How the Ox Star Fell From Heaven / 2025 / Chris Crites / Acrylic ink on library borrower's card / 3 x 5 inches / $100

This piece is part of the “Catalogued” collection by Seattle artist, Chris Crites on display through July 6th, 2025. All pieces purchased from this collection will ship out after the show closes in early July.

From the artist: “Yes, I am obsessed with mug shot photographs. There is something about the landscape of the face, the range of expression and emotion of people who have just been picked up by police. This collection is painted on old library cards of discarded books from the elementary school library where my wife works. 

Combining the discarded cataloging record of a book with an image of a forgotten but cataloged human being creates an enjoyable yet question raising object.” 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Chris Crites painted his first 4 mug shots in acrylic on paper bag in 1999. Seriously focusing on the subject matter of arrest photographs in acrylic since 2002, he has developed and refined his brightly colored, limited palette style. Adding popular culture icons, musicians, commissioned portraiture, mushroom clouds, nudes and crime scenes to his body of work, Crites has shown and been published across the United States, Europe and Canada. Chris is also an independent curator and lives in Seattle with his wife and cats.