Phantasmaphile

Riikka Sormunen

Riikka Sormunen  "Thunder"

Riikka Sormunen's illustrations have it all:  fairytale logic, roiling sexuality, and unbelievably fresh colors and composition.  Seriously, someone needs to stage an intervention for me here, because I cannot.  look.  away.  You can follow her on her blog as well, which seems to have some different images than her site does.

(Thank you so much, Deborah!)

Edith Rimmington

Edith Rimmington  "The Decoy"  1948

Here's yet another artist from the past I'm appalled to have not heard of before now.  Edith Rimmington was a member of the London surrealist community in the 30s and 40s, and her work is lovely lovely.  Sadly, I was not able to find many examples of it online, but there are a few great ones reproduced in the most excellent book Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement by Whitney Chadwick. 

Teetering Bulb

Teetering Bulb  "Dragon Egg"  2009 (from upcoming graphic novella Troglodyte Rose)

I have been meaning to post about illustration team Teetering Bulb for months now, and had the good fortune of meeting Zelda Devon and Kurt Huggins last week.  Nothing like seeing someone in person to remind you that you oughta post about their brilliant work already!  They have perfected the pencil-meets-Photoshop technique, resulting in breathtaking, moody pictures which tell marvelous tales.  Also check out their gorgeous comic online right now at Tor.  Can't wait to see more from these two.

(And thanks, Samantha!)

Erika Somogyi

Erika Somogyi  "Self Portrait as the Lost Coast"  2008

Yet another hat tip to Meighan for turning me on to one more superb artist.  Erika Somogyi depicts the interconnection between spirit and nature with such intelligence and grace.  It's so easy to dismiss the concept of being "At One with Everything," but she reminds us how true - and truly beautiful - of a maxim it really is.   Her paintings stir me at my core, and make me breathe easier. 

Yuval Pudik

Yuval Pudik                                                        

I chose this drawing by Yuval Pudik to showcase his flawless rendering skills and riotous imagination, but it was only after much deliberation.  But please do go to his site, and gaze at his other harp-headed, S&M booted, tree-topped creatures as well.  Pudik is like Robert Longo on hallucinogens. 

(Thanks, Pete!)

Thoth Tarot Lecture with Jesse Bransford at Observatory!

OBSERVATORY and Phantasmaphile proudly present:

Layered Orders: Crowley's Thoth Deck and the Tarot

(a personal narrative by Jesse Bransford)

Date: Friday, July 17th
Time: 7:30pm
Admission: Free

A deck given to his brother by his mother in 1986 sat in Jesse Bransford’s childhood bedroom from the early 90’s until recently, delivering itself into Bransford’s possession at an opportune moment...

The Tarot in general and Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot in particular represent a miasmic confluence of image and thought into a single structure that is both liberating and overwhelming in its scope. In creating the deck, Crowley (in collaboration with painter Lady Frieda Harris) sought to integrate the mythological structures of the major mystical systems of both Western and Eastern occult traditions and to bring them into line with contemporary scientific thinking. The symbolism of the cards blends Kabbalah, Alchemy, Astrology, Egyptian mythology, quantum physics and even the I-Ching in ways that are at the same time clear and utterly confounding.

In an image-soaked personal narration Bransford, whose research-based artwork has delved into many of the territories Crowley sought to unify, will discuss some of the basic concepts of Tarot symbolism, returning to Crowley’s deck as among the most total example of the cards’ syncretism and as the most controversial.

Jesse Bransford is a Brooklyn/Queens-based artist whose work has been exhibited internationally. He received a B.A. from the New School for Social Research, a B.F.A. from Parsons School of Design, both in 1996, and an M.F.A. from Columbia University in 2000. He is currently a Master Teacher with the post of Undergraduate Director at New York University where he has been teaching since 2001, as well as a member of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism.  His work is represented by Feature Inc. in New York, Kevin Bruk Gallery in Miami, Galerie Schmidt Maczollek in Köln, and Shaheen Modern and Contemporary Art in Cleveland. Images of his work, a complete bio and related articles can be seen at www.sevenseven.com/, a website he has continuously maintained since 1997.

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Directions:  ***PLEASE USE NEW ENTRANCE (see below)***

Observatory is located at 543 Union Street at Nevins.

Please enter Observatory via doorway on 543 Union St.

R or M train to Union Street in Brooklyn: Walk two long blocks on Union (towards the Gowanus Canal) to Nevins Street. 543 Union Street is the large red brick building on right.

F or G train to Carroll Street: Walk one block to Union. Turn right, walk two long blocks on Union towards the Gowanus Canal, cross the bridge.  543 Union Street is the large red brick building on the left.

For more information, see observatoryroom.org

Hope to see you all there!

Joshua Field

Joshua Field  "The Rebirth of Beauty in the Midst of Conflict"  2008

I can't for the life of me recall how I came upon Joshua Field's magical, muted work, but I am so glad I did.  I love his disjointed images which seem to be floating in an aetheric realm, communicating secret messages in some sort of visual code.  It's like dream hieroglyphics or rebus puzzles from the unconscious.  Beautiful.

Amir H. Fallah

Amir H. Fallah  "An Altar For Your Life, For your Death"  2008

Amir H. Fallah's mixed media work is chromatic, ecstatic, and laden with imagery to the point of near-collapse.  Working mainly with the idea of altars or pedestals, his totemic painted towers are stacked with collage elements and icons in a teetering frenzy.  You can see examples of Fallah's unique vision in person right now at SF's Catherine Clark Gallery, where he has pieces in the group show "Remix" up through August 15th.

Shana Robbins

Shana Robbins  "I Found My Aura"  2005

Once again, I find myself poaching from Lori Field's tumblr page.  Shana Robbins is a painter and a performance artist who plays with ideas of ritual and transformation.  Her work feels really fresh to me: magical, humorous at times, and emotionally nuanced.

Florine Stettheimer

 
Florine Stettheimer  "Family Portrait II" 1933

Every now and again, I'll discover an incredible new (though long deceased) artist who seems entirely and tragically absent from art history.  I stumbled upon the dreamy fauvist painting "Heat" by Florine Stettheimer during a trip to the Brooklyn Museum this weekend, and rushed to my computer to find out more about her as soon as I got home.  Sadly not much is written about her, and I came across only a handful of examples of her flowing, fantastically color-drenched work - and virtually all of them are washed out in jpeg form.  I did learn however, in a delicious twist of synchronicity, that Kenneth Anger was a fan as well, and his short film "Puce Moment" was inspired by her paintings.  Florine Stettheimer, I love your name, I love your art, and I will find out more about you, I promise.

Yinka Shonibare MBE show!

Yinka Shonibare MBE  "Leisure Lady (with Ocelots)"  2001

I've written about Yinka Shonibare MBE's work here before, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out about his mid-career retrospective opening tomorrow at the Brooklyn Museum.  I can't wait to be in a room filled with his headless wonders.  They are so smart - surreal and politically charged at once.  The show is up until September 20th, so plenty of time in which to make a plan to see it. 

As a side note, I must say I am so impressed with the Brooklyn Museum's choices these past couple of years.  The Hernan Bas, the Ron Mueck, permanently acquiring Judy Chicago's miraculous Dinner Party, and so on.  It has become one of my very favorite museums in the world.  Come to think of it, why aren't I a member already?

Trance, Chance, Dreams, & the Unconscious

Jesse Bransford  "The Door (Atu 18)"  2009

The amazing Jesse Bransford told me about a group show he is in that sounds utterly divine.  Trance, Chance, Dreams, & the Unconscious opens at SOUTHFIRST on Thursday, June 26th, and is up until August 2nd.  It is described thusly:

"...an exhibition of painting, drawings, dance, poetry, anthropology, sound work, architectural intervention and video, stars four methods for subverting mimetic composition and liner narrative: trance, chance, and the use of dreams and the unconscious."

I am so there.

Catherine Benedict

Catherine Benedict "The Bride" 

I don't know much about Catherine Benedict, the artist who calls herself Widgit.  I know she has a blog, and I know her work is absolutely exquisite.  Whether working in ink, felt, or embossed paper, her mythic creatures are as beautiful and lovingly crafted as they come.  Please click on the above image, so you can see it in all of its obsessively detailed glory.

Via

TONIGHT at Observatory!

Come see this lecture tonight at Observatory, our event space in Gowanus, Brooklyn:

An Iconography of the Industrial Body: Fritz Kahn, Popular Medical Illustration and the Visual Rhetoric of  Modernity

A presentation by Michael Sappol, author of A Traffic of Dead Bodies

Friday June 19th

7:30 PM

Free

This talk focuses on the publications of Fritz Kahn (1888-1968), a German-Jewish physician. Between 1920 and 1950, Kahn was a widely-read author of books and articles for the general public on medicine, health and science. His principal works, Das Leben des Menschen [The Life of Man] (5 vols.; Stuttgart, 1922-31) and Der Mensch: Gesund und Krank [Man: In Health and Sickness] (2 vols.; Zürich, 1939) feature thousands of illustrations. Influenced by Dada, neue Sachlichkeit, surrealism, futurism, Bauhaus, constructivism, Art Deco, neo-classicism, comic strips, photomontage, and advertising graphics, Kahn, and the artists working under his direction, visually explained how the human body works, based on the findings of modern biological science. At the same time, the images refer back to the chaos, violence, impasses, pleasures, dreams, and technological and sociocultural ambitions of early and mid-20th-century Germany. Kahn deployed a visual vocabulary of modernism to figure industrial modernity within the body and the body within industrial modernity. The result was a corpus of images and tropes which imagined a new body for the modern age. 

Image: Fritz Kahn, Das Leben des Menschen 5 (1931): 53. 

Retinal imaging and halftone printing compared.

Artist: Roman Rechn.

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Directions:

Observatory is located at 543 Union Street at Nevins.

Enter Observatory via Proteus Gowanus Gallery

R or M

 train to Union Street in Brooklyn: Walk two long blocks on Union (towards the Gowanus Canal) to Nevins Street. 543 Union Street is the large red brick building on right. Go right on Nevins and left down alley through large black gates. Gallery is the second door on the left.

F or G train to Carroll Street: Walk one block to Union. Turn right, walk two long blocks on Union towards the Gowanus Canal, cross the bridge, take left on Nevins, go down the alley to the second door on the left.

More information here: http://observatoryroom.org/

See you there!

Triple Header at Billy Shire

Carrie Ann Baade  "The Bride Stripping the Bachelors Bare"  2009

West coast folks, you need to get yourself to Billy Shire Fine Arts ASAP to check out the incredible show that's up now.  KS Rives, Christopher Ulrich, and my dear friend Carrie Ann Baade are exhibiting new work, and it is all thrillingly gorgeous.  I especially love the above piece by Ms. Baade - a very clever, femininely-charged reinterpretation of Duchamp's similarly titled work.  The show is up until July 4th.

Sara Antoinette Martin

Sara Antoinette Martin  "Apathy"                     

I met Sara Antoinette Martin at - you guessed it - MoCCA Fest.  (Are you sensing a theme here?)  She was there promoting her comic She Skull, Skeleton Warrior, which is super cool.  But it was her fine art which really captured my heart.  It's a bold, beautiful mixture of occult symbols, retro babes, and grotesquerie.  You can order prints and such from her online shop here.

Sandra Mack-Valencia

Sandra Mack-Valencia  "Above You is the Queen"  2008

It took me forever to decide which of Sandra Mack-Valencia's queen paintings to showcase here, and I'm still second guessing myself.  Each one is ornate, graphic, and totally spellbinding.  Here's my new word for them:  Surregal. 

Ken Brown show!

Ken Brown  "Mantis Beauty" postcard  1975

I've written about Ken Brown here before.  He is an exceedingly prolific artist/postcard designer/experimental filmmaker - and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  He has a quirky and imaginative sensibility, and plays with many styles, while still having his own unmistakable stamp.  A show of his postcards will be up at KIOSK from June 11th-20th, with an opening party on the 11th from 7-9pm.  You don't want to miss this.

Stavit Allweis

Stavit Allweis  "Hearts in Jeop." cover

One of my dearest discoveries at MoCCA is the artwork and comics of Stavit Allweis.  Her book, Hearts in Jeop., features the trails and tribulations of a heart-headed posse of ladies, and is at once fantastically beautiful and thrillingly perverse.  Her style is equal parts R. Crumb and Melinda Gebbie.  And her fine art is strange and stunning as well - check it out.

Jessica Langley

Jessica Langley  "Andrew (Aura)"  2009

I've mentioned here before how much I love the idea of aura photography.  Jessica Langley has a whole new take on it that is rocking my world.  Her "Displaced Auras" series needs, I think, no further explanation.  I find them to be elegantly simple and emotionally complex at once.

Amy Kligman

Amy Kligman  "Imaginary Friends"  2007

Amy Kligman depicts the strange, transformative time that is childhood in such a lovely way.  I am entranced by her candy-colored palette and mesmerizing patterns.  Her most recent work can be seen here.  Delish.

Coral Silverman

Coral Silverman  "The Unicorn Sees Itself" 

Coral Silverman's riffs on the famous Unicorn Tapestries are beyond delightful.  In other pieces in the series, we see a modernized version of the unicorn hunt, with gun-toting, shady fellows in hoodies.  The painting above makes me giddy.  I love its folksiness, tenderness, and curious exploration of identity.  Oddly touching, no?

Ira Cohen

Ira Cohen  "At the court of the Golden Emperor, the Majoon Traveler and Lady Firefly appear in the Hall of Unconscious Magnetism"  1966-70

I am on a bit of an Ira Cohen kick at the moment.  Visionary poet, and psychedelic photographer and filmmaker, he is perhaps best known for his opiate, phantasmagorical film, The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda.  One of his finest visual tricks is shooting via mylar, as evidenced by these gorgeous portraits of his mystic, artistic pals like Jimi Hendrix and Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Amy Earles

Amy Earles  "Telepathy"  2009

I learned about Amy Earles from JL Schnabel's scrumptious blog.  She creates paintings (some with moveable hinges!) that feature yougn girls who are not as innocent as they seem.  This piece in particular is rocking my world.  It's the perfect balance of sinister and playful, like so many childhood games.

Kate Street

Kate Street  "Bird in the Hand II"

I was agonizing over whether or not to feature one of Kate Street's fantastic sculptures or one of her exquisite drawings.  And then I thought, it's my blog goshdarnit, I can feature both if I want to!  So here is a drawing as well:

Kate Street  "Orchis Nodulosa"

I can't for the life of me recall where I just encountered her work, so apologies if it was on your site.  Anyway, I think she is a genius at blending the fanciful with the macabre.  Lovely lovely lovely.