For the month of October, world renowned Copro Gallery presents four artist solo exhibitions honouring the Autumn season. Make way for new works by four creatives who live in the space between the dark, the beautiful, and the esoteric: Chet Zar, Stephanie Inagaki, Emma Black and Dos Diablos!
This month marks many things. “The end of the summer harvest and letting go of what no longer serves us, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter – a time of year that is often associated with human death.” Shares Copro Gallery.
Over 2,500 years ago, celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred in October. They celebrated the ancient Gaelic festival SAMHAIN (precursor to Halloween), a holiday that included human sacrifice. For these four exhibitions the theme of Life, Death, Dreams and Divine Decay are explored. All four artists will be at the opening reception and the spirit of the season will be in the air.
Copro Gallery
Read more about each of these artists below.
Chet Zar ‘Life & Death’
Stephanie Inagaki ‘Icons Of Death & Dreams’
Emma Black ‘Divine Decay‘
Dos Diablos ‘Machina Diabolika’
Copro Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Complex, 2525 Michigan Ave, #T5, Santa Monica, CA 90404, United States
Opening Reception: Saturday October 12, 2024 – 6:00pm – 10:00pm. All artists will be in attendance, and Chet will be signing his book “Dy5topia- a field guide to the dark universe of Chet Zar” plus personalizing prints and posters!
Exhibition Dates: October 12 – November 2, 2024
NEW HOURS: Friday 11-7pm- Saturday 1-5pm – Sunday 11-6pm
Ph: 310/829-2156
E-Mail: CoproGallery@Live.com
CHET ZAR ‘LIFE & DEATH’ //
‘Life & Death’ marks Chet Zar’s 11th exhibit and event since 2006 with Copro Gallery. In this new collection of oil paintings, Chet has taken inspiration from the theme of ‘Life & Death’ which is an inevitable part of our existence. In his own words: “Through these paintings, I tried to explore our emotions surrounding life under the influence of the fear of death and the phantoms created by it. While we often avoid thinking about it to get through the day, this avoidance can give death a haunting power over us. Unacknowledged mortality becomes a burden on humanity. Yet, without death, life would lack meaning. It is as natural as birth, and shouldn’t be feared.”
‘Life & Death’ continues to expand the ever-unfolding world of Dy5topia, the “negative thought-form dimension” that Zar has spent most of his artistic life uncovering through his paintings and sculptures. Two sides of the same coin…. constantly presenting us with choices, heads or tails?
STEPHANIE INAGAKI: ‘ICONS OF DEATH & DREAMS’ //
Stephanie Inagaki’s new solo exhibition is in honour of life and death, and the resilience, grit, and perseverance that comes out of it, which does not exist without hope, which in turn creates dreams.
Many cultures throughout history used to – and still carry forth – days or months of remembrance for the dead. The gods and goddesses of death simultaneously represented healing, life, regeneration, and fertility. This cycle of samsara is a continual theme within her body of work.
Stephanie Inagaki received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and her Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. She has been published in magazines and books such as Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Hi-Fructose, “The Mammoth Book of Skulls”, “The Aesthetics of Design in Fantasy: Myth & Horror”, to name a few. As a multifaceted artist working in both fine art and jewellery, she resides in Los Angeles.
EMMA BLACK ‘DIVINE DECAY’
‘Divine Decay’ is UK artist Emma Black’s second solo exhibition with Copro Gallery, a series about remembrance, fragility, mortality and the transient nature of earthly existence. The work is a comment on how contradictory elements such as beauty and decay can co-exist in our world of ambiguities and dualities. Present in the works is a contemplation of death and mortality, and an exploration of the relationship between new understandings and perceived identity.
Caught between life and death in an essential unreality, the figures in the paintings are in turmoil as they transform into new beings. The visible anatomy acts as a representation of, and simultaneous contortion, of the idea of true beauty being on the inside; contrasting with the unassuming pleasantness of the flora and fauna blooming on the surface.
The inaccuracies of their existence become intertwined into their identities, resulting in a hybrid of entities that aims to feels more akin to an object, in a process of self-examination and objectification. Acting upon a sense of what could have been and the unlikely feelings of a new beginning, they serve as a tribute to the personal loss and grief in the world.
Emma Black graduated in 2012 from the University of Westminster with a First Class honours degree in Illustration, and in 2016 from the Cambridge School of Art with a MA in Fine Art. The unknown, whether an aspect of the physical world or a limitation of the human mind, is the main starting point for her work. Using traditional media and autobiographical themes, her practice explores notions of The Uncanny, human subconscious and our relationship to death and the natural world.
DOS DIABLOS ‘MACHINA DIABOLIKA’ //
Jorge (Dos Diablos) was born in Guadalajara Mexico (1982). His art career started as an editorial illustrator, working for several Mexican newspapers and magazines. His illustrative collaborations range from posters, music album covers and book designs. Jorge’s fine art career began as a result of restlessness, inner emotions and social conflicts. His critical vision which we see in each of his works evolves into the monster that we each carry with us every day. The work of ‘Dos Diablos’ transgresses and delights the viewer, leaving us no option but to forge ahead and contemplate our destiny. Jorge works and lives between Guadalajara and California.
“Dos Diablos is an artist who taps into the fears that have haunted our society for thousands of years. Drawing on these irrational anxieties and fusing them with an aesthetic that draws inspiration from Christian iconography, Dos Diablos’ work is a chilling reminder of the power of demonic forces. From movie posters to magazines and newspaper features and the fine art world, Dos Diablos is ever forging new grounds.” – Gata Magazine.
About Copro Gallery //
The gallery, located at Bergamot Arts, is divided into two exhibition spaces, sometimes featuring a single artist but often two or three. Large group exhibitions are also featured often in conjunction with outside curators. In following with its original mission, Copro Gallery participates in International Art Fairs and curates outside exhibits to help promote their artists.
Focusing on museum quality installations showcasing emerging artists, Copro Gallery also exhibits many established and master painters. Placing works in private collections throughout the world, Copro strives to assist collectors new and experienced in building the most exciting collections possible.
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