PREVIEW: CONJOINED VS GROTESQUE @ COPRO GALLERY [SANTA MONICA]

Last year, Santa Monica‘s Copro Gallery presented their 8th installment of their CONJOINED group exhibit, curated, as usual, by dark artist, Chet Zar.  As I explained when we published our preview for that event last year, “Zar‘s many accomplishments involve a career in makeup and special effects for the film industry (Hellboy, Planet of the Apes, etc), before transitioning into doing highly acclaimed video and live 3D effects work for Tool, and ultimately settling into his role as a notable force in the painting and fine art world.”   That background, along with his notoriety as a master of dark art and the macabre, are definite advantages, which are reflected in his consistently impressive curation.  This year, Zar and Copro have invited notable art collector/author/musician, Jeremy Wagner to co-curate the exhibit, now referred to as “CONJOINED VS GROTESQUE.”  Beyond Wagner‘s inclusion and the very slight adjustment to the name, the core of the show seems to remain the same.  One of the primary strengths behind the annual event, which focuses on the dark art movement, is its inclusion of visual artists working in film and music industries, including special FX technicians.  As far as content, the gallery promises that “Rock and Roll Art, Gigantic oil paintings, Bizzarre & Hyperreal Sculptures, Lifelike & Life sized models, Surreal assemblages, mixed media paintings, Twisted Art Toys and other Conjoined work will all be featured.”

The show runs for about a month, but if you’re in the area, we suggest trying to hit up tonight’s opening if possible.  As with last year, there will be food trucks and live body painting, along with plenty of imagery containing blood, candles, skulls, horns, taxidermy, and demonic ass shit.

Check out a selection of preview and work in progress images below, after the following event details.

WHAT:

CONJOINED VS GROTESQUE
Group Exhibit Curated by Chet Zar and Jeremy Wagner

WHEN:

Saturday, January 19, 2019
8pm-11:30pm

WHERE:

Copro Gallery –
Bergamot Station Arts Complex
2525 Michigan Ave , Unit T5
Santa Monica , CA 90404

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Opening is all ages
Many artists will be in attendance
LIVE MUSIC BY “The Order Of The Fly”
Plus live body painting with Nix Body Art & FX
Food and coffee truckst by “Pinch of Flavor” and “Apollo’s Coffee”
Exhibit runs until Saturday, February 16th
Gallery hours: Wed. – Sat. 1 – 6pm
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/320416101916995/