Travis Louie Show + Book Signing @ Roq la Rue

The success of Travis Louie's work rests on his uncanny ability to juggle two completely contradictory tendencies at once. On the one hand, the aesthetic of his work is a brilliant pastiche; with photorealistic precision, he carefully crafts works that nail the particular qualities of Victorian photographs that makes them look incredibly "real." On the other, he's creating a dream world of monsters that never existed in reality. And beyond the simple derangement of the creatures he portrays with life-like faithfulness, he adds yet another layer of complexity by crafting them with these inscrutable facial expressions. It's verisimilitude meets fantasy meets something deeper, and the magic of how all those layers collapse is what gives his work its oddly compelling quality and charm.

These portraits of "imaginary relatives" have been brought together in a bestiary, complete with back stories, just published this year, Travis Louie's Curiosities. Tonight at the opening at Roq la Rue, the artist will be signing copies of the book, which will be for sale in the gallery.

6-9 p.m. // Roq la Rue // 2312 Second Ave. // free