Chico San- Freaks of Fashion

Chico San’s exhibition, The Freaks of Fashion, opens at KCAC October 2nd.
We ask all guests who plan to visit us in our galleries to plan ahead and sign up to visit us through our website at Kansascityartistscoalition.org
Groups of five people are fewer are welcome in the galleries during open hours. Masks are required.

Artist Statement:I often find myself wanting to deface something, or perhaps, having a desire to add dialogue or imagery where my input is unnecessary or unwanted. Sometimes it is warranted and invited, as with collaborative efforts. I could be adding to an already bizarre composition, or juxtaposing the bizarre with the mundane. I’m reacting to preexisting imagery and what I superimpose onto that imagery. However, within these pages of paper dolls, I’m changing the overall mood or narrative with my imagery, without permission, with the intent to be absurd. In the series “Freaks of Fashion” I’m taking the pages of many different eras of paper doll fashion books and transforming them into an encyclopedia of beasts and creatures from some other dimension or universe, who somehow, through pure chance, found that perfect outfit for that special gala or cocktail party.

Artist Bio:Artist Chico San enjoys wrastlin’ with his cat, Surgarbear. When He’s not getting clawed up and gnawed on, he spends his time smearing around paint and ink to create absurd images that originate from his interests in horror, sci-fi, and cartoons. Fuel for these meanderings is also derived from various types of musical notes that float about in the air at high decibels. Some results include horrific zombi portraiture, bizarro world interior spaces, sociopolitical commentary, and grotesque humorous portrayals of the human condition. The underlying theme in Chico San’s art is heavily grounded in the subconscious and dream states of our existence.
Presently, Chico San is finally getting around to that one project that he’s been tinkering on for quite some time. While not a fashion designer or an avid fashionista, Chico San has taken an interest in adding dialogue to centuries of fashion history by blending reality with his absurd imagination. The outcome is a collection of illustrations depicting the history of fashion trends amalgamated with the bizarre and garish imagery of an avid horror and sci-fi fanatic.