Chris Mars: A Retrospective

"We are thrilled to bring Chris Mars’ poignant and visually stunning work back to The Phipps," says Lee Ann Pomplas, Arts Engagement Director. "This retrospective offers our community a rare, comprehensive look into his evolution as both a painter and a filmmaker."

The exhibition brings together decades of Mars' varied and prolific artwork. Richly figurative and often unsettling, his paintings and drawings reflect his longstanding interest in outsiders and those who exist at the margins of society. His eldest brother's lifelong struggles with schizophrenia, and society's response to it, deeply influenced his work. His own empathy and imagination found expression in a distinct visual language which asks viewers to question the nature of ugliness and beauty, arguing that both can only be determined through the exploration of character, spirit, intent, and action.

Using refined technique and casual realism, Mars draws viewers into work that touches on xenophobia, ostracization, prejudice, mercy, hope, and community. His paintings prompt questions about who the heroes and villains truly are, both in his work and in the world, and how such judgments are made.

As a complement to the exhibition, the Phipps will present a screening of Mars’ award-winning animated short films at the Phipps Center's John H. Potter Theater on Saturday, October 24, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the artist.

The screening includes a selection of Mars' acclaimed short films along with the premiere of Street Corner Stories. Mars' films have screened at festivals worldwide, including Sundance, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Toronto Environmental Film Festival, the Jerusalem International Film Festival, SXSW, Cinequest, Palm Springs Shortfest, and Denver Starz.

About Chris Mars:
Chris Mars, of Northfield, MN, has painted predominantly in oils for the past twenty years, and also works in pencil, pastels, scratchboard, acrylic, and film, including animation and augmented live action. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Mars is a self-taught artist. As a teenager, he was a founding member of the seminal post-punk band The Replacements and has released seven solo albums since the band's breakup in 1991.

Mars' artwork has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe, including at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Museum of the City of Los Angeles, Casa dell'Architettura/Acquario (Rome), Musée de la Bande Dessinée (Angoulême, France), the Laguna Art Museum (CA), the Torrance Art Museum (CA), the Museum of Modern Art (NY), and Halle Saint Pierre (Paris), and is held in numerous public collections. His most recent monograph, 7:42PM, was released in 2024.

In 2019, Mars co-founded Mutt Mutt Engine, a dog rescue charity that has saved more than 3,200 dogs. He lives and works in Northfield with his wife, Sally, and their six rescue dogs.

Showing alongside Mars at the Phipps is the mixed media sculpture of Jeremy Jones in Gallery One and the wood sculpture of Tim Byrns in the Atrium Gallery.

Purchase film screening tickets here