M. Mararian's Inky Dreadfuls artist Michael Mararian is set to launch his latest exhibition entitled Phobias, Foibles and Fiends, at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, California. Featuring all new works with an installation of over thirty macabre ink renderings; Mararian's most extensive collection of works since his two sold-out exhibitions at Corey Helford Gallery. Mararian's drawings reflect a humorous, yet intensely personal examination of lost innocence in our modern society, dealing with psychological fears, character flaws, and complexes of the human id. Inspired by his previous exhibition at Corey Helford Gallery, Little Unfortunates, Mararian magnifies the three different traits his subjects embody, "phobias, foibles, and fiends".

Each work goes through a highly detailed process with each canvas hand drawn in various ink forms, crudely brushed and scratched at times for a gritty, textured aesthetic. His are nostalgic scenarios of childhood naiveté with a charming, sinister twist. Beginning first with a drawing then initial strokes in black India ink, Mararian then uses rapidographs, archival brush pens, to smudge and blend, creating dramatic effects. The subjects are drawn as if they are paper cutouts, evoking Victorian paper dolls, and acting as a bridge for the viewer between traditional virtues and modern day corruption. This technique also serves to create a focal point for the works and narrative. Mararian expresses the dark side of human nature through his family portraits. On a visual level, by allotting each artwork a distinctly shaped frame to define its character, Mararian subtly intensifies the viewer's response. Squares represent fear, circles wrath, and rectangles symbolize faults and weakness.

Well worth checking out if you are in the neighborhood, with the exhbition opening in July you have plenty of time to plan around it. The show will run from July 19 through August 9. In the meantime take a look at some of his work below to get a feel of his work.