“‘POP’ Indelible Mark,” through Jan. 6, 2023, Mezz Gallery Renaissance Allentown Hotel, features the work of Lehigh Valley artists Chris Jones and Dylan Collazo.

“Classical American art has become Pop art,” says Deborah Rabinsky, who curated the exhibit, adding, “Pop art is something that changes history, personal history, political history and social thoughts.”

“Mötley Crüe” (2022; mixed media on canvas, 28 in. x 38 in.) by Jones pays tribute to iconic rock stars of the 1980s.

“I tried to capture the ’80s and decadence in that painting of Mötley Crüe,” says Jones. “I’m real happy with the painting, that people got what I was trying to do.” Jones rendered the work in acrylic and spray paint with multiple layers of chrome.

“Allentown” (2022; oil, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 60 in. x 36 in.) features familiar buildings from Allentown’s center city, including PPL Tower, Grand Plaza (PPL Plaza) and former Hess’s parking garage exit ramp. Jones points out other elements in the work, including Allentown’s iconic hanging garden street lamps.

As a teen, Jones took art courses in high school and at The Baum School of Art. He attended Kutztown University for commercial art.

“I just started doing my own thing, exploring through photography and just working,” says Jones.

Jones, whose career spans 40 years, has a studio at the Cigar Factory Artist Studios, Allentown, where he is involved with the Alternative Gallery, and another at his home in Alburtis.

Collazo’s “Life and Times: Story of Caine” (2019; acrylic on canvas, 60 in. x 48 in.) is a self-portrait of the artist holding his infant son. There are magazines on the table next to them.

“Each are exemplifying different aspects and facets of what I imagine our legacy is going to unfold to,” Collazo says. “My son Caine was born in 2022. “I call this a prophesy table.”

People with one normal eye paired with one angled eye are common throughout Collazo’s paintings in the exhibit, including portraits of Fidel Castro and pop culture characters.

“I use the eye as a portal,” says Collazo, describing how he studies a subject’s character, “tying our identities together.”

Collazo works out of his home studio in Northampton. A graduate of Dieruff High School, he received a global marketing and management degree at Kutztown University and an MBA at Cedar Crest College. Collazo works in the healthcare field. Art is his passion. “This is what I imagine will be my legacy for my son when I’m gone.”

Arthaus at the Mezz is a partnership between RE:find and the Allentown Arts Commission.

Arthaus at the Mezz, mezzanine level gallery, Renaissance Allentown Hotel, 12 N. Seventh St., Allentown. Information: 484-273-4000; https://www.marriott.com

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com