This is a collection of paintings, a one-man bestiary of monsters, weirdos, beasties, and anthropomorphs, all painted in Furie's meticulous brand of representational surrealism. Furie's cheerful, anthropomorphic comics character, Pepe the Frog, became a meme that was appropriated by hate groups (as seen in the documentary Feels Good Man, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.) Furie’s recent paintings reflect this experience. This is a showcase for an unsettling menagerie; creatures seem to be hiding their true intentions. Furie is plumbing darker depths in these works, despite the paintings' inviting colors and friendly cartoon iconography.
Matt Furie is from Columbus, Ohio. He is the subject of the documentary Feels Good Man, which is about how his gentle character, Pepe the Frog, was co-opted. Winner of the best Visual Artist in the San Francisco Bay Guardian's 20th annual Goldie awards, he's exhibited in the U.S. and Europe. Furie is also an accomplished illustrator; in addition to his comic book series Boy's Club, he's published a children's book, The Night Riders. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.