Preview: Isabel Samaras’ “Making a Better Yesterday Today” at Varnish Fine Art

A master of pop culture spoofs, Isabel Samaras (featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 20) surprises us with her subtle wit in her latest solo exhibition, “Making a Better Yesterday Today,” opening at Varnish Fine Art in San Francisco on November 3. Departing from her blinged-out woodland creatures in hip-hop-inspired fables, Samaras’ new series of works interweave well-known Renaissance paintings with sitcom characters, superheroes and other elements. The juxtapositions can be humorous, but they also leave us with a lingering feeling of de ja vu as we try to piece together the meaning of the various art-historical and pop cultural references in her work. Take a look at some of the works in the show below.