Chris Crites recreates found mug shots from the 1890’s through the 1950’s, painted on paper bags. The effect of these voyeuristic works is both morose and darkly nostalgic.

Years ago I saw a book of black and white crime photographs from the past. It was amazing. The crashed cars, dead bodies and crime scenes, all looked like surreal glimpses into the history of human interaction. Much more intriguing were the mug shots. Portraits of people who had just been caught. Despair, frustration, anger – so many expressions could be read on the faces. Each one of them had a story. I have no idea what their real story was, but its hard not to make one up. Judgment comes almost naturally when you see a face. This is partly why I paint them, to bring out another possible story, to give them life again for people to look at and think about. My color choice may be seemingly random, but is an ongoing experiment.

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PRESS MATERIALS
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High resoultions images are available upon request.