Chris Darst

Chris Darst

Art took shape for me as a political and social-activist designing late-night guerrilla installations in San Francisco, long ago. Then sculpture caught my attention with the promise of hammering away at stony resistance until it gave way to beauty; and an oxyacetylene torch for bending metal to my will, into forms that gave voice to those who couldn’t speak for themselves. It was cathartic and fulfilling, but as my activism segued into equal justice I started to question sculpture as a suitable medium. And when the nine-foot Supreme Court penis I’d sculpted didn’t sell, and required storage, I began painting.

My paintings are still loosely based on social problems most people want to forget. So instead, I focus on their creative solutions. I’ve delved deep into my subconscious for the answers, so the images are painlessly oblique, sometimes whimsical, often surreal, but always in living color.

Email: chris@chrisdarst.com
Website: chrisdarst.com