Phantasmaphile

Stuart Kolakovic, again

Stuart Kolakovic

I've written about Stuart Kolakovic before, but couldn't resist posting this new piece by him today.  I love its clever 60s spin on the dark arts.  Happy Halloween everyone!

Renata Palubinskas

Renata Palubinskas  "Girl and Devil"

I was introduced to the work of Renata Palubinskas by art empress Lori Field.  Each piece feels like some dark painted parable.  I love beautiful creepiness - it gets me in the mood for Halloween.

3 Years!

Remedios Varo  "Papilla Estelar"  1958

Hard to believe, but today marks the three year anniversary of Phantasmaphile.  It all started with this post in 2005, and my intent in starting the site was simply to celebrate and share all of the juicy stuff that inspires me and enriches my life.  Little did I know it would lead me to making dear friends, meeting many of my art hero(ine)s, and connecting with likeminded readers and bloggers from around the globe.  I chose the above image for today's post, as it is by one of my all-time favorite painters, the incomparable Remedios Varo, and also for its profound depiction of nourishment.  I want to say THANK YOU for your enthusiasm, devotion, and support of Phantasmaphile - it has fed me and made my world all the more vibrant. 

Nono Bandera

Nono Bandera  "Rivales"  1997

Nono Bandera has got it all.  Beauty, oddness, and a bit of perversion just to see if you're paying attention.  It's a rare, wonderful thing to encounter art that makes you laugh and swoon at once.

Via

Ashley Brown

Ashley Brown

The confines of this site frustrate me when I encounter extravagantly detailed drawings like those of Ashley Brown.  You simply must click on this piece to view it larger.  I have been a bit obsessed with shamanism lately, so Brown's streaming, magical works are really hitting the spot.  I just love her sparing use of neon colors, don't you?

Via

"Magic Collection of a Gentleman" Auction

Swann Auction Galleries is at it again.  Original vintage magic posters, books, and objects are being auctioned off on October 28th at 1pm, and can be yours for the keeping.  Or, if you'd rather save your pennies, you may simply visit the gallery at the following times and view the pieces museum-style: 

Friday, October 24, 10-6
Saturday, October 25, 10-4
Monday, October 27, 10-6
Tuesday, October 28, 10-noon

Can't wait to go myself and snag a catalog.

Mia

Mia  "Two Virgins" 

I simply adore the wide-eyed, rose-toned lasses in Mia's vibrant, fanciful paintings.  You can see her work in Andrew Michael Ford's lovely group show of up-and-coming lady pop surrealists.  Called "In the Language of Angels," it will be at Ad Hoc Art from October 24th through November 23rd.  Tasty.

Roz Foster

Roz Foster  "Intergalactic Wings & Helmet - A New Kind of Immortal"  2008

I can't get enough of Roz Foster's work.  She creates advertisements for otherworldly products like glo-pipes, omnivident monocles, and intergalactic wing and helmet sets.  Hmmm, the holidays are just around the corner - maybe I'll put some of these on my wishlist. 

Via   

Tadanori Yokoo

Tadanori Yokoo

I have loved Tadanori Yokoo's work since I was small, don't know why it never struck me until now to post about him here.  A pioneer of psychedelic graphic design, he has created some of the most memorable album covers and posters from the 60s and 70s using his signature hypercolor palette.  He is also a magnificent painter, whose work utilizes various styles from art history.  Such marvelous madness! 

Jim O'Raw

Jim O'Raw 

I like when my mythology goes a bit dark at the edges, and this apocalyptic unicorn piece by Jim O'Raw is a fine example.  His technique is deceptively simple and surgically exacting:  he layers colored xeroxes on top of the same paper, building up a sort of printed parfait.

Via 

The Mindscape of Alan Moore DVD

As you probably know by now, Alan Moore is one of my living heroes.  The genius/magus responsible for such masterpieces as Promethea, Watchmen , and V for Vendetta can now wax lyrical for you right in your living room via the very fine double disc DVD entitled The Mindscape of Alan Moore - finally available in the US.  In it, Moore discusses his views on creativity, culture, and magic, and is, like the best tricksters, a human divining rod for mystic truths and ballbusting, alternately.  The second disc includes interviews with collaborators and cohorts of Moore's including artistic luminary Melinda Gebbie (one of my favorite interviews of all time, I wish I could make everyone on earth watch it) and Dave Gibbons.  As an added bonus the spectacular DVD designwork is all done by the brilliant John Coulthart, and is a perfect envelope for the cranial carnival contained therein. 

Madeline von Foerster show!

Madeline von Foerster  "Redwood Cabinet"  2008

Phantasmaphile friend Madeline von Foerster has a brand new show opening at the Berlin branch of Strychnin, from November 7th - December 6th.  Entitled "Waldkammer" (or "Forest Cabinet") these paintings are as politically charged as they are expertly painted.  Each piece is an imagined curiosity cabinet, with various species and natural wonders being depicted as precious treasures which may all too soon become rare, if not - heaven forbid - entirely extinct.  The wooden, female forms strike me as new variations on the goddess.  Call her what you will - Mother Nature, Gaia, Mary, Isis, Venus, Ishtar, etc - she is shown here as a guardian of the outdoors and its myriad inhabitants. 

Lyndon Wade

Lyndon Wade  "Marina the Mermaid"

I just came across the madcap photography of Lyndon Wade, and rushed right over here to share with you all.  I love his sleek and sassy interpretations of circus sideshow acts, and his impeccable digital technique.  Do click on the above image to enjoy the lighting and detail more fully.

Via

Shepard Fairey print

Shepard Fairey  "Rose Girl"  2008                          

Shepard Fairey certainly isn't lacking media coverage, but this piece from our generation's Warhol incarnate is so bewilderingly beautiful I had to post it.  And it can be yours to own, as it is being released as a limited edition print of 450, for only $100 each.  You can buy one only in person at Irvine Contemporary in DC, in conjunction with the group show, "Regime Change Starts at Home," up from October 18th - December 6th.

Via 

Lois Guarino

Lois Guarino

I came across Lois Guarino's monograph, Wonders, Miracles, and Magic, at the Omega bookshop this weekend, and was floored by the images I found therein.  Guarino is a photographer who then digitally enhances her shots to depict various forms of divination and dreams.  I love the subtle details she adds to each piece:  look closely at the above pendulum picture for example, and you'll see two faces ghosted within the bottom half of the circle.  Powerful and beautifully executed.

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

It was brought to my attention that I have been remiss in posting about the visionary photography dream team, Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison.  What better time to correct this than now, when they have not one but two substantial shows on.  "Counterpoint" opens today at the Jack Shainman gallery here in NYC, and will be up through November 8th.  This is a collection of recent work, and looks to be my favorite period of theirs to date, full as it is with bees and candles and odd floating figures.  "Restoration," a mid-career retrospective will be up at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City from October 11th through February 8th, 2009.  

(Thank you, Samantha!)

Anthony Goicolea

Anthony Goicolea  "Matrimony"  2006

It took me ages to decide which of Anthony Goicolea's magnificent drawings to showcase here.  He uses his divine gift for color and composition to tell unsettling tales about the beauty and pain of childhood.  One is unsure exactly what is going on in each piece, which makes the viewing experience all the richer and more compelling.

Christopher Reiger

Christopher Reiger

My pal Jessica Palmer's post last night on her wonderful blog, Bioephemera, reminded me that I've been meaning to write about an artist for whom we share mutual affection.  I'm crazy about Christopher Reiger's technicolor nature paintings, but it's his smaller, more surreal ink drawings which made me first fall for his work.  There is a delicacy and whimsy to them that hits me just so.

Still Life with Woodpecker

I just reread one of my favorite books from when I was a teenager, Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.  I'm overjoyed to report that it is even better than I remembered, and found myself furiously scribbling line after line in my quote notebook - like this one:

"What are you looking for in a typewriter?" the salesman asked.

"Something more than words, " I replied.  "Crystals.  I want to send my reader armloads of crystals, some of which are the colors of orchids and peonies, some of which pick up radio signals from a secret city that is half Paris and half Coney Island."

And that is just from the intro.  If you are looking for a book with some of the most exuberant, florid language you've ever read, and that is satirical, sexy, mystical, and surreal, then this is the story for you.  It is also chock full of blackberries, pyramids, lunar mythology, royalty, love, and dynamite.  You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Elizabeth Haidle

Elizabeth Haidle  "Crustaceofleur"

Who doesn't love a fauna-floral hybrid?  Elizabeth Haidle is a master of this burgeoning art subject, who, alongside such talents as Amy Ross and Amy Walsh, embellishes nature with a mad scientist flair.  Perhaps someday soon, geneticists will create these beings in real life.  Until then, we have gorgeous works like this one to set our imaginations whirring.

Andy Kehoe

Andy Kehoe  " The Flood Brings Curious Encounters"  2008

This painting by Andy Kehoe makes me think of Falkor, the luck dragon from one of my favorite movies, The NeverEnding Story.  You can see more of Kehoe's friendly monsters and forest encounters at his upcoming show "The Wonder" at Black Maria Gallery from October 25th - November 15th.

Via

Oladios

Oladios  "Hey you and me"

I am completely captivated by the photography of Oladios.  Her gorgeously composed work is filled with mood, mystery, and kitties.  What more could one ask for?

Via

Vox Anon

Vox Anon  from The Unicorn Man  2008

Here's what I know about artist/writer Vox Anon:  1.  He is a he.  2.  He lives in Philly.  3.  He creates some of the most eye-boggling digital collage work I've seen in a while.  Esoteric symbols, clip art, and curious diagrams collide to create densely cluttered yet elegant black and white homages to spirit and science.  His book of work, The Unicorn Man, is available here.