Wizard Behind the Solar Curtain, by Christopher Villarreal

Christopher Villarreal is showing Wizard Behind the Solar Curtain at the Salt Lake City Public Library Chapman Branch, 577 South 900 West. The exhibition runs from September 25 through November 13, with an opening reception on Tuesday, October 13, at 10 AM.

Villarreal is a Salt Lake City illustrator whose work pulls from mythology, symbolism, occultism, and astrology, all seen through a surrealist and fantastical lens. He was born and raised in Ancon, Panama, and started drawing comic characters like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when he was very young. His current practice blends dark surrealism, fantasy, expressionism, and comics, and the show brings together works in ink, graphite, and brush on Bristol paper and illustration board.

There's a musical side to his work, too. He plays in a local grindcore band called Crepusculum, whose songs lean into the idea of cryptids living among us. He's also working toward a comic that fully immerses the viewer in his world of dark fantasy, and this show gives you a look at the kind of imagery that builds it.

The exhibition is free to visit, so you can drop in whenever you're near the Chapman branch between September 25 and November 13. If you want to catch the opening reception, that's Tuesday, October 13, at 10 AM.