Visual Arts Review: “Together in Dreams: A Tribute to David Lynch”

Matty Ryan Tobin’s Together in Dreams (photos courtesy of Outpost 512)

Outpost 512 is itself a Lynchian dreamscape, a narrow gallery space with black-and-white checkered floors that’s guarded by painted eyes on its exterior. Inside, walls of clustered cinematic art stare at the interloping viewer, faces of familiar characters gazing in various forms of fear or beguilement. Where better to lay out PBR and cherry pie as an offering to film god David Lynch?

“Together in Dreams: A Tribute to David Lynch” was already in the works before the director’s death this January. It’s percolated since last fall, according to Outpost 512 owner Steven Piper. An Eighties-drenched dreamscape, Outpost 512 is a slice of pop culture art heaven tucked away in Taylor, Texas. Which, hey, don’t sleep on Taylor. We at the Chronicle have already shared some reasons why it’s a northeastern gem. But I’d recommend jumping into that car to get a taste of Lynch through the eyes of illustration giants from the heyday of Mondo art.

Scott C’s David and His Friends

Because yes, Mondo superfan Steven Piper has brought work by that perfectly pulpy stable of artists back to Texas with this exhibit. Over 40 folks contributed Lynch-themed pieces to “Together in Dreams,” most of which stemmed from Piper’s connections fostered at MondoCon or other forums. While most agreed to make a piece pre-2025, some creatives reached out to Piper after Lynch’s death, resulting in a truly terrific tribute to one of the only directors with an adjectival style. With original paintings, limited screenprints, toys, and even a sculpture, the sheer breadth of artistic variety on display overwhelms the mind. As one of cinema’s greatest wild cards, Lynch himself would probably appreciate the way these artists play with form and delivery in their heartfelt homages.

Just like Lynch’s oeuvre, the blend of nostalgic Americana against unsettling surrealism leads an enticing dissonance to the exhibit. It delivers some of the most distressing images from his film catalog in adorable forms – like Scott C’s David and His Friends, where cartoon versions of movie characters crowd around a seated Lynch, who himself is holding the Eraserhead baby, no longer disgustingly reptilian but instead a smiling cherub of a swaddled creature. Or Corey Cohen’s photo of the demonic Bob from Twin Peaks, rendered as a leering Lego mini. A mixed-media shadowbox by Taylor local Mark Slonsky captures tension with a tiny, rose-covered white picket fence over actual artificial turf, the picture of suburban bliss – until it’s interrupted by a sculpted severed ear nestled in the grass. It’s as bracing as when Kyle MacLachlan encountered a similar scene in Blue Velvet.

There are dreamy noir-toned works as well, realism couched in absurdity. Nathan Anderson presents a Lost Highway work with character heads radiating from yellow road lines. Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette appear eerily accurate despite their colored-pencil origins. Artist Suspiria Vilchez (aka Suspirialand) paints the heroines from Mulholland Drive in profile, seeming to glow from within despite emerging from a blood-red swirl.

Jayson Weidel’s Twin Peaks

While many works center around screen references, there are several dedicated to Lynch himself. Artist Matty Ryan Tobin contributes three photorealistic images of Lynch’s head bobbing in a coffee cup. I found a grayscale, hyperfocused rendition of the director’s face by Jayson Weidel particularly striking. Each wrinkle and wisp of hair is sharply realized, but the upper edges of his shocking gray tuft fade into shadowy trees from a Washington forest.

In the end, it’s a show as dynamically diverse as David Lynch himself. Passionate and niche, but if you’re on that wavelength, truly a dream come true.

“Together in Dreams: A Tribute to David Lynch”

Outpost 512

Through April 31