Born on November 12th, 1967, in the harbor town of San Pedro, CA, Chet
Zar's interest in art began at an early age. His mother was always very
supportive and never put any limits on his creativity. 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. An emotionally unstable father and subsequent volatile family
life fostered within himself a deep connection to horror movies. 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", "Planet of
the Apes" and the critically acclaimed music videos for the art metal
band, Tool. For the last 7 years Zar has 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.

"Chet's art is beautiful & scary. His style has a modern twist crashing
into a classical approach. I think Chet is a master painter on his way
to making a great mark in our little world. Wanna do something smart
with your money? Invest in a Chet Zar painting." - Adam Jones (TOOL)

*Artist Statement:*

When i start a painting, I let my intuition lead the way, just like when
i was a kid, sketching without an obvious purpose, lost in a world of
monsters. It felt like home then and it still does now.

The characters i paint may seem like creatures from another dimension,
but i think they are simply us, here and now. Modern humanity without
it's masks, without the adornments that make us acceptable to whatever
group we are a part of. From the straight laced conservative to the
tattooed, anti-social rebel, we all cover up to fit in someplace. Yet
the only place where we are truly the same is on the inside. We all
share feelings of fear and loneliness. We feel ugly and insecure. We
feel separate from our environment and each other. These are the
feelings that i try to convey in my paintings. These are the feelings
that connect us.

Cher Zar

Sunset & St. Marks
The finest upcoming artists from Los Angeles and New York City.
July 14 - August 7
Opening night with the artists: Friday, July 14th 6:00 - 9:00 pm


Capla Kesting Fine Art
121 Roebling St, 7-8 - Brooklyn, NY 11211
phone: 917-650-3760
Bedford Ave L Train at the corner of North 5th and Roebling

Capla Kesting Fine Art
121 Roebling St, 7-8 - Brooklyn, NY 11211
phone: 917-650-3760
Bedford Ave L Train at the corner of North 5th and Roebling.

http://www.caplakesting.com

info

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