On Saturday (Feb. 25), three solo exhibitions fill the spaces at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. The features artists are Chris Mars, Amadine Urruty, and Ciou, each creating dreamlike worlds that can be both warm and unsettling.
A new set of oil paintings by Mars explore the artist’s relationship with his brother, who was institutionalized during various periods. “The sensitivity and empathy Chris developed relative to these experiences are evident in his visual art, which serves to raise awareness of the various issues associated with mental illness and its treatment, as well as confronting xenophobia in its various social and psychological incarnations,” the gallery says.
Urruty creates surreal graphite drawings on paper that combine different pop culture iconography and characters with wholly new situations and figures. In this effort, she’s “borrowing from the mass of objects and second hand toys with their fundamental ambivalence, being wicked & peaceful, decorative and saturated at the same time.”
Ciou’s mixed-media works use collage, ink, and acrylics on wood for vibrant results. She cites a range of influences, from Victorian art and Japanese culture to a vintage aesthetic that carried throughout the previous century in the U.S. Many of these works depict “witch-y nature burlesque girls and their strange animal companions.”
On Saturday, 
Ideas about life and what drives the human soul are shared themes between artists 
This month coincides with the rising of Sirius, Orion's dog star, from which the dog days of summer take their namesake and Copro Gallery's upcoming group show. Inspired by the summer star, the participating artists of "Summer Soirée" draw upon seasonal and fantastical themes for the exhibition. In particular, the exhibit features a new series of acrylic paintings by Florida based artist 
Australian artist, publisher, and curator Jon Beinart is the founder of the beinArt Surreal Art Collective, a group of international artists notable for their surreal and imaginative styles. 2014 marked the reinvention of this collective which at one point featured over 500 artists- many of them will come together in a special iteration of the