May 2013 brings two new exhibits to the Stranger Factory gallery; a dual show by noted character creators Chet Zar and Doktor A, and a special Project Room exhibit by Doubleparlour.
Oddfellows is a collection of new character work by UK artist and steampunk aficionado Doktor A, and dark art monster-maker Chet Zar. Oddfellows is an expression of how despite their vastly differing styles, both Chet Zar and Dok A are essentially doing the same thing – using inhuman forms to illustrate the human condition. In spite of their gas-mask faces or giant mechanical moustaches, each artists creations are, at heart, just regular joes with lives, wants, dreams of their own. By using non-human characters, each artist is able to force the viewer to focus less on the superficiality of human form and bias and more on the details of each character’s existence.
As Doktor A says, “Even though our respective creations believe themselves to be quite ordinary they are of course quite extraordinary…as are we all.”
The Stranger Factory Project Room will be showing Doubleparlour’s newest exhibit of hand-crafted resin figures, Pink Eye. This exhibit features Doubleparlour’s trademark monsters, mutations, and animal hybrid characters experiencing the full range of familiar human emotion.
From pain to pleasure, and joy to dismay; by exploring human emotion through familiar but inhuman forms, Doubleparlour give us the opportunity to see what we might just look like on the inside.
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Chet Zar is a renowned monster-maker and character artist whose work has been seen in “The Ring”, “Hellboy I & II”, “Planet of the Apes” and critically acclaimed music videos for the art metal band Tool.
Doktor A is one of the most well-known steampunk character artists in the world, and his work has set the industry standard for mechanical gentlemen. His characters have been produced by multiple companies including Arts Unknown, DYZ Plastic, and Kidrobot.
Doubleparlour is Ernie and Cassandra Velasco, a husband and wife artistic collaboration living in San Francisco, CA.
(Press Release by Steve Brown – contact Steve at unklesteve@gmail.com for more information and high resolution images)
This is something that has head exploding potential – Dok A and Chet Zar are collaborating on a piece for their show Oddfellows! It was bound to happen, and with these two great minds working together, we are guaranteed to be blown away with an expertly created and executed work of art. The image above is still in the early stages with Chet sculpting a creature piloting a Dok A machine. Is this a mech, a robot, or a cohabitative arrangement between machine and a carbon based lifeform? At this early stage, it is safe to say that this piece will be epic! EPIC, I tell you!
