Phantasmaphile

Nils Karsten

Nils Karsten has a new show up at the Marvelli Gallery, and it is, of course, exceptional.   I love the way he juxtaposes whimsy and horror.  Innocence is twisted, childhood is shown to be an inner playground where memory and fantasy merge.  Technically, Karsten is a master of rendering.  It takes the utmost skill and confidence to draw something so beautifully - bordering on photorealism - and then scribble all over it.  It's as if he defaces his own work, almost tourettically spewing out image on top of image.  Each piece is like a fever dream. Phenomenal work.

Happy

I admit it - I was one of those kids who was obsessed with mermaids and fairies and addicted to She-Ra and  who would buy books of spells from the Waldenbooks at the nearby mall.  I loved surrealist art and read mythology and listened to Tori Amos albums on repeat.  I yearned for a life that was infused with magic.  Suburban New Jersey was a far cry from the forests found in fairytales, but in my bedroom I created a cocoon of escape and enchantment, filled with books and music and imagery which nourished me.  Years later, I find myself an adult with a corporate job in New York City.  While many people grow out of their nerdy childhood phases, I find myself in a later incarnation of mine.  My aesthetic hasn't changed much over the course of my life: my Brooklyn apartment is crammed to the seams with alchemy books and art magazines and pictures of impossible creatures.  What can I say - it makes me happy.  And hopefully, it'll make you happy, too.  Enjoy Phantasmaphile!