Press Release from Strychnin Gallery:

Strychnin Gallery invites you to the opening reception of 'In Our Own Image,' a two-man show featuring new works by Raf Veulemans and Marc Janssens.

We will also be featuring "Merry-Go-Sorrow" – A Paper Installation by Christina Graf in The Vault.

Opens Friday, March 6th at 7pm, and runs until March 22nd.

Belgian artists Veulemans and Janssens have one thing in common: they share a passion for the eternal conflict between good and evil, life and death. In their works, this conflict is played out very differently though – while Veulemans stresses the beauty of decay and fragility of life in his taxidermist sculptures and installations featuring the bodies of real animals, Janssens' sculptures are completely man-made and focus on the struggle of overcoming a mere physical existence. Often, his figures appear to wish they could escape from the sufferings their bodies are exposed to by battered machines and strange apparatuses holding them captive, and to release their battered spirits.

American artist Christina Graf’s delicate paper installation titled "Merry-Go-Sorrow" will be presented in The Vault, Strychnin's back room that is reserved for individual artists on special occasions.

Strychnin Gallery Berlin

Boxhagenerstr. 36, 10245 Berlin 

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Shoji Tanaka and Michel de Saint Ouen

London based Society for the Art of Imagination (AOI) have twinned with International Fantastic Art Association (IFAA) which is based in Japan. As a first step all members of IFAA and AOI will be able to submit works to each other's exhibitions. Together they are exploring the possibility of organizing exhibitions in Japan for our members and European exhibitions for IFAA’s members.

The IFAA had been long aware of the AOI. After exhibiting with the IFAA in Japan I told the Shoji Tanaka the group's president, that I would speak with Brigid Marlin the AOI president and make an introduction. And so, on one cold and wet day in London I met Brigid for tea (very English) and she eagerly listened to my adventures in Japan. I then put the two in contact with each other. So it came to pass that Shoji was invited to exhibit with the AOI in their annual exhibition last year.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the event myself to witness this wonderful occasion.

It was at this time that a mutual agreement of society friendship was established and both groups decided to explore ways to collaborate together. It is a very exciting time as the Fantastic Art groups across the world reach out to each other to build a common future.

Shoji wrote a number of entries on his own personal blog about his time in London meeting the AOI. All articles are in Japanese of course, but a good online translator will help you get the gist of things. He seems to be very pleased and excited by meeting everyone and the opportunities it opens up for the IFAA.

• IFAA Meet AOI
• Society for the Art of Imagination Annual Exhibition
• Art of Imagination (AOI) Annual Exhibition report 2

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From February 21st until April 11th, 2009, Last Rites presents Dan Quintana and Stephen Kasner.

Gallery 1: Dan Quintana – 'The 3rd Act'

Gallery 2: Stephen Kasner – 'Hearts In Hell'

Official After-Party: Stimulate

Last Rites Gallery

511 W. 33rd Street

New York City

Image: Dan Quintana (left,) Stephen Kasner (right)

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Recent fires have devastated the Australian state of Victoria. About 400 blazes raged across Victoria on Feb. 7, possibly killing as many as 100 people in Marysville, according to the Associated Press. Firefighters were still working to extinguish blazes on Saturday.

Marysville was home to Bruno's Art and Sculpture garden, where artist Bruno Torfs used the rainforest surrounding his gallery to display more than 280 sculptures. The Marysville fire decimated Bruno Torfs' life's work  the Bruno's Art and Sculpture Garden that had become a local landmark.

As he fled on Saturday afternoon, flames were enveloping his weatherboard studio with 200 paintings, and a hectare of rainforest containing 135 sculptures. In 13 years at Marysville, he had created an outdoor menagerie of gnomes carved from logs to terracotta featuring mermaids, jungle boys, horses, wombats and life like street children.

"It's big devastation," he said from a friend's house at Alexandra yesterday.

He said his decision to check on his garden, just before the inferno hit after thick smoke had descended on the town, saved his life. After some hesitation, he grabbed eight paintings, his wallet, his guitar and saxophone, and his Jack Russell dog, Itchy.

When Mr Torfs arrived at Gallipoli oval, he panicked when at first he saw no one.

Fire trucks arrived and firemen guarded about 18 townsfolk, who would huddle in the middle of the oval all night, with water hoses and trucks.

He later rushed briefly to his house to find the studio, including a grand piano, razed. Sculptures had been crushed by falling trees.

He will move back to Marysville in a borrowed caravan as soon as he is allowed. "I've got a lot of hope," he said.

A message posted on his website says that his family are safe and well, but the sculpture garden has sustained severe damage, and will hopefully a good portion of the sculptures will be able to be salvaged. Bruno and the family intend to try and rebuild the sculpture garden and gallery in the near future and will provide updates on this website as regularly as possible.

Any offers of support can be made via his website. brunosart.com

While Bruno and the family may have lost many priceless treasures over the last few days, it is the lost lives of their friends and neighbours that has left the biggest hole in their hearts.

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Nom Kinnear King's solo exhibition, 'A Trail Of Rusty Melodies' will run from March th 20th until April the 3rd, 2009, at Utrophia Gallery, London.

The Opening Reception is from 6pm to 9pm on Friday, March the 20th.

Utrophia Gallery

136 Tanners Hill, Deptford

London SE8 4QD

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Press Release from Dabora Gallery and Phantasmaphile

Dabora Gallery and Phantasmaphile present…

'Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists'

Opening Reception:  Saturday, March 14th, 2009 from 8-11pm, with complimentary absinthe, courtesy of La Fée

On view March 14th – April 12th, 2009

Gallery Hours:  Saturdays and Sundays, 12pm – 5pm (March 15th – April 12th)

Dabora Gallery and Phantasmaphile's Pam Grossman are proud to usher in the spring season with the group show "Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists," on view from March 14th through April 12th, 2009. It features fourteen of the most vital and visionary women artists working in the US today.

In literal terms, a fata morgana is a mirage or illusion, a waking reverie, a shimmering of the mind. Named for the enchantress Morgan le Fay, these tricks of perception conjure up a sense of glimpsing into another world, whether it be the expanses of an ethereal terrain, or the twilit depths of the psyche. The artists of "Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists" deftly utilize the semiotics of mysticism, fantasy, and the subconscious in their work, thereby guiding the viewer through heretofore uncharted realms – alternately shadowy or luminous, but always inventive.

Participating Artists:

Carrie Ann Baade (right), Lori Field, Katy Horan, Tina Imel, Susan Jamison, Karena Karras, Fay Ku, Adela Leibowitz, Rene Lynch, Alexis Mackenzie, Lynda Mahan, Amy Ross, Judith Schaechter, Madeline von Foerster

Dabora Gallery

1080 Manhattan Ave. (between Eagle and Dupont)

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York 1122, USA

Right: Carrie Ann Baade – "The Character of Mercy," 2007

egg tempera, oil and gold leaf on maple panel,  16 x 20 inches

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Classic Hardware has featured Bonni Reid as Artist of the Month. Classic Hardware is a leading brand in avant-garde accessories for men and women. A variety of accessories featuring Bonni Reid's paintings are now available.

"Exploring the underpinnings, bumps, and anomalies in all manner of historical arcana, Bonni Reid's subject matter reflects a dark underlying mythos that belies the innocence, wonder, and imagination of a hazy past.

"Bonni Reid lives in the West End of Vancouver, British Columbia. Her work has appeared in various galleries including DvA Gallery in Chicago and La Luz de Jesus in LA. Aside from brewing her own visual concoctions, she has been a colour designer in the animation business for 15 years."

- from Bonni Reid's bio

Right: 'Organica,' egg tempera and oil on panel, 16 x 20 inches, 2008

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POVevolving Galley and Print Studio Presents…

Movers and Shakers

Chet Zar, Naoto Hattori, Nathan Spoor, Ron English, Eric White, Mia, Martin Wittfooth, Chris Peters and Scott Radke are among over 70 artists who will be exhibiting in 'Movers and Shakers,' curated by Gino Joukar.

A limited edition box set of prints is available and will include one print from each of the following artists:

Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez, Glenn Barr, Bob Dob, Andy Kehoe, Ana Bagayan, Mia, Damon Soule, Nicoletta Ceccoli, Brian Despain, Naoto Hattori, Cathie Bleck, Lola and Yosuke Ueno

The Opening Reception will be on Saturday, February the 14th, 2009, from 7pm to 11pm.

POVevolving Gallery  – 39 Chung King Road, Los Angelas, CA, USA

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Strychnin Gallery London and Resistance Gallery present:

A Basement of Dolls – New Works in Oil by Suzzan B.

Opens February 12th, 2009, at 7 p.m. at Resistance Gallery in London.

Interested in psychology, physiognomy and body language, works by British painter Suzzan Blac are not for the faint of heart. Negative feelings, pain, anger and frustration are the motives behind them, often making them uncomfortable to look at through their intense, direct expression of strong emotions. Blac is interested in the darker aspects of human feeling: her latest series of paintings, to be seen at Strychnin Gallery’s new London collaboration partner Resistance Gallery, is about the sexual and social conditioning and exploitation of females.

Suzzan Blac loves the colour, translucence and mobile quality achieved by painting in oils. Using only her imagination, she starts all of her work with a blank canvas and a subconscious doodle, creating intense images by channeling her own emotions and by reflecting the viewer’s mind into her work: laughter, repulsion or amazement, sometimes all combined into one. She considers herself a surrealist who, through art, can observe the innermost thoughts of another human being without feeling intrusive, and has the capacity to connect, identify and react to these universal insights in her paintings.

Her latest series of works deals with the pressure exerted upon women by the media to conform to outside standards of beauty and physical perfection, as well as social conditioning to become beautiful ornaments and sexual objects, all of which can result in detrimental effects such as eating disorders, dangerous plastic surgery, and lack of self-worth brought on by feelings of inadequacy, especially in young girls and teenagers. Focusing on the realm of pornography with Playboy merchandise aimed at girls as young as eight, Blac questions the effect the industry may have on the personal development of these young minds, and consequently on their adult personalities.

“A Basement of Dolls” depicts women with mutilated bodies adorned with lingerie and other stereotypical visuals of a sexualized point of view, such as exaggerated lips, doll’s bodies or stylized reproductive organs, vividly colored hair and overdone make-up. They call attention to our concepts of beauty and also of intimacy, causing us to question our own ideals regarding beauty and gender, and those imposed upon us by the media and society.

Resistance Gallery

265 Poyser Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 9RF

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Robert Venosa, Martina Hoffmann (right), Laurence Caruana, Jan Kounen and Michel Henricot will be Honored Guests at The Chimeria Visionary Art Festival in Sedan, France, March 7th – 17th.

Other guests include:

Filip Leu, Titine Leu, Lukas Kandl, Mad Jarova, Michel Bassot

Le groupe Libellule: Patrizia Comand, Raffaéle De Rosa, Zeljko Djurovic, Zoran Ivanovic, Alexandra Jontschewa, Alès Krejca, Vlada Mirkovic, Hans Peter Muller, Eli Tiunine, Pavel Zacek, Siegfried Zademack…

Artifist Gaite & Caroline Cottereau, Chantal Lanvin, Patrick Delorme, Hector Toro, Hugues Gillet, Dany Salme, Dominique Desorges, Alain Campello, Séverine Pineaux, Marlis Laduree, Annie Terrier, Florence Antoine, Liliane Sylvia Le Fur, Lionel Couture, Jhefferson Saldania, Paolo Laguilas, Nadine Leprince, Joél Lorand, Jean-François Perry, Juan Carlos Taminschi, Anne Lane, Maurice Livat, François Schlesser, Bernard Dumaine, Olga Simon, Kuba Fiedorowicz, Oleg Korolev…

Manjushree Pradhan, Christiane Ballan, Narendra Bataju…

TIX alias Florent Tarrieux, Valery Meuree, HealaeH, Matthieu Giovanardi and Peter Gric

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In March 2009, The Gallery at The Alternative Cafe will be hosting "This Is The End" – a group show curated by Creep Machine and featuring over 20 artists, including  Andy B Clarkson, Chet Zar, Matt Dangler and Michael Ryan.

Exhibiting Artists:

8pussy, Alex Kuno, Andy B Clarkson, Beth Bojarski, Chet Zar, Dan Harding, Dave Macdowell, Dean McDowell, E. Gauger, Ego, Gene Guynn, Jacqueline Gallagher, John Cebollero, Kelly Vivanco, Ken Garduno, Luke Kopycinski, Matt Dangler, Michael Ryan, Michael Shapcott, Paul Chatem, R.M. Hanson, Sandi Calistro, Tom Haubrick and Whitney Lenox

Opening March 6th, 7pm – 9pm

On view until April 13th

The Gallery at The Alternative Cafe

1230 Fremont Blvd. Seaside, CA, USA

Right: Detail of "Ghoul" – by Chet Zar – Oil on Panel – 24 x 28 inches

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Anne Bachelier and CFM Gallery present…

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"The Phantom of the Opera" / "La Fantôme de l'Opéra"

Text by Gaston Leroux, Illustrations by Anne Bachelier

Bi-Lingual (English and French)

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"The Phantom of the Opera" is the quintessential 'Gothic' tale. It recounts the love triangle between Christine Daaé, a beautiful innocent, Raoul, the future Count of Changny, and Erik, the deformed, twisted "Phantom of the Opera" who inhabits the nether regions of the Opéra Garnier (The Paris Opera House)…

This book is the fourth major literary collaboration between Anne Bachelier and CFM Gallery and follows such previous successes Princess of Wax, Rose Daughter (A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast), and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Once again, Anne Bachelier's beautifully vivid artwork illuminates a classic story as never before imagined.

- Synopsis by Neil Zukerman

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Above Right: "Death of the Phantom" / "La Mort du Fantôme"

Original Oil on Paper Illustration from "Phantom of the Opera"

24 x 18 inches – 2009

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Below Right: "The Phantom" / "Le Fantôme"

Original Oil on Paper Illustration from Phantom of the Opera

24 x 18 inches – 2009

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Kris Wlodarski's 'Exposition' will be on show at Black Lotus from the 4th until the 28th of February, 2009. The opening reception is on the 4the of February at 7pm.

Black Lotus

93, rue des Couronnes 75020 Paris, France

Wlodarski's paintings will also be a part of 'Dirty Show' in Zurich.

Opening hours:

Friday the 13th of February, 7 pm to 4 am

Saturday the 14th of February, 7 pm to 4 am

Sunday the 15th of February, noon to 11 pm

Kino Roland, Langstrasse 111, CH – 8004 Zurich, Switzerland

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Updates from Kris Kuksi:

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Heavy metal giants Sepultura's new album titled 'A-Lex' is in stores now wherever music is sold and features many Kuksi sculpture detail shots throughout the sleeve.

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Kris Kuksi and Andrew Jones will be exhibiting together at the Meta Gallery located in the historic Distillery District of Toronto, opening May 15th and up until June 14th.

Meta Gallery

107-37 Mill St.

Toronto, ON

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Above Right: 'A-Lex' album sleeve

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Below Right: Kuksi's latest sculpture, 'Sanctuary of the Bewildered' mixed media assemblage, 38" h x 36" w x 16" d, 2009

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'MirrorRealms' is a new first edition 178 page hardcover book with poems by UK poet Anthony David Pritchard and 37 full color reproductions of paintings by Karena A Karras.

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Things are either dark, or they glow

and do not last;

they choke and sputter gracious in the bedraggled blacks

like chimney sweep heads detached,

while the sky has its back to the world…

-from 'Sylvia Blue' by Anthony David Pritchard

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'MirrorRealms' is available through Lulu.

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CoproNason Gallery presents Joe Vaux and Dan May with an opening artist reception on Saturday, February 7, 8pm – 11:30pm

Both artists will be present.

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In Gallery 1 – Joe Vaux presents a new body of work in his solo show, "Manimal"

"When I'm painting I'm driven by an inner behemoth, attacking projects with a nervous cornered animal kind of enthusiasm. This collection of paintings represents the past year's efforts to hear and share this creatures vision." – Joe Vaux

Joe Vaux's bio:

"A product of two artists, I was always surrounded by an abundance of art materials and inspiration. Whether working with pencil, paint, Styrofoam or Lego I found ways to make my fantasy worlds a bit more real. After receiving a B.F.A. in illustration at Syracuse University in 1994, I moved to California and began working in the animation industry. I refer to these years as graduate school, continuing to learn from some of the animation world's top artistic talent. It was during this time that I refined my voice as a painter. Although my influences and abilities have grown, my imagery seems to grow out of an adolescent's sensibility. Strange environments and absurd characters are the players in a demented adaptation of my life story. I hope that within the madness the viewer will find the comedy that is our existence."

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In gallery 2 – Dan May's debut solo show, "Slow Collision"

"The title for the show, came to me when recalling not only the images that were coming into my head, but what was going on in my life at the time. The past year has been filled with highs, lows and turbulence of varying degrees. I began to take a deeper look not only within myself, but within the world that I have been creating. There seemed to be a collision of sorts going on. In the new work there's  the technical elements that I've been known to use throughout the past few years… grassy flora filled landscapes, transparent figures, am orphic creatures (both smooth and furry), sweeping brush strokes and fine details however in this series of paintings I tried to mesh those elements together creating a cohesive, poetic landscape of colliding worlds… thus, a 'Slow Collision.'" – Dan May

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