The Art of Fiction

Having an artist paint your portrait is a statement to the world that you've arrived. You're the Queen of England, you're a captain of industry, you're a wealthy egotist with some bare wall space that needs covering — whoever you are, when you hang that portrait of yourself, you're declaring (in about a thousand words, if clichés are to be believed), "I am way important." Which is great and all, but what does it mean when an art show is stocked with nothing but portraits of fictional characters? Famous Fictional, the new exhibit at Mad Art (2727 South 12th Street), provides an answer to that smoldering question, which is some combination of "The artist feels this character is way important to him or her personally," and "It's fun to walk into a gallery and see an image of RoboCop reading while sitting on the can." Brian Hurtt, Anchovy, Brian Yap (whose work is pictured), Sacha Mardou and Jenny Cimino are just some of the artists who provide new representations of beloved characters from films, books and television. Famous Fictional opens with a free public reception from 7 to 11 p.m. on Friday, January 4, and the show remains up through Monday, January 28. Call 314-771-8230 or visit www.madart.com for information regarding Mad Art's regular business hours.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Jan. 4. Continues through Jan. 28, 2008