The cerebral paintings of Chris Mars pack a new show at Copro Gallery, with a collection of surreal works that very in both size and scope. His new solo effort kicks off on May 11 and runs through June 1. (Mars was last featured on HiFructose.com here and here.) Works such as “Relativity” (below) show the artist’s knack for embedding visages in the contours of structures.
On Saturday (Feb. 25), three solo exhibitions fill the spaces at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. The features artists are Chris Mars, Amadine Urruty, and Ciou, each creating dreamlike worlds that can be both warm and unsettling.
Throughout history, the woods have served as a place for many fairy tale stories and legends. When the characters of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods ventured into a dark wood, they went to fulfill their dreams and fantasies. What they were faced with instead was a place where nothing is what it seems and the truths of their realities. 25 artists were invited to explore just what is it about woods that are so compelling in Haven Gallery’s upcoming exhibition, “Into the Woods”: Adam Oehlers, Robert Kraiza, Mahlimae, Lara Dann, Marc Scheff, Anka Lavriv, Hannah Yata, Jean-Pierre Arboleda, Mab Graves, Brin Levinson, Gustavo Rimada, Poppy Lawman, Thomas Dodd, Chris Mars, Shane Pierce, William Basso, Nicole Palapoli, Rain, Paul Romano, Scott Radke, Christina Ridgeway, Joseph Weinreb, Brian Mashburn, Allen WIlliams and Vince Natale.
Chris Mars’s paintings engross viewers in a dark and macabre world where exaggerated humanoid characters of different colors and sizes find themselves in a dark inferno. Mars’s painting style has a sculptural quality to it. The forms he paints appear so convincingly 3D, it’s easy to suspend disbelief and immerse oneself in the scenes he depicts. On March 21, Copro Gallery will debut “Chris Mars & Friends,” which features a selection of Mars’s new paintings as well as work by Dan Quintana, Dan May, menton3, and Erik Alos. Based on disturbing events Mars witnessed while visiting a relative at a mental hospital, his new work explores the dark crevices of the mind, approaching this classic horror trope with sensitivity and nuance.