EXCLUSIVE: Dark Horse to publish SACRED DECAY: THE ART OF LAUREN MARX in 2020

Dark Horse Comics is expanding their line of art books with a new collection of fine art by St. Louis-based artist Lauren Marx. In an announcement exclusive to The Beat, the publisher has unveiled Sacred Decay: The Art of Lauren Marx, a 120-page oversized hardcover collection of pieces by the artist. The book will feature work from Marx’s upcoming gallery exhibition, “Chimera,” which is set to open at the Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 14th, and run through January 18th, 2020.

Marx combines mixed media with pen-and-ink illustration to create striking images that juxtapose the beauty and grotesquerie of life and death. In a statement regarding the “Chimera” exhibit, Marx describes the evolution and themes of the work featured:

“I’m combining my previous themes and concepts of fauna representations of emotions, personal mental health, family, and self in an effort to begin creating a mythological world, centered around North American flora and fauna, to better expresses my image of who I am, how I am perceived, my struggles with mental health, and to explore self-healing.”

For Dark Horse, Marx’s Sacred Decay joins a small handful of other previous art books that are not based on video games or films. Comic artists like Michael Avon Oeming and James Stokoe have had art books released by the publisher; Dark Horse has also put out books featuring the work of artists Tara McPherson and Camilla D’Errico, the latter of whom has had three volumes published so far.

Check out the cover to the forthcoming art book below. You can also see a selection of her work over on Marx’s website. With a retail price of $29.99, Sacred Decay: The Art of Lauren Marx is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 22, 2020.