D art is just as valuable as 2D art.

“I think the best part of this show will be reintroducing this [toy collection] to Tucson […]. Other spots have featured designer toys as well but this show is going to be heavy hitters. These are big, well-known artists in the game,” Irasema said.

The “Hard Times Soft Vinyl” show will open Saturday, Aug. 31 from 6-9 p.m. The exhibition will be up until the end of September. &gallery will  also host an official after party for Tucson Comic Con.

&gallery is now located at 834 S. Sixth Ave. The &gallery is open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays; it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

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