George Kalcoff is a Burbank teacher, father, and a local artist bringing his work alongside his brother Arger, to Colony theater this Saturday. Come by for a night of pop culture represented through visual art, music, and film. Kalcoff’s Colony Theatre Art Show will be held September 17th at 6:00 pm and conclude with a film showing of Night of the Living Dead at 11:30 pm.
Doors opens at 6:00 pm and $10 tickets can be reserved online ahead of time or purchased at the event. Guests can enjoy drinks at the bar and music from a DJ who will be spinning vinyl records of classic rock, funk, old school hip-hop, punk and more. The show is centered around pop culture and the TV Guide. “The old TV Guides were a mini art book delivered to your home each week,” said Kalcoff, remembering how much joy music, film and TV brought him as a child. “My love for classical caricature stems from that one single resource. Kids have no idea what it was like flipping through a TV guide circling what Kung Fu Theatre or Elvira Mistress of the Dark shows were coming that weekend.”
The show will feature over 80 pieces of art from the Kalcoff brothers, ranging from mixed media, graphite, pen and ink, and watercolor. This will be the first show the brothers have done together. “As a kid he was my inspiration to get better and always looked for his approval on what I was doing. It still goes on even today,” said George Kalcoff who explained how huge of an influence his brother is in his life.
As a Greek speaker, Kalcoff learned to speak English as a child right here in the halls of the Burbank school district. His aunt worked in a paper factory and Kalcoff would take the scrap pages of calendars to sketch on. Kalcoff joked that as a kid he would lay on his belly to draw with his father, whose stick figure scuba diver was a masterpiece in his eyes. He continued to lay on his belly to draw all through college and says it’s still the most comfortable way he works on his art.
Kalcoff graduated from Burroughs High School and moved on to get a degree in Fine Art. He found his home at the California Art Institute where he made lifelong relationships and studied under famed American illustrator, Glen Orbik. Kalcoff and Orbik became best friends until Orbik’s passing in 2015. “If there was anyone I wish could be at this show, it would be him. His wife will be there though, and that makes me happy,” said Kalcoff. “I know he would be proud of the work and that we are all together.”
Since 1998, Kalcoff has been teaching in the Burbank school district and is now a fifth grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary school. Harte was Kalcoff’s elementary and also where his two daughters attended. He has now come full circle as an educator there. “I use art in every subject” adds Kalcoff, who mentioned that incorporating art in curriculum can help with memory retention, especially for visual learners. “The creative mind and the academic mind all come together and showcase one’s skills.” Kalcoff’s journey through art and teaching has not been easy but says that he loves what he does and reaching the kids in the community.
You can get tickets to Kalcoff’s Colony Theatre Art Show HERE. For more info on The Colony Theatre and other upcoming shows click HERE. Colony Theatre is located at 555 North Third Street in Burbank.
