Chet Zar @ Last Rites Gallery

Fan favorite Chet Zar set to make solo appearance in NYC @ Last Rites Gallery!

(New York, NY) On Saturday, April 10th at 7pm, NYC’s Last Rites Gallery will open a solo exhibition of new works entitled ENDARKENMENT by Chet Zar.

Chet Zar was born on November 12th, 1967, in San Pedro, CA. His entire childhood was spent drawing, sculpting and painting. Zar’s interest in the darker side of art began in the earliest stages of his life. A natural fascination with all things strange fostered within himself a deep connection to horror movies and dark imagery. He could relate to the feelings of fear, anxiety and isolation that they conveyed. These are themes which had permeated most of his childhood drawings and paintings and are reflected in his work to this day. The combined interest in horror films and art eventually culminated into a career as a special effects make up artist, designer and sculptor for the motion picture industry, designing and creating creatures and make up effects effects for such films as, “The Ring”, “Hellboy I & II”, “Planet of the Apes” and the critically acclaimed music videos for the art metal band Tool. Zar also embraced the digital side of special effects as well, utitlizing the computer to translate his dark vision with 3D animation for Tool’s live shows and subsequently releasing many of them on his own DVD of dark 3D animation, “Disturb the Normal”. But the many years spent dealing with all of the politics and artistic compromises of the film industry left Zar feeling creatively stagnant. At the beginning of 2000 (at the suggestion of horror author Clive Barker), he decided to go back to his roots and focus on his own original works and try his hand at fine art, specifically painting in oils. The result has been a renewed sense of purpose, artistic freedom and a clarity of vision that is evident in his darkly surreal (and often darkly humorous) paintings. His artistic influences include painter James Zar (stepfather and artistic mentor), Beksinski, H.R. Giger, Frank Frazetta, M.C. Escher, Bosch, John Singer Sargent and Norman Rockwell just to name a few.

This solo exhibition of new work from Chet Zar will open on Saturday, April 10th, 7-11pm at Last Rites Gallery, 511 W. 33rd Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues (3 blocks from Penn Station), 3rd floor, New York, NY 10001. Show runs March 6th through March 28th, 2010. More info at www.lastritesgallery.com.

Last Rites Gallery is New York’s only gallery of dark art. Having opened in April 2008, the gallery has received accolades from places as diverse as Inked Magazine, Tattoo Society, Juxtapoz, Hi Fructose, NY Post, and the Channel 11 Morning News. Last Rites was founded by legendary painter and tattooist Paul Booth, an artist who has devoted his life to the evolution of his craft. In the tattoo industry, after years of public appearances and numerous international awards, Paul Booth is now a household name. He has been featured on networks such as CNN, MSNBC, DISCOVERY, A&E, TLC, MTV and VH1. Due to the macabre nature of his style, Paul has tattooed many major metal bands. As a result, in 2002, Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed Paul “The new king of rock tattoos.” There is currently a two-year waiting list for his work. All shows at Last Rites are curated by gallery director Andrew Michael Ford. Ford has been profiled, interviewed and/or quoted by The New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Village Voice, Timeout NY, Juxtapoz and National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered”.