In two art gallery spaces, two California artists open two solo shows Saturday, Aug. 10.

Presented by Corey Helford Gallery and its special projects space CHG Circa, “First World Problems” and “Random Acts of Sadness” each open with receptions on Aug. 10, 2013 from 7 to 10pm. Both shows are on view through Sept. 7.

Eric Joyner‘s show, titled “First World Problems,” is his 5th at Corey Helford Gallery. Paintings of robots versus humanity are set in urban and suburban settings; the show was originally titled Back in the U.S.S.A. (United Surreal States of America).

Luke Chueh‘s “Random Acts of Sadness” opens at CHG Circa. The L.A. artist describes it as one of his most introspective shows, with themes of coping, recovery and personal reflections, while retaining the elements he’s best known for; a classic Chueh exhibition. Of “Even a Monkey,” pictured above, he explained:

One way you can read into the painting is my recognizing that anybody (even a monkey) can draw a cute sad character. However, the painting also declares that there has to be a reason why I’ve been able to do this for so long, and it’s because there is a lot more to my work than cute animal characters.