Paco Pomet combines the best parts of vintage photography and Surrealist painting to create bizarre, science-fiction homages. Seemingly ripped straight from an episode of the Twilight Zone, the Spanish artist's mesmerizing paintings depict mysterious masked figures wielding lightsabers or retro cars equipped with brains for engines.
"Humor is very important," Pomet explained in an email to The Huffington Post. "Humor and comedy don't always seem to be important for the high-brow art world, which is really sad. But a few people whose art was absolutely essential for me are the cartoonist Gary Larson, the Marx Brothers and the comedians of Monty Python."
Pomet finds inspiration in 19th and 20th century black-and-white photography, transforming images from old books, magazines and photo albums into eerie new landscapes. Influenced by the "black paintings" of Francisco de Goya or the lush brushstrokes of contemporary artist Gerhard Richter, Pomet creates whimsical, strange and sometimes frightening works of art that attempt to bring humor and misery to the canvas at the same time.
"It's a game of opposing elements," Pomet added. "Antithetical ideas that are unified in my paintings and cause a mysterious and ambiguous reaction in viewers."
Scroll through the slideshow below for a peek at the artist's unusual brand of absurd paintings. Let us know your thoughts on the clever creations in the comments.
