Luke Painter "Levitator 3" 2010
Luke Painter works primarily in India ink, and creates sylvan vingettes that are as intricately detailed as they are uncanny. I love his series of tiny leviating people in vast environments, as well as his gorgous architectural renderings that feel part Edward Gorey, part David Macaulay.
I'm excited and honored to announce that my teacher, Robin Rose Bennett, will be coming to Observatory to do a Winter Solstice Ritual Celebration on Thursday, December 22nd at 8pm. I've been learning from Robin for several years now, and officially apprenticing with her for the last two. She is a reknowned herbalist, a potent ritualist, and a truly magical and brilliant human being. Please email me if you'd like to join us in what is sure to be a beautiful ritual and an altogether luminous gathering:
Date: Thursday, December 22nd
Time: 8pm
Admission: $20
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
***You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as space is limited
Join green witch and wise woman Robin Rose Bennett in a joyful community circle as we celebrate the shortest day and longest night of the year. We will create sacred space and turn the Wheel of the Year with song, story, and candle lighting.
Please bring a personal candle and holder. Festive dress, altar objects, instruments and food or drink to share after the ritual are welcome.
Rest and dream in the safety of deep darkness. Journey within to conceive the spark of your own light and life to be reborn in the spring. Whatever your spiritual tradition, come celebrate the magical rhythms of nature that unite us all.
Robin Rose Bennett is an herbalist, writer, green witch, and educator who teaches Wisewoman Healing Ways of herbal medicine. She is the author of the booklet Wild Carrot:A Plant for Conscious, Natural Contraception, two meditation CDs and her book, Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living. Her website is www.robinrosebennett.com
Hope to see you there!
Francisco Goya "The Conjuration" 1797-1798
New goal: I must get to Strasbourg before December 2, 2012 and see Europe and the Spirit World or The Fascination with the Occult 1750-1950:
‘Europe and the Spirit World or the Fascination with the Occult, 1750-1950’ is a cross-disciplinary exhibition exploring the influence of the occult on artists, thinkers, writers and scholars throughout Europe, at decisive moments in the history of the modern world. The exhibition is organized into three sections:
- The creative arts: painting, drawing, sculpture, print-making and photography, the literature of the irrational and unexplained.
- The esoteric tradition revisited, with an extensive chronological survey encompassing the movement’s foundational texts and print iconography.
- The relationship between occult phenomena and the scientific world, through key scholarly figures and thinkers, and an examination of their experiments and scientific instruments.
With some 500 works of art, 150 scientific artefacts, 150 books and 100 documents from a host of European countries, Europe and the Spirit World will be presented in a dedicated 2500-m² space at the the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg.
200 years of occult influenced art work under one roof? I can only hope that I can either get to France in time, or that it will travel to the U.S. Wondering if the catalog will be available to purchase online soon...
Adrienne Kammerer "Dark Messengers" 2011
Narwhal Art Projects has a fantastic three-person show up now called Three Knocks. It features work by one of my very favorite artists, Katy Horan, as well as Adrienne Kammerer and Jamiyla Lowe. All of the pieces are monochromatic, and have otherworldy subject matter that I find impossible to resist. This is perfect artstuff for the gray season, and is viewable through December 4th.
Just a friendly reminder that I'll be giving this lecture tonight at Observatory:
Leonora Carrington "La maja del tarot" 1965
An illustrated lecture by Pam Grossman
Date: Friday, November 18th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Though few history books make mention of it, many of our most lauded artists — Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Duchamp, to name but a few — were deeply influenced by the occult. The imagery and tenets of arcane traditions including alchemy, Spiritualism, Theosophy, and shamanism have infused the work of artists through the ages. Beginning with the Symbolists, then spiraling through such periods as Cubism, Dada, Surrealism (with its wonderfully witchy women), Abstract Expressionism, and the visionary art of today, this evening’s lecture will be a visual primer on the existence of magic in our museums and galleries.
Pam Grossman is an independent curator and lifelong student of magical practice and history. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent. Her group art shows, Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, VISION QUEST, and Alchemically Yours have been featured by such outlets as Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter. She is a co-founder of Observatory, where her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
Hope to see you there!
Though I love tarot, particularly tarot imagery, I've only allowed myself to purchase a small number of decks over the years. I just know that, left unchecked, I have the potential to get a bit obsessive! And so in the interest of finances and space, I've decided to only own decks that have exceptional beauty and meaning for me.
Well, I can tell already that the new Tarot of the Holy Light is going to have to join my limited collection. Created by Christine Payne-Towler and Michal Dowers, the deck uses images from old alchemical engravings, which are then collaged together in gorgeous and colorful combinations. It feels traditional and psychedelic at once, and just the few online pictures I've seen of the cards are already making my skin hum. Good thing the holidays are coming up soon - this is definitely going on my wish list.
(And this is probably a good time to remind you all that there are a few spots left in our Tarot class at Observatory this Sunday, so do drop me a line if you'd like to attend!)
Two wonderful things hit the web this past weekend by people I've long admired - and have had the good fortune to get to collaborate with via my art shows:
First up is JL Schnabel's breathtaking look book for her Blood Milk line of jewelry, The Conjurer.
It is so much more than a fashion editorial though. With design by Paul Romano and photography by Christina Brown, it is a mutely decadent meditation on death and the spirit world. Our shade of a protagonist is surrounded in a haze of bones, divinatory tools, old mirrors, and of course, bewitching baubles. I was going to post a bunch of photos, but it is so much more fun to let you wander through yourself. And after you do that, be sure to read this fantastic interview with her over at Ghosts in the Garden.
Next up is a release of Chad Merritt's second book of papercuts, And Then We Are The Darkness. If you order it now, it comes with a print of the cover image, "Shadow Sisters," and his beauteous gold-inked, handscreened "Abracadabra" print.
Words cannot express how excited I am to receive this magical package. And I'm thrilled that he will be making a papercut for our forthcoming show at Observatory, to be announced soon!
Max Ernst "Alice" 1941
The UK's done it again. The Alice in Wonderland show at the Tate Liverpool is another incredible sounding exhibition which makes me wish my astral projection skills were sharper:
Alice in Wonderland
Tate Liverpool 4 November 2011 – 29 January 2012
Lewis Carroll’s timeless novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, have fascinated children and adults alike since their publication over 150 years ago. Alice in Wonderland at Tate Liverpool is the first exhibition of its kind to explore how Lewis Carroll’s stories have influenced the visual arts, inspiring generations of artists. The exhibition will provide insight into the creation of the novels and the inspiration they have provided for artists through the decades.
The starting point for the exhibition is Carroll’s original manuscript, written in 1864 as a present for ten year old Alice Liddell. Carroll’s own illustrations ensured that images were central to the story, creating a visual world which took on a life of its own.
Alice in Wonderland will offer visitors a rare opportunity to view Carroll’s own drawings and photographs, alongside Victorian Alice memorabilia and John Tenniel’s preliminary drawings for the first edition of the novel.
Carroll’s stories were soon adopted by other artists. Surrealist artists from the 1930s onwards were drawn towards the fantastical world of Wonderland where natural laws were suspended. From the 1960s through the 1970s, Carroll’s Alice tales also prompted conceptual artists to explore language and its relationship to perception, and the stories inspired further responses in Pop and Psychedelic art. Expect to see works by artists ranging from Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, to Peter Blake and Yayoi Kusama.
Alice in Wonderland will also showcase an exciting selection of contemporary art, demonstrating the continuing artistic relevance of Carroll's novels. Works by Anna Gaskell, Annelies Strba and Torsten Lauschmann will all appear, exploring ideas such as the journey from childhood to adulthood; language, meaning and nonsense; scale and perspective; and perception and reality.
Art made for and inspired by this endlessly imaginative book? Seems like a no-brainer - it's a wonder (sorry, sorry) it hasn't been done before. Here's a nice slideshow of some of the pieces lucky visitors will enounter.
Also, now's a perfect time to remind you to order John Coulthart's 2012 Psychedelic Wonderland calendar - a gorgeous, curious thing indeed.
Allyson Mellberg Taylor
Drool, sway, swoon. JL Schnabel (AKA Blood Milk) has curated a ouija-themed group show, and it just opened at San Francisco's Articulated Gallery. Loads of Phantasmaphile favorites are part of it, including Kelly Louise Judd, Jennybird Alcantara, Caitlin Hackett, Chad Merritt, and so many more. Check out this preview and glowing write-up over at Hi-Fructose. Brava, JL!
As a reminder, I'm hosting the following events at Observatory this month. There is still room in both the Cocktail Alchemy class on Thursday, and the tarot workshop on the 20th, so do drop me a line if you'd like to attend:
Date: Thursday, November 10th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $20 (You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as class size is limited)
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Cocktails, like perfume, are a mix of art and alchemy. In this workshop you’ll learn how to infuse your own spirits to make seasonal and artful cocktails with fresh herbs, spices, nuts, dried fruits and grains. The spirits are then paired with mixers and piqued with the addition of essential oils, which add their own unique accent to these artisanal creations. Samples of angelica, chocolate mint and basil vodka (amongst others) will be passed around along with the cocktails they inspire.
Julianne Zaleta is a natural perfumer, aromatherapist and herbalist and has trained with Michael Scholes and Jeanne Rose. Owner and sole proprietor of her own company, Herbal Alchemy Apothecary, Julianne creates aromatic and therapeutic remedies and elixirs for a wide variety of ailments. As a perfumer she has trained with Mandy Aftel to create a line of all natural perfumes. Recently she has turned her attention to artisanal cocktails, which makes her work life quite enjoyable, as you can imagine.
Leonora Carrington "La maja del tarot" 1965
An illustrated lecture by Pam Grossman (Oui, c'est moi!)
Date: Friday, November 18th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Though few history books make mention of it, many of our most lauded artists — Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Duchamp, to name but a few — were deeply influenced by the occult. The imagery and tenets of arcane traditions including alchemy, Spiritualism, Theosophy, and shamanism have infused the work of artists through the ages. Beginning with the Symbolists, then spiraling through such periods as Cubism, Dada, Surrealism (with its wonderfully witchy women), Abstract Expressionism, and the visionary art of today, this evening’s lecture will be a visual primer on the existence of magic in our museums and galleries.
Pam Grossman is an independent curator and lifelong student of magical practice and history. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent. Her group art shows, Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, VISION QUEST, and Alchemically Yours have been featured by such outlets as Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter. She is a co-founder of Observatory, where her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
A class with Kathy Biehl
Date: Sunday, November 20th
Time: 2-4pm
Admission: $40 (You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as class size is limited)
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Date: Monday, November 21st
Time: 7pm
Admission: $5 suggested donation
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Moonshot will be celebrating the release of its third print issue, “Secret”, with a reading and reception. From adults glimpsing into the strange occurrences of childhood to poems invoking spirits in a language of their own, “Secret” is a force of arresting writing and art. We sought the uncanny, the hidden, and the immeasurable and placed it inside these pages. This issue includes a special collection of artwork curated by PULP Projects.
Moonshot, a magazine of the literary and fine arts, was conceived in 2009 to provide an equal opportunity space for writers and artists based solely on the merits of their work. Moonshot’s mission is to eliminate the social challenges of publishing–encouraging all types of writers and artists to submit their work in the pursuit of exposing their creations to a wider range of audiences. It is our goal to utilize traditional printing techniques as well as new technologies and media arts to feature voices from all over the globe. Moonshot celebrates storytelling of all forms, embraces the dissemination of media, and champions diverse creators to construct an innovative and original literary magazine.
James Jean "Lotus War Pyramid" 2011
It makes me so happy when artists I love put out affordable, limited edition prints of their work. James Jean just released an edition of 555 "Lotus War Pyramid" prints for $40 each, and they are deliciously large (26 x 30) and lush, and definitely won't last long.
Christopher Conn Askew
Where has Christopher Conn Askew been all my life? Graphic and fantastical (fantastigraphical?), his pieces feel like tourist board advertisements for a marvelous new world. Can't wait to see the work from his show that will be opening alongside the incomparable Travis Louie's on November 12th at Merry Karnowski Gallery in LA.
(And thanks to Jessica Joslin for the heads up!)
Fuyuko Matsui "Eternal Almighty Medicine for Perfect Happiness" 2006
I thought this piece by Fuyuko Matsui was perfect for All Hallow's Eve. A bit creepy, sure, but also with an otherworldy beauty. I confess it also appeals to me because it reminds me of something out of the show Fringe
On a related note, the sublime Mazzy Star just released two new singles today: Common Burn
Here's wishing you all a blessed Samhain. May you remember your dead, today when the veil between worlds is thinnest. May you have a splendid start to the Pagan new year. And may you also eat lots of delicious treats with loved ones, and watch a spooky movie or two (we plan on The Wicker Man
Leonora Carrington
I have a wicked crush on Viktor Wynd's projects, including Observatory's long-lost UK cousin, The Last Tuesday Society, which he runs. He also has a gallery, Viktor Wynd Fine Art, where he exhibits some of the most unique and imaginal works ever made. Case in point: his next show is of Leonora Carrington's prints, and it opens on November 5th:
Leonora Carrington, who died this year aged 94, led a life almost as picaresque and surreal as her art; born in Britain, she eloped with Max Ernst, hung out with Picasso and Dali, fled the Nazis, escaped from a Spanish psychiatric hospital and later settled in Mexico, where she built a reputation as one of the most original and visionary British artists and writers of the 20th century.
It's being shown in conjunction with the work of Tilly Losch, another beautifully bizarre broad.
Words cannot express how excited I am to read Steve Moore's Somnium, recently released by the always exceptional Strange Attractor Press. I don't know much about it, besides the fact that it is a fictional and personal exploration of the Selene and Endymion myth through time. But Steve Moore + lunar magic + art by John Coulthart + a ringing endorsement and afterword by Alan Moore = the perfect recipe to get my soul salivating. Full details:
SOMNIUM
By Steve Moore
288pp, A5 HB, £20/£30
ISBN: 978-1-907222-06-1
Published by Somnium Press
A masterpiece. – Alan Moore
A unique work by a unique genius. Moore has an understanding of the occult peculiar to a very few and it always gives me the shivers; the shivers which say ‘authenticity’. Get this book while you’re part of the minority who know about it.
– Michael MoorcockA visionary decrypting of one of fringe-London’s most potent downriver sites. Steve Moore’s voyage through plural strands of time echoes the high craft of his namesake, Alan, and the honourable tradition of Michael Moorcock’s Gloriana.
– Iain Sinclair
Somnium is a high quality hardback available in a numbered edition of 250, signed by Steve Moore and Alan Moore, priced £30, and a standard edition of 250, priced £20.
The special edition comes with a litho print of John Coulthart’s beautiful cover art.
The hardback is available only from Strange Attractor Press. Copies ordered now will be delivered in the first second week of November 2011.
Read the full Press Release here
ABOUT THE BOOK
Written in the early years of the 21st century, when the author was engaged in dream-explorations and mystical practices centred on the Greek moon-goddess Selene, Somnium is an intensely personal and highly-embroidered fictional tapestry that weaves together numerous historical and stylistic variations on the enduring myth of Selene and Endymion. Ranging through the 16th to 21st centuries, it combines mediæval, Elizabethan, Gothic and Decadent elements in a fantastic romance of rare imagination.
With its delirious and heartbroken text spiralling out from the classical myth of Endymion and the Greek lunar goddess Selene, Somnium is an extraordinary odyssey through love and loss and lunacy, illuminated by the silvery moonlight of its exquisite language.
With an afterword by Alan Moore, whose biographical piece Unearthing details the life of his friend and mentor Steve Moore, and includes the circumstances surrounding the writing of Somnium.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Steve Moore has written comic-books, novels and non-fiction, including Abslom Daak, Laser-Eraser & Pressbutton, Hercules and The Trigrams of Han. He also had a long-standing editorial connection with Fortean Studies and Fortean Times, to which he has been a frequent contributor since its inception. He lives in London.
Alan Moore is the internationally famous author of such graphic classics as Lost Girls, Promethea, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Alan’s biography of Steve Moore, Unearthing, is available as an audio-recording and a forthcoming book from Lex Records, and will shortly be released in app form, illustrated by noted photographer Mitch Jenkins.
You can order yours here. Absolutely can't wait til mine arrives.
Corinne May Botz "The Roehrs House, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey"
I'm such a fan of Corinne May Botz's spectral photographs, so I'm certain that any show she curates is going to be exceptional. Macabre & Mysticism is a group show she put together which opens at Red Roots gallery on Saturday, October 29th - perfect for getting you in the Samhain spirit:
Red Roots is excited to announce its inaugural exhibition - Macabre & Mysticism - guest curated by Corinne May Botz. The exhibition is rooted in dark narratives that lie just beneath the surface of everyday life and includes photography, video and installation works from fifteen artists, curated through an open call for submission.
Please join us this Saturday, October 29th from 6 -10pm to celebrate the opening of Macabre & Mysticism at Red Roots Gallery! Costumes Welcome.
Included Artists:
Ben Alper
Emile Askey
Laura Bell
Emily Cameron
Barnett Cohen
Eran Gilat
Phoenix Lindsey-Hall
Eugen Litwinow
Darin Mickey
Chelsey Morell
Caitlin Parker
Brea Souders
Ayumi Tanaka
Francisco Westendarp
Margaret Wiatrowski
The show will also include a one night projection of video and film work from Jeremy Haik, Leif Huron and Molly Surno.
__
Red Roots Gallery is an exhibition and event space created to support emerging artists by providing a platform for the exchange and outreach of new ideas and projects in the arts.
In collaboration with Conveyor Arts, the Red Roots Gallery features exhibitions curated from open-call submissions, including themed group exhibitions, solo artist shows and new curatorial projects. We will also organize critique groups and put on artist lectures, panel discussions and other events that create an open arena for artists and the community to expand ideas and take them further.
Red Roots Gallery is located on the lower level of the 25CPW Gallery.
Do check it out, sounds stupendous.
Apologies for the sporadic posting of late. It's been a whirlwind of activity between day jobbery and a trip to Hudson, NY to celebrate my 1 year of marriage / 7 years of in-love-ed-ness with this dashing darling.
Happily, I have lots brewing on the Observatory front, with the following events coming up soon - the first one is tonight, in fact. Have a read, and please do join me for one or more:
A Talk and Visual Presentation by Mitch Horowitz
Date: TONIGHT, Friday, October 21st
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
It is one of the strangest and most beguiling books of the twentieth century: The Secret Teachings of All Ages
Who was the young and preternaturally gifted author of this massive and impactful work? And what were the circumstances behind the early genius of Hall, a man with little conventional schooling who went on to become the most influential occult voice of the last century? In this vibrant and intellectually lively evening, author Mitch Horowitz (Occult America) – who has written widely about Hall’s life and published the recent “reader’s edition” of The Secret Teachings of All Ages
Horowitz dissects the unusual career of Hall and explores his legendary status on the West Coast occult scene for most of the twentieth century. From Hall’s art-deco headquarters in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park neighborhood, the arcane scholar not only helped reignite the academic study of esoterica but made an impact on figures as diffuse as Bela Lugosi and Ronald Reagan (who actually quoted from Hall in his speeches). Horowitz also explores the circumstances surrounding Hall’s 1990 death, which is marked by persistent rumors of foul play. Finally, Horowitz considers the wide-ranging influence of The Secret Teachings of All Ages, including the book’s strengths and weaknesses, enduring mysteries, and seismically powerful, yet underappreciated, impact.
***Books will be available for purchase and signing
Mitch Horowitz is the editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin and the author of Occult America (Bantam), which The Washington Post Book World called: “Fascinating…a serious, wide-ranging study of all the magical, mystical, and spiritual movements that have arisen and influenced American history in often-surprising ways.” Horowitz has written on alternative spiritual topics for The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, CNBC.com, Boing Boing, and The Washington Post, where he recently explored the relationship between Manly P. Hall and Ronald Reagan. In 2003, Horowitz published the “reader’s edition” of The Secret Teachings of All Ages. He leads Observatory’s popular Occult New York Walking Tours and has discussed alternative spirituality on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, and All Things Considered. Horowitz is currently writing a history of the positive-thinking movement, to be published by Crown. Visit him online at: www.MitchHorowitz.com.
(And be sure to check out this awesome interview with him on Gothamist today).
An illustrated lecture by Jesse Bransford
Date: Friday, November 4th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Magic Squares represent a mathematical convergence of the verbal/syntactical and the visual/compositional. From the simple and elegant Lo Shu sequence from Ancient China to the baroque and heady formulations of the Renaissance magicians, the mystery and fascination of magic squares have a long and interesting cultural history that spans over five thousand years, four continents and dozens of systems of thought.
Referring to recent scholarship on the subject as well as his ten years working with the squares and the systems that developed around them, artist Jesse Bransford will discuss magic squares and all of the wonder, amazement and magic that he finds in the topic.
Bio: A teacher at NYU since 2001, Jesse Bransford also taught at Columbia University for a year before becoming the Director of Undergraduate Study in 2005. Exhibiting widely since 1997, his most recent projects have been solo exhibitions exploring pictorial and visual associations of the observable planets, a series that will eventually result in seven exhibitions.
Recent exhibitions include solo exhibitions in New York (2010), Miami (2009), Toronto (2008), as well as participation in exhibitions in New York ([2011 at Observatory,] 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007), Glasgow (2008), Milwaukee (2007), Los Angeles (2007) and Busan (2008).
Bransford’s work is represented by Feature Inc. in New York, Kevin Bruk Gallery in Miami, Florida, Galerie Schmidt Maczollek in Köln, Germany, and Shaheen Modern and Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio.
Date: Thursday, November 10th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $20 (You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as class size is limited)
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Cocktails, like perfume, are a mix of art and alchemy. In this workshop you’ll learn how to infuse your own spirits to make seasonal and artful cocktails with fresh herbs, spices, nuts, dried fruits and grains. The spirits are then paired with mixers and piqued with the addition of essential oils, which add their own unique accent to these artisanal creations. Samples of angelica, chocolate mint and basil vodka (amongst others) will be passed around along with the cocktails they inspire.
Julianne Zaleta is a natural perfumer, aromatherapist and herbalist and has trained with Michael Scholes and Jeanne Rose. Owner and sole proprietor of her own company, Herbal Alchemy Apothecary, Julianne creates aromatic and therapeutic remedies and elixirs for a wide variety of ailments. As a perfumer she has trained with Mandy Aftel to create a line of all natural perfumes. Recently she has turned her attention to artisanal cocktails, which makes her work life quite enjoyable, as you can imagine.
Leonora Carrington "La maja del tarot" 1965
An illustrated lecture by Pam Grossman (Yes, c'est moi!)
Date: Friday, November 18th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile
Though few history books make mention of it, many of our most lauded artists — Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Duchamp, to name but a few — were deeply influenced by the occult. The imagery and tenets of arcane traditions including alchemy, Spiritualism, Theosophy, and shamanism have infused the work of artists through the ages. Beginning with the Symbolists, then spiraling through such periods as Cubism, Dada, Surrealism (with its wonderfully witchy women), Abstract Expressionism, and the visionary art of today, this evening’s lecture will be a visual primer on the existence of magic in our museums and galleries.
Pam Grossman is an independent curator and lifelong student of magical practice and history. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent. Her group art shows, Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, VISION QUEST, and Alchemically Yours have been featured by such outlets as Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter. She is a co-founder of Observatory, where her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
Tarot Practicum: How to Read Any Deck Without a Book
Tabitha Vevers "Shiva (The Art of Survival)" 2011
I've been a fan of Tabitha Vevers for a while now, ever since I first laid eyes on her gold leafed paintings of proto-people in her Eden series. She and the also wonderful Jane Smaldone have a show of their new work up now through October 30th at Clark Gallery in Lincoln, MA. Crustacean eroticism and ocular flowers - what's not to love? There will be a reception this Saturday the 15th from 4-6pm. Wish I could go.
Jesse Gelaznik and Todd Brooks
Jesse Gelaznik is a colored pencil mage. It's rare to see esoteric images rendered with such sensitivity and delicacy of hand. I was hard pressed choosing just one picture of his to highlight, but I ended up with this one from the Majikian's Tarot he created with Todd Brooks. The whole set is strange and beautiful, so be sure to check it out.
Juan Gatti 2011
My heart is literally racing as I type this. Juan Gatti's collages are exceptionally lush and grand, and contain so many of my favorite elements: old biology diagrams, exotic beasts, mythical allusions, and a prismatic color palette. His new show, Ciencia Naturales, is up at Madrid's LA FRESH GALLERY now through October 21st. I truly cannot stop looking at his work. Feeling woozy.
Maya Deren "Meshes of the Afternoon" film still 1943
According to the press release, Night Scented Stock is a group show curated by Todd Levin which contains works of artists who "...engage the phantasmagoric impulse..." Sign me up. The exhibition is at Marianne Boesky's uptown gallery, and can be viewed through Oct 22nd. The show roster reads like a tally of my personal hero(in)es, and includes Leonora Carrington, Ithel Colquhoun, Joseph Cornell, Leonor Fini, Hannah Hoch, Rene Magritte, and Dortha Tanning, amongst many others:
NIGHT SCENTED STOCK Curated by Todd Levin
Marianne Boesky Gallery
118 East 64th Street
New York, NY
“….as soon as the light fails the limp plant stiffens, the leaves become firm, the flowers rise up and expand; the whole plant acquires a kind of modest beauty and the bloom pours forth its delicious scent, which is wafted many yards away.” -Gertrude Jekyll, 19th century British garden designer
Marianne Boesky Gallery proudly presents Night Scented Stock, a group exhibition exploring the myriad stratagems artists employ to engage the phantasmagoric impulse in their work. While subject matter in this exhibition spans a wide gambit from the grotesque to the bucolic, each artist’s unique creation incites our imagination with furtive potency recalling the nocturnal flower from which this exhibition takes its name. Once dusk falls and moonlight breathes life into its withered limbs, the Night Scented Stock emits an intoxicating aroma which lures a panoply of the night’s creatures – insects, bats, moths and birds –with its mysterious scent.
Due to its spellbinding grip over this varied group of nocturnal animals ranging from delicate to menacing, the Night Scented Stock prompts associations with the fantastic and occult. For this reason, British composer/singer Kate Bush named a song for this flower on her 1980 album Never for Ever. Of the album’s eleven tracks, “Night Scented Stock” is the most orphic and mystifying. Lasting just 51 seconds, Bush’s synthesizer drone morphs into layered liturgical chant that is simultaneously angelic and haunting. Like the flower’s scent, this transient song seems to exist more comfortably in our imagination than reality. To that end, artist Nick Price portrayed Bush on the album’s cover in a state of hallucinatory ecstasy as a cornucopia of beautiful and terrifying creatures swell from underneath her billowing dress. Bush stated Price’s cover “...takes us on an intricate journey of our emotions: inside gets outside, as we flood people and things with our desires and problems....then it's for you to bring them to life...”
Like Bush’s album cover and her songs, the artworks included in Night Scented Stock all share an otherworldliness that is peculiar and fantastic, yet somehow recognizable. Charting the phantasmagoric impulse over 500 years, this exhibition looks at artists’ use of themes such as religion, decay, transformation, and even abstraction as vehicles to deliver the fantastic and incite both their and our imaginations. Throughout art history, be it in the martyrdom woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, the inner landscapes of Pavel Tchelitchew, or Anj Smith’s mystic dystopias caught between decay and chrysalis, artists have consciously imparted an elusive aura in their work that suspends it somewhere between fantasy and reality. In walking this line between the demonstrative and the ambiguous, artists leave an inhabitable space for our invention. Like the Night Scented Stock, their works have a mysterious pull on both the beautiful and malefic thoughts that flutter in our minds.
Night Scented Stock will open on September 14 at Marianne Boesky Gallery’s uptown space, located at 118 East 64th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues. The exhibition will be on view through Saturday, October 22nd. For further information or images please contact Claire Pauley at claire@marianneboeskygallery.com or 212-680-9889.
Artist List
Hans Henning Voigt (Alastair)
Diana Al-Hadid
David Altmejd
Jan Arp
Richard Artschwager
Anne Bachelier
Hans Baldung
Matthew Barney
Hans Bellmer
Lynda Benglis
Ashley Bickerton
Ronald Bladen
Louise Bourgeois
Pier Paolo Calzolari
Leonora Carrington
Lewis Carroll
Federico Castellon
Colette
Ithel Colquhoun
Joseph Cornell
Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder
Bryan Crockett
John Currin
Alfred Daguet
Berlinde De Bruyckere
Jay DeFeo
Maya Deren
Olivier de Sagazan
Louise Despont
Albrecht Durer
Robert Elfgen
James Ensor
M.C. Escher
Rachel Feinstein
Leonor Fini
Frank Frazetta
Gunther Gerzso
H.R. Giger
Francisco Goya
J. J. Grandville
Sheila Hicks
Hannah Hoch
Rebecca Horn
George Hugnet
Erika Giovanna Klien
Gustav Klimt
Jonathan Lasker
Kate MacDowell
René Magritte
Ken Matsubara
Donald Moffett
Michele Oka Doner
Tony Oursler
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Lari Pittman
Beccy Ridsdel
Robert Riggs
Felicien Rops
Aurel Schmidt
Donna Sharrett
Anj Smith
Paul Stankard
Dorothea Tanning
Lenore Tawney
Pavel Tchelitchew
Elizabeth Turk
Richard Tuttle
Follower of Hendrick van Cleve III
Weegee
Steve Wheeler
Hannah Wilke
Joel Peter Witkin
Adolf Wölfli
Unica Zurn
My head is seriously spinning! Can't wait to see this -- and many thanks to Rene Lynch for the heads up.
Michael Robinson
Michael Robinson is perhaps best known as a graphic and web designer. I discovered his work myself by clicking around to see who was responsible for the lovely Reality Sandwich site. I subsequently fell in love with the fine art pieces he created for his project, Universus, which he describes simply enough:
Universus is a fine art based exploration of symbols and alphabets.
The work featured here consists of Flags, Silk Screens, and Wearable pieces.
Feels ancient and post-modern at once. Would love to see more.
Phantasmaphile pal and gifted painter, Carrie Ann Baade, has curated an amazing show at Florida State University's Museum of Fine Arts. Cute & Creepy is described thusly:
With the recent and publicly-celebrated exhibitions of Tim Burton at MOMA and Edward Gorey at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, now is the time to revel in the genre of the macabre. This work is cute and it's creepy…it's what I like about contemporary art.
After growing up wondering whether all the great art had already been made, I feel there are more amazing artists working now than ever before.
Over the past six years, I have exhibited with the artists taking part in this show or have discovered their work through attending their exhibitions. It's been such a pleasure to see the rise of this wave of dark art and the Pop surrealists that this exhibition promotes.
To see beauty in the carnivalesque or macabre, in freaks and in monsters, is a matter of aesthetics. Most of us can agree on the artistic value of a Monet or Titian but this work is for a daring audience, an audience open to exploring the strange beauty and the ecstasy inherent in our culture's aversions.
There is something that makes us uneasy when confronted by the weird or the unusual. Those who can appreciate both have come to anticipate and enjoy unexpected sensations. Work of this nature is not going to be an underground movement any longer: the grotesque is going mainstream.
Carrie Ann Baade, Florida State University
And the list of artists being shown is a towering pile of awesome:
The show will be up from Oct 14th - Nov 20th. If your viewing dates are flexible, I'd recommend attending Judith Schaechter's talk on Thursday Oct 14th at 7pm and/or Nancy Hightower's gallery walk on Wednesday, Nov 2nd at 3pm. The entire exhibition sounds heavenly - I only wish it weren't happening so far away from me!
Laurie Lipton "Bone China" 2010
If you're anything like me, you love this turn of the seasons, when the world seems to deepen and darken. It's a great time for art as well, with lots of fantastic, shadey shows opening over the coming weeks. First up is "Carnvial of Death" by graphite goddess, Laurie Lipton. Her decadent, skeletal tableaux will be on display at Last Rites Gallery from Oct 1st - 23rd, and they simply must be viewed in person to absorb their full scope and bordeline OCD detail. As a bonus, there will be an artist's talk, book signing, and tea(!) on Sunday, Oct 2nd from 4-6pm. As is the case with many people who have a morbid bent, Lipton has an absolutely wicked sense of humor and is a brilliant speaker to boot. This is an event you should definitely attend if you can.
Adela Leibowitz "Untitled (purple)" 2011
Joy of joys! My dear pal, Adela Leibowitz, has a solo show opening on Thursday at hpgrp Gallery:
hpgrp Gallery is please to announce the opening of The Untitled, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Adela Leibowitz. Defying easy categorization, the works—which utilize tropes of landscape and figurative painting while denying representation—are depictions of abstract notions of spirituality, mythology, and the elemental (and often invisible) fabric of life manifested in physical forms.
Adela Leibowitz is a New York-based artist whose work has been exhibited in shows at hpgrp Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Bo-Lee Gallery, Bath, United Kingdom; Holster Projects, London, United Kingdom; Parisian Laundry, Montreal, Canada; The Observatory in Brooklyn, New York; and Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama, to name a few. Past solo shows include Jack the Pelican Presents (2004) Brooklyn, NY and 33 Bond (2009) New York, NY.
Leibowitz, who holds an MFA from The New York Academy of Art, has currently been awarded a studio residency at Chashama. Previous residencies include the Millay Colony in Austerlitz, New York and P.S. 122 in New York, NY. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, NY Arts Magazine, Whitehot Magazine, The Village Voice, New American Paintings, Time Out New York, Art of England, and American Art Collector.
Currently, an exhibition she curated, The Unseen, is running at The Torrance Museum of Art in Torrance, CA.
The show will be up through October 29th, and I am giddy with anticipation. Brava, Adela!
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