This Saturday, August 15, Copro Gallery in Bergamot Station Arts Complex, Santa Monica, unveils three exhibitions celebrating new works by Mook Simpson, Helena Reis, and Dale Sizer. Mook Simpson brings a surreal level of fantasy by rebuilding over historical artworks, offering a uniquely bizarre “love letter” to America – plus a selection of sculptures as well! Portuguese painter Helena Reis unveils a selection of portraits, blending the gentler elements of nature with a more raw and primal gothic beauty. And last but in no means least, Dale Sizer shares a small selection of pop art works to tingle your senses as the perfect palate cleanser. Read ahead to learn more about all three artists and their upcoming exhibitions.
Mook Simpson, Helena Reis & Dale Sizer
Opening Reception: Saturday August 15, 2026 – 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Dates: August 15 – September 4, 2026. Free admission and open to the public.
Copro Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Complex
2525 Michigan Ave , Unit T5, Santa Monica , CA 90404
For more information, email Copro Gallery Director, Gary Pressman at coprogallery@live.com
Mook Simpson America Dreaming
America Dreaming plays with the mechanics of how memory and myth work on our sense of current reality. The foundational paintings of American history sit in the tin that holds the country’s backstory, I prize the lid off and let a little pressure out. Mixing classic imagery from Manifest Destiny, westward expansion and cowboy legend with characters that are delightful but ominous, the show scrambles anxiety, memory and mythology into something delicious and new.
“I was born in the US, I’m a voting, IRS-fearing citizen. I moved to Australia as a kid but spent five years living in LA, from 2015. I come to America with a loving, curious lens.
“I love the idea of America as well as the drama, the opportunity, the noise. The wide spectrum of people, the landscape. I love how much the country goes through, and how tricky it gets. I love the stories, the art, the history. I read enough to build a logical, academic lens on the foundational paintings I intervene on, but I also let in contemporary culture, the new myths and anxieties, and fold that into the mix too.
“None of this was timed. Not for the 250th, not for the drama. Purely an accident. This is weird fun. This is a double-take. This is a laugh and a cry at the same time.
This is a love letter to America.”
“Portrait of George Washington
Taking the Salute at Trenton”
1856 by John Faed)
“Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers
through the Cumberland Gap”
1852 by George Caleb Bingham)
1877 by Albert Bierstadt)
1857 by Frederic Edwin Church)
1875 by Thomas Moran)
Helena Reis
Helena Reis was born and currently lives in Lisbon, Portugal with her husband and three children. She started to draw and paint at a very young age, creating her own fantasy world, though it was only in 2005 that she began to take art seriously, making her own techniques as she is entirely self-taught.
After a lot of trial and error, Helena has found her own unique style; a mix of creepy, dark and cute, representing personal fears and nightmares. It has become a way of overcoming self doubts, by portraying her darker side in a lighter perspective.
To create her artwork Helena uses traditional mixed media on wood, including watercolour pencils, watercolours, acrylics, gouache, and archival ink.
Dale Sizer
Dale Sizer is an illustrator, fine art painter and animation background painter. Creating art from a Pallet Shaped Loft, notable illustration clients include: Alaska Airlines, Master Card, Seven Up, Warner Bros. Records, Capital Records, Paramount Pictures, Numerous Magazines, Paper Moon Greeting Cards, and more. Dale was Staff Illustrator at Rod Dyer Design for four years, working on numerous Record Covers and Movie Campaigns. He has been a featured artist in the prestigious, The Society of Illustrators 26th Annual of American Illustration. As an Animation Background Painter, Dale has worked for: Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros., Film Roman, 20th Century Fox, Hanna Barbera, and more.
