Agnes Pelton "Day" 1935
Hello, and happy new moon, happy almost-spring, happy March. Lots going on as ever, so this may be a quicker one than usual. Here goes:
- I have long been an Agnes Pelton fan, so I'm thrilled this undersung magico-morphic painter is finally getting her due! A retrospective of her work, Agnes Pelton, Desert Transcendentalist opens at the Phoenix Art Museum on March 9th and will be up through September 8th. If you've been losing your mind over the Guggenheim's Hilma af Klint show, then I think you'll want to plug into this one, too. Though Pelton was working many decades later than af Klint, I see them in a similar light as visionary women and spiritual, abstract (or at least quasi-abstract) painters who were so far ahead of their time. I wrote a little something about my love for Pelton for In Wild Air a while back, and I can't wait to see this show in person when I'm in AZ next month.
- The SPRING/BREAK art show is now happening here in NYC, and there are two exhibitions in particular that look amazing. Court of the Dryad is curated by The Sphinx Northeast, and features Phantasmaphile favorite Max Razdow as well as Aaron Spangler and Kyle Staver. Spiritual Art Advisory is curated by Sarah Potter and Caroline Larsen and features "a selection of artwork based on the archetypes of the Tarot's Major Arcana." The show is up through March 11th and this year is located at 866 UN Plaza.
- On a personal note, tickets for my Remedios Varo presentation Bruja with a Brush at Hauser & Wirth NY on March 20th are available here. The talk is free, but you must RSVP at that link. It's being presented by Morbid Anatomy and will also include a bunch of snaps I took at the Varo exhibition that I visited in Mexico City earlier this year. I'm very excited to discuss the occult influences on my favorite painter's work, and I hope you'll join me.
- I also have a new Wonder Woman essay up at Moleskine's The Fold. It explores the feminist (and super transgressive) roots of the Wonder Woman character, and celebrates female liberation and sexual freedom.
- I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that my podcast The Witch Wave has been happily expanding, and we've had some incredible guests on of late, including CIRCE author Madeline Miller, Erica Feldmann of HausWitch (and author of HausMagick), Witchery author Juliet Diaz, Strange Frequencies author Peter Bebergal, and the above-mentioned curator and Color Magic expert Sarah Potter. And the episodes coming up are pretty dang mind-blowing if I say so myself. Have a listen here or on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher (and as ever, if you're interested in sponsoring an episode or several, drop me an email or DM).
- Janaka Stucky is one of my favorite poets and performers of all time, so I was beyond honored to get to write the intro to his gorgeous new book-length poem, Ascend Ascend. It comes out on April 23rd, and Janaka will be touring all over the country to recite it with his signature incantatory rituals. Go see him live if you can, TRUST ME.
- I really dug the animated film, Ruben Brandt, Collector. Super stylish and inventive and contained so many of my favorite things: Surrealism! Art heists! Jungian dream analysis! Three-eyed faces! Highly recommended.
- I was way too spooked to watch Hereditary, which I heard was amazing, but very excited for Ari Aster's follow-up, Midsommar. Parallels to The Wickerman are obvious, but I love anything with a whiff of folktastical Pagan Revivalism, so sign me up.
- Heavy music rotation of late includes the newest albums by Dizzy Fae, Twin Temple, Neko Case, Leikeli47, and everything by SALES (but especially their perfect EP).
I know there's so much more to mention, but that's all I've got time for today. Hope you're all sparkling and well.
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