Rick Zar

Born in San Pedro, CA in 1963, Rick Zar is the son of painter James Zar and the brother of "Painter of Dark" Chet Zar. He works primarily with light and glass and is noted for freeing the medium of neon art from its shop setting, creating live, on-site neon sculptures and kinetic neon environments. Zar's innovative creation of miniature neon as small as 1 mm in diameter and as great as 30' long, gives his 3-D and photographic works a distinctive and visionary style. bio 1981-1992: Worked for neon artist Larry Albright at his studio in Venice Beach, CA. Projects include Star Trek 2 and 3, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Batman Returns, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, The Abyss, refurbishment of the "Mothership" model from Close Encounters of the Third Kind for the Smithsonian Institute, 976-Evil, Frankenstien Unbound 2000, Captain Eo, and various Larry Albright sculptures commissioned by Micheal Jackson among others. Artists he worked with include Museum of Neon Art founder Lili Lakich, James Turrell, Brian Coleman, Micheal Hayden, Walt Disney Imagineering, and many other neon/light artists of the 1980's and early 1990's. 1989-1992: Created numerous lightning and neon art installations for the underground rave/club scene in Los Angeles including Aphrodite's Temple, Shiva's Erotic Banquet and regular exhibits at Flammable Liquid, the first after-hours club to appear on the West Coast. 2009-present: Returned to creating and exhibiting neon works in various gallery group shows throughout Los Angeles, creating sculptures, neon paintings with artist Meesha Goldberg, light photography utilizing kinetic neon, and innovative live neon installation.