Uncategorized: Adolf Wolfli Aline Kominsky-Crumb Art Speigelman August Walla Auguste Forestier Carlo Keshishian Carlo Zinelli Chomo Chutima Nok Kerdpitak Constance Schwartzlin-Berberat Diane Noomin diary drawings Dwight Mackintosh Edmund Monsiel Emile Josome Hodinos Eugene von Burenchenhein Franz Kerbeiss friedrich schroder-sonnenstern Galerie Du Marche Gilbert Shelton Harald Stoffers Henry Darger Howard Finster JB Murray Jennifer Lauren Gallery Jesse Howard Johann Fischer Johann Hauser Josef Bachler Josef Karl Radler Joules Doudin Julia Sisi Justin Green Kim Deitch Kunizo Matsumoto Laurent Danchin Liz Parkinson Low Low Long Division Madge Gill Matt Ffytche Melvin Way Michel Nedjar Nick Blinko Oswald Tschirtner Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris Outsider Art Fair Paris 2022 Raphael Lonne Raw Vision Magazine Raymond Morris Rick Griffin Robert Crumb Rose Knox-Peebles S. Clay Wilson Scottie Wilson Spain Rodriguez
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Assorted updates, insights and observations
Greetings once again.
I often forget to share my on-goings with you all, but here’s what’s importuning the cosmos with me at the moment…
Raw Vision magazine, issue #111
On its cover, the current issue of Raw Vision highlights the article In The Realms of the Written by Matt Ffytche (pages 12-23). The article focusses on ‘Writing in Outsider Art’ as described in the caption on the cover. I get a mention in there, but also an image of one of my diary drawings is nicely printed should you care to peruse a well reproduced incarnation of one in the physical form. The article is also accompanied by images of work by Henry Darger, Nick Blinko, Dwight Mackintosh, Adolf Wolfli, Melvin Way, August Walla, Howard Finster, Harald Stoffers, Constance Schwartzlin-Berberat, JB Murray, Raymond Morris, Jesse Howard and Kunizo Matsumoto. Not that it will matter much to anyone, but a correction: In the description of the diary that is illustrated, the diary entry is listed as being 3rd of October 2010 – March 2013 but the dates provided are combining two sets of dates from different entries. This drawing was made between October 2010 and March 2011. Other than that, I am very pleased to see and read the article that follows, looking at Laurent Danchin whom I admired very much upon meeting in 2013. Within minutes of seeing one of my diary drawings for the first time in conjunction with learning of my family’s history in dealing antique carpets, he called me “a weaver of words”, which was impressive both for the quick assessment and manifestation of this term, and with English not being his first language. It is difficult to ascertain how many people would be responsive but I would very much love for his book on Chomo to get an English translation, by the way. Just putting it out there. You can buy this issue of Raw Vision here.
Outsider Art Fair, Paris. 10th Anniversary, Atelier Richelieu, September 15-18, 2022 – Galerie du Marché
Venue:60 Rue de Richelieu, 75002 Paris, France
Dates: 15 September, VIP preview: 12–6pm
and Vernissage, 6–9pm
Open to public: 16, 17 Sept, 11am–8pm
18 Sept, 11am–6pm
Galerie du Marché will be showing my work once again at the first physically experienceable Outsider Art Fair Paris since 2019. These works will be shown alongside works by the incredible Edmund Monsiel, and a rich roster of Aloise Corbaz, Carlo Zinelli, Friedrich Schroder-Sonnenstern, Raphael Lonne, Michel Nedjar and Adolf Wolfli, along with some very rare and notable works by Madge Gill, Scottie Wilson, Josef Karl Radler, Joules Doudin, Emile Josome Hodinos, Josef Bachler, Johann Fischer, Auguste Forestier, Johann Hauser, Oswald Tschirtner and Franz Kerbeiss.
My stuff – should you make it to the fair, you’ll get to see a recent diary page in A5 format, quite possibly the last available penultimate diary page in A4 format (Dec 12th 2019 – August 19th 2020) and a smaller 5 x 8cm drawing from The Disadvantages of Time series. I’m not quite sure what it reveals, but certainly something currently intangible feels near epiphanic when considering the results of the slow burn process of my A4 diary drawings, the first of which (Feb-March 2010) clocks in at 3,954 hand written words in my little bubble text, and the twelfth and final A4 diary page (August 25th, 2020 – June 10th, 2021) contains 31,036 words in a slowly evolved incarnation of that same style. It is very fortunate that both of these ‘bookends’ of sorts are in the trusted hands of Rose Knox -Peebles and that I can access them and see them side by side.
As for The Disadvantages of Time part XVI (The Wasteland Tape part III), here’s a little tidbit: Sometime in 2021, I found a cassette compilation I had made in the late ’90s. It was a very significant tape for me, and I was both very pleased with the opportunity but also somewhat overwhelmed with the idea of listening to it again. I decided to distract myself from the intensity of focusing on it solely, by documenting a retroactive perspective of it, song by song. The Wasteland Tape was made for the purpose of accompanying me on a hallucinogenic trip that lasted about seventeen hours. We had the tape on rotation the whole time, on a boombox as we walked around the city through the night. One song on the tape was ‘Shame‘ by Low. In describing this choice for the cassette, within the drawing, I detail discovering the band and reference being in Tower Records, in the ‘Alternative’ section, picking up the ‘Long Division‘ CD. I’d never heard of the band. It was pre-common use of internet. They were not on MTV, or in Kerrang! magazine. The cover looked somewhat ambiguous, dominated by a greyish colour. Upon further inspection, a light bulb becomes visible. What actually captured me beyond this interesting cover, was the words on the big sticker on the case. Quotes from magazine reviews. The descriptions sounded exaggerated, maybe impossible. I had to find out for myself. CDs were also very expensive at the time. To buy something like that, on a whim, with no sonic reference, it was a big decision. When I got home and heard it though, I had done it, I had found what I never knew I’d always wanted. So, I’d decided to dig the CD out and go through everything on the sticker for the drawing. I spent a week looking for the CD but couldn’t find it anywhere. I had since bought the LP version, which is the format I mostly listen to. I went on Facebook and asked around on a couple of Low fan pages, thinking among these hundreds or thousands of fans, someone will have it at hand. Tumbleweeds. I waited a couple of weeks. Nothing. Shout out to the two Andys for acknowledging the quest, at least. I decided to try again and asked within a thread on Twitter, on the topic of that album. Uncannily Low themselves retweeted my question and within an hour someone had tweeted an image of their CD with the same sticker. The band themselves enabled me access to the sticker, that enabled me access to the band and their music in the first place. We come full circle.
Facebook post, 24th June 2021
Tweets, 6th July 2021
The Disadvantages of Time part XVI (The Wasteland Tape part III). July 2021. (click on image to enlarge)
Also to look forward to within the fair, are two specially curated spaces which I’m sure will be highlights for me – One focusses on the works of Eugene Von Bruenchenhein. Interesting due to his dual output of photography and painting, the latter to which my fixation always steers. Always projecting such vibrancy, and hinting at form like clouds sometimes suggest fleetingly in continuous morph. The paintings at times highlight a focus in one area and surround it in a blur or fuzz as though captured in motion, in Bruenchenhein’s own unique fashion. There is a strong sense of life forms, energy and wonder contained within these works and I’m looking forward to experiencing a celebration of this with I Wish I Could Speak in Technicolor: Visions of Eugene Von Bruenchenhein. The other specially curated space is The Underground is Always Outside, co-curated by Aline Kominsky-Crumb, a legendary ‘underground comix’ artist herself. Having not been able to attend the New York edition of the fair earlier this year, I’m glad the ‘underground comix’ world will be tapped into here as well. This exhibition will include original art works by Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Kim Deitch, Justin Green, Rick Griffin, Spain Rodgriguez, Art Spiegelman, Diane Noomin, S.Clay Wilson and more…
Rest In Paradise – Julia Sisi
Sisi has transcended the Earth. It was shocking news to absorb when I learned of it on the 29th of June. I had no idea she was fighting cancer. I’ve always found her to be vibrant, with a special energy powerful enough to bring back to life aspects of oneself that had become stagnant. It is a rare energy to encounter and it deeply saddens me to know I can’t have an exchange with her in the future. However, the body of work she has left behind certainly has the power to communicate some of that energy and will continue to do so for as long as those pages and canvases are around. I feel she really manifested a channel for that energy in a profound way through works she has made since 2017 or so, whereby a leap seemed to occur and acceleration into orbit. My heart goes out to her life partner and artist Dan Casado. I fondly remember Sisi and Dan tuning in to the radio show I was doing and sending me messages almost weekly in real time during the shows, possibly for the entire run of seven years. I moved from Station FM to Itch FM and then NTS Radio. Sisi followed me all the way through, always making her presence known and letting me know that she and Dan were at their studio, in the Canary Islands and then France, working whilst listening to the mostly obscure Jazz I was playing. I always got a kick out of supplying some sounds for their creation to feed off of. I feel privileged to have briefly collaborated with Sisi and Liz Parkinson in the form of PPP (Posca Pen Pals) at one of Nok‘s exhibitions in Amsterdam a decade or so ago, whereby we initiated a communal canvas that took on perhaps a dozen or more contributors throughout that wonderful day. I recall sitting with Sisi in London at a cafe in London not far from another exhibition we were both included in (thanks again Nok!), where Sisi told me why she didn’t like being called Julia and I learned more about her history. I saw her and we both spoke about our work at an afternoon of talks that were part of the Monochromatic Minds exhibition put on by Jennifer Lauren Gallery in early 2020, but my last memory of spending time together was after the Outsider Art Fair in Paris one evening when Sisi, Dan Casado and I went for some dinner. I guess it must have been 2019, the last time the fair was physically put on there. It will feel strange to attend next month with her absence surely felt.
Posca Pen Pals (Liz Parkinson, Julia Sisi, Carlo Keshishian)
Triple P
That’s all for now, phew! More to come…
Peace out,
Carlo.
Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: Adolf Wolfli Albert Aloise Corbaz Amelie Ravalec Aradne Art & Mind beth elliot Bethlem Gallery Bring Your Own Art Cathy Ward Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneve Cindy Sherman Collection de l'Art Brut Daniel Goncalves David O Flynn diary drawings Fortnum and Mason Frieze Frieze magazine gwyneth rowlands Henri Michaux Hieronymus Bosch How TO Be An Artist Instagram Jennifer Lauren Gallery Jerry Saltz Joe Coleman John Maizels judith mcnicol Julia Sisi Laure Pigeon Luigi Serafini Madge Gill Mehrdad Rashidi Melvin Way Michel Thevoz Monochromatic Minds mr.imagination Nick Blinko Nnena Kalu Outside In Outsider Art Raw Vision Raw Vision Magazine robert latchman Scrivere Disegnando skira publishing Sky Arts Sky Arts Channel Studio Voltaire The Disadvantages of Time tony thorne Van Gogh vivienne roberts Writing by Drawing X-Initiative zinnia nishikawa
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2020 Vision
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2020
Just in case you forgot what year we’re in. That’s how I felt, walking along Piccadilly in the rain, lo and behold, ‘2020’ is written vertically and spanning the entire height of the Fortnum and Mason’s building. Why do I need to see a giant ‘2020’? Do they put the giant year we’re in up every November? I hadn’t noticed. The next level of absurdity is that I don’t think it is meant as a joke. How is it meant? All that can be gleaned from the rest of the display, which is as extravagant as any other year, is.. that it’s not a joke. But what is it? Yes, I am walking along, but my sense is not so many will be seeing this display this year. You’d think they might opt for a more modest version. The monolithic ‘2020’ was just baffling though. I should have taken a photograph. (Here is one I just found online). Anyhow, here we are. I have written and completely re-written the intro to this blog entry almost a handful of times over the last few months, but keep coming back and starting again. Why does it even need an intro? I will refrain from further deviation and just skip ahead to not all the tumultuous things (well, I’ll try), but the resulting art:
Monochromatic Minds – Jennifer Lauren Gallery – Live Artist Talks Videos
Jennifer Lauren Gallery continue to achieve innovator status with their various approaches to engaging with artists, dealers and collectors, which it looks like others are catching on to and building from also. Hats off. On this occasion, I want to flag a series of talks initiated through the use of video communications program Zoom that many who use computers have become familiar with during Covid 19 lockdown, if not before. For three consecutive weeks, Jennifer spoke with several artists in realtime, showing a few of their images, and taking questions from others that had signed up to take part in the video calls. There were also prerecorded talks with artists who were more comfortable with that format, or couldn’t make the live sessions. All the artists in the talks had work featured in the groundbreaking Monochromatic Minds exhibition Jennifer Lauren Gallery put on in London earlier in the year. I’ve written and posted images and videos relating to that in previous blog entries. You can view the hour or so long talks with me, Daniel Goncalves (Portugal) and Robert Latchman (USA) in part 1 here (Alternatively, a transcript is available here) and I recommend checking all the parts out for insightful words from artists Mehrdad Rashidi, Julia Sisi, Cathy Ward, Aradne, Judith McNicol, Zinnia Nishikawa and curator/archivist Vivienne Roberts speaks on the art of Madge Gill. Below is an image of my set up for the artist talk. I admit, I like to have a certain degree of control over what I say in terms of not forgetting anything that might be relevant, but also about how precisely I can convey what I mean, which in theory is best done by using considered and recorded wording. I ridiculously entertained the idea of actually reading a lot of information out, but in the end directly referenced just three or four sentences out of all my typing there! However, the act of typing reinforces the memory also, so I like to think it helped in a different way.
Drawing Dec 1999- Aug 2020
On August 19th, 2020, I completed the seventeenth instalment of my diary drawings, and the eleventh on A4 format, out of twelve. I won’t tread the path of associated pedantic details as to why here, other marginally more significant meanderings entail. This drawing clocks in at 27,659 words. In 2015, the then diary on A4 contained 11,273 words, which was the most in relation to its size, by that point. In November of 2019 I completed an A5 (half the size of an A4) diary comprising of 12,627 words. That half size diary contained more words than any of the ten A4 diaries preceding it. The current A4 diary is double that in paper size and words, with an additional almost 3,000 words. It surprises me every time this sort of thing occurs. The feeling of completing this diary is indescribable, really. The level of euphoria reached, and the value of that euphoria lingering and resonating with aftershocks, it prompts a lot of questions which I won’t go into here, but anyhow, here are the recent ongoings:
Raw Vision Weekly #169 – Art In Quarantine
On June 19th, 2020, Raw Vision published their weekly newsletter featuring myself in the ‘Art In Quarantine’ series. You could do worse than to subscribe to their weekly newsletter. It is insightful, inspiring and if nothing else without fail can add colour to grey days. Read through or scroll down in this edition and you’ll find me below Mr.Imagination. I answer some questions they asked me in the newsletter, and they published a few images. Here is one of them..
Raw Vision issue 106 / Summer 2020
It was an honour to be asked for a contribution to the reviews section of Raw Vision magazine earlier this year, and when summer came I found my name attached to the only exhibition review included in the Summer/Autumn issue, for Scrivere Disegnando (“Writing By Drawing”) at the Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland in collaboration with the Collection de L’Art Brut (Lausanne, Switzerland). I must admit, though my name is at the bottom, I do not myself read it as my own writing. It is well written, more academic than the way I write, and includes at least one or two words that I would not choose to use and didn’t include in my submission. I am still pondering whether adding words is normal practice for magazine editors? Or to not consult the writer at least. I feel uncomfortable taking the credit for this piece, feeling it should have been credited as co-written by myself and the editor, who made considerable changes. For example, there is a part in my review where I speak on the poetry of moving through the space, referring to the curation. The editor took the word ‘poetry’ and contextualised it differently, saying that many of the works and their content have a poetry to them. A different application of the word entirely. In the end, the spirit of my review is gone, which is a shame. So anyhow, I felt I needed to clarify this and put it somewhere in the universe. I can now channel that energy elsewhere.
Bittersweetness aside, it is a great issue otherwise. The Joe Coleman feature is great, honing in on a specific painting and its story, with beautifully reproduced foldout images. I’d learned about this painting in a Lydia Lunch podcast interview with Joe Coleman not long before the Raw Vision came out, which can be heard here. The David O’Flynn cover story on artist Gwyneth Rowlands is beautifully put together, and the Tony Thorne article on Albert is potent too. I love Beth Elliot‘s photograph of Albert working. I remember first meeting him in around 2011 when I visited Bethlem (before refurbishment and relocations) to help him and others write their artist profiles and to photograph their work for the Outside In website. His work was incredibly affecting then and I’ve loved seeing it whenever and wherever I do ever since.
Scrivere Disegnando Book
Apart from the somewhat sensationalised text and muddied facts about me and the diary drawings, I was both surprised and alarmed to discover an image of one of my diary drawings was blown up to take up the entire page beside the title page a few pages into the book. Of course part of me is honoured to be chosen for such a position, and I’m sure my folks are into it, however, I have learned a valuable lesson. In future, I will make sure to forbid enlarging my diary images beyond actual size, without my consent and signing off. I have only had myself to blame for such results, but no longer. I can understand why and how it may be an interesting thing to do, as a publisher or curator, but being a living artist making work of this nature, somewhere in me I expected more sensitivity I suppose. In any case, this little video below gives you some idea of what the book looks like..
Frieze Magazine, no.211, May/June 2020
I was late to the party on this one, but there is a review of the exhibition in Geneva included in this issue of Frieze magazine, and they’ve used a really nicely reproduced image of one of my diary drawings to accompany the review. Of course I am surprised to find myself in there. I am in good company, with a review of Nnena Kalu‘s exhibition at Studio Voltaire in London included. Incidentally, Kalu was making these works just a few doors down from me along the hallway in the building we both work from in South London. Elsewhere in the magazine, there is an article on art critic Jerry Saltz‘s book ‘How To Be An Artist’. Jerry Saltz has crossed over into my world on two occasions that I am aware of. Firstly, at an exhibition in New York called Bring Your Own Art, at X-Initiative in 2010. He critiqued my drawing with a negative view. He made an analogy in the form of a question, to paraphrase ‘Is this the work of a drunk, or a stoner?’, and then moved on. A few years later, of course, he pops up on Instagram here:
Lastly, I found it interesting, and disappointing to discover though Cindy Sherman is on the cover of the magazine, there is no article about her in the magazine! This is the issue though:
Art & Mind film on Sky Arts channel
Amélie Ravalec’s film, narrated by John Maizels (Raw Vision magazine), is a fascinating attempt at exploring 500 or so years of art in the context of madness, the mind, perceptions and how they evolve over time. I’ve written about this before, around April 2019. What I loved most was experiencing the flow of the 350 or so carefully selected images sequenced on the big screen, as well as some insightful or interesting commentary by interviewees. Here is the blurb from Sky Arts, ah yes, so, you can now see the film on the Sky Arts channel: ‘An exploration of visionary artists and the creative impulse, from the Flemish Masters of the Renaissance to the avant-garde movement of Surrealism. Featuring Bosch, Van Gogh and more.’ Note: I am included in the ‘and more’. Meaning, an image of my work is used in the sequence of images.
Currently Drawing…
I am currently drawing the twelfth and last A4 sized diary drawing and simultaneously on the fourteenth text based drawing in the The Disadvantages of Time series. I’ve just scrolled through my phone and realised there is no evidence of this, but it gives me something to show you next time I embark on one of these blog post frenzies I get myself into.
Be well,
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: Agatha Wojciechowsky Albert Candid Arts Centre Cathy Ward Chris Neate chronomancer Dan Miller deviation street diary drawings Evelyne Postic gerard sendrey Harald Stoffers Jan Arden Jean Dubuffet Jennifer Lauren Gallery judith mcnicol Kate Bradbury leslie thompson Lines of Revelation Liz Parkinson Margot Mehrdad Rashidi Monochromatic Minds neuve invention Nick Blinko Outsider Art Rashidi Ted Gordon Terence Wilde Valerie Potter
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Channeling the chronomancer
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Greetings. As we try to channel our inner chronomancer, the significance of these devices and means of communication acutely rings true. In the midst of everything, I’m just getting on with my diary writing/drawing, seemingly obsolete but also perhaps an important time to be recording thoughts and observations. Fathoming the unravelling repercussions and predicaments triggers a knee-jerk reaction into the foetal position, and the over-load of analytical elements and angles factored in diffuse any potential succinct message, but broadly amount to The Mess Age. It is not unique of course, and like other times and places, transformations will result and continue. As I’ve not posthumously written here about the wonderful Monochromatic Minds: Line of Revelation exhibition that took place not long before everything changed, I’ll include some reflections in this instalment. I will also touch on other bits and bobs. Onwards..
Monochromatic Minds – Jennifer Lauren Gallery – Candid Arts Centre, London, UK. 25th Feb – 4th March, 2020
As anticipated, this celebration of black and white art works within the field of Outsider/Self Taught/Neuve Invention/Visionary art did not disappoint. The majority of artists’ names who’s work was included, alone, made for a very exciting cumulative concoction. The actual works aligned well to that aura. The space was also very well suited. The majority of works in the show could easily command your attention for an indefinite amount of time individually. Imagine a room full of that. The show was on for a mere week or so but felt alive while it was on the entire time with a variety of events taking place within the programme. There were art workshops and artist talks delivered by artists from around the globe. Below are some photos that should help contextualise things if you couldn’t be there and care to absorb an attempt at documenting my experience.
There’s Jennie, the star of the show!
Vibrant (even in black and white) works by Liz Parkinson, myself alongside, being observed carefully (I think).
A wall of Ted Gordon, Liz Parkinson, myself, Harald Stoffers, and Dan Miller work among others..
Nick Blinko‘s corner
Chris Neate on the left, a mesmerising piece by Cathy Ward centrepiece, two fascinating works by Evelyne Postic above and below a commanding work by Margot.
Beautiful works by Rashidi on the left, and Gerard Sendrey top right.
A haunting Agatha Wojciechowsky piece cut off at the left side, and a magnificent Judith McNicol.
Poignant works by Albert.
I spotted the octopus in the room, in this joyful Leslie Thompson piece (detail).
Jennifer Lauren Gallery commissioned several artists in the show to draw/paint on chairs acquired from second hand shops, which also function as actual chairs that people could sit in during the exhibition if they need a rest. Though I don’t think I saw anyone sit in any. This one is by Kate Bradbury.
People at the opening watching the short documentary film. The film highlights 5 of the 61 artists in the show, including myself (on screen), Cathy Ward, Terence Wilde, Valerie Potter, and Jan Arden.
Liz Parkinson was in town speaking on the bush fires in Australia, her drawings, authoritarian neighbours, and having her works purchased by Jean Dubuffet.. from the series of artist talks.
A somewhat absurd image capturing me doing my artist talk whilst I’m also on screen in the documentary playing on a loop behind, facing the same direction. My drawings are documentation, the documentary documents me documenting, the photo documents the documenting of the documenting, and so on. Could it get more meta? Photo by Andrew Hood.
If you’d like to check out the short documentary I mentioned above, you can do so here.
Diary drawing and Deviations…
I’m working on the first A4 size diary drawing since 2016. There are several reasons why the format changed and I haven’t returned to A4, though was intending to. Anyhow, the time arrived. After I’d finished drawing in it a few days ago, I realised that I could see that day in the drawing. The reason being, I changed both the nib on the pen and its ink at the same time before starting that day. Usually these occurrences don’t coincide. The result being a distinction that is visible on the page. I took a photo so as to see what a day of drawing looks like when it’s not at the very beginning (as that is the other time/place where it is easily discernible, on day one). There are other contrasts on the page where the text takes on different shades and textures, for other reasons, but this one highlights a single day of drawing at this stage. Of course, after working on it again the following day, it won’t be visible anymore. Hence the significance of photographing it when I did. You might assume the lockdown is driving me to such pedantic measures. I’ll let you assume!
The current diary page, with one day’s entry visible.
Last month, I had an email exchange with the the good people over at Deviation Street and they included some of that in their lockdown series of posts. You can find that post here.
I feel like there was something else I wanted to include, but if it was significant I’ll get it in next time. I’ve incrementally been returning to this post for weeks now, so who knows anymore. Stay smart, and until the next time…
Carlo.
Boy travels Uncategorized: Adolf Wolfli Agatha Wojciechowsky Ahmed Abdullah Aloise Corbaz Andrea Bellini Art Brut Ben Wilson Candid Arts Centre Carlo Zinelli Cathy Ward Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneve Codex Seraphinianus Collection de l'Art Brut Dan Miller Daniel Goncalves Ed Blackwell Eugene von Burenchenhein Evelyne Postic George Widener Harald Stoffers Henri Michaux Jan Arden Jennifer Lauren Gallery Julia Sisi karl berger Kate Bradbury Laure Pigeon Liz Parkinson Luigi Serafini Madge Gill Malcolm McKesson Margot marie von bruenchenhein Mehrdad Rashidi Michel Nedjar Nick Blinko Nigel Kingsbury Ody Saban Philippe Eternod Raphael Lonne Sarah Lombardi Scrivere Disegnando See's To Exist Show Sun Ra Sweet Earth Records Ted Gordon Terence Wilde The Gallery of Everything vahan poladian Valerie Potter
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Geneva, Lausanne, London…
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Greetings,
In recent days (weeks??), I flew out to Switzerland for the opening of Scrivere Disegnando: When Language Seeks Its Other at the Centre d’Art Contemporain Geneve. Co-curated by Andrea Bellini (Centre d’Art Contemporain, Director) and Sarah Lombardi (Collection de l’Art Brut Lausanne, Director), it was very interesting. Works by ‘contemporary artists’ and ‘Art Brut artists’ were curated together, without biographies in sight. In some ways, three floors of diverse work focussed on language, writing, drawing, communication, coding, decipherability, secrecy, ambiguity and ambivalence through various media takes one on a journey through something which as a result is quite intangible. In some ways this is confusing and can raise questions about the curation, but on the other hand feels very much like an achievement in creatively exploring the very theme the show is relentlessly tackling head on. There is also a poetry to the moving through all these documents, rendering text in one way or another to express or describe or do something different to the previous or next thing which approaches from and to elsewhere. All these morphing forms of writing, recorded and reflecting or problem-solving, or foreseeing. There is an unknown geography to it. Certainly worth the trip! The experience of course also meant I can see where or how I fit in to all this, with three of my drawings included. If you think you’ll make it to the show, below are some photographs I’ve taken and perhaps you don’t want to spoil any surprises, but if you know you won’t make it, take a look… (and look out for the 300+ page accompanying book to be published soon)
After the initial introductory passage into the show, you are greeted by some wonderfully lit Adolf Wolfli works.
Three works per artist along this wall.. You can see a couple of Nick Blinko drawings on one end and my three drawings at the other…
People observing my efforts..
This Henri Michaux drawing had a poignancy to it, a highlight for me.
I loved these Laure Pigeon works. They need to be seen/felt in person, my documentation cannot communicate their essence.
Interesting Aloise Corbaz books containing text/drawings I can’t say I’ve seen before in her oeuvre..
An unexpected opportunity to see a room full of Luigi Serafini‘s original drawings/pages from the Codex Seraphinianus!
Walking from the Centre d’Art Contemporain to the restaurant, I spotted this attractive tentacle in the window of a games workshop type of spot.
I encountered the mythical Luigi Serafini himself at the restaurant.
Scrivere Disegnando (‘Writing By Drawing’): When Language Seeks Its Other is on until May 3rd at the Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva Switzerland.
As part of the Theatre exhibition, some lovely Aloise Corbaz works in her books..
Great Madge Gill works and dresses she made were on display as part of the Theatre exhibition, as well as this large print of a colourful image featuring Madge Gill wearing one such dress
A curious Adolf Wolfli work with centralised photographic portrait of Wolfli worked into the piece, in the Theatre exhibition.
The actual headwear Eugene Von Bruenchenhein‘s wife, Marie, is seen wearing in some of his photographs of her, in the Theatre exhibition.
The guises of Vahan Poladian, in the Theatre exhibition. I like the inclusion of a saxophone. Something of this man’s demeanour reminds me of my grandfather who wasn’t far off the same age.
What looks like a glorious (baritone?) saxophone (or pipe), depicted in this painting from the Carlo Zinelli exhibition.
Carlo Zinelli foreseeing rock stars?
Carlo Zinelli also made these heads.
A table containing beautiful Raphael Lonne works, displayed in the permanent collection.
Leaving Lausanne via train for Geneva airport to return home..
Monochromatic Minds: Lines Of Revelation – Jennifer Lauren Gallery /// February 25th- March 4th. Candid Arts Centre. London, UK
In my previous blog post, I gave details regarding this groundbreaking exhibition about to take place in London. All the information about the exhibition and information about the artists can be found here. The opening is on Tuesday the 25th. On Wednesday the 26th, there are some artist talks that I’m very much looking forward to, with Liz Parkinson visiting from Australia and Julia Sisi journeying from France, among others. Further talks will take place on Sunday March 1st. I hope to make it along then as well. I think Cathy Ward will be speaking then. A few days ago I was visited by film makers at my studio, so as to include me speaking a bit about my work for a short documentary highlighting five of the artists in this exhibition, along with Cathy Ward, Valerie Potter (who currently has another exhibition on at The Gallery of Everything in London), Jan Arden and Terence Wilde. I think Terence Wilde will be running a workshop as part of the programme also. Talks and workshops need to be booked, so see website for details. The exhibition boasts a highly potent roster of artists which should be a joy to experience contextualised together. Other artists in the show include Albert, Aradne, Nick Blinko, Kate Bradbury, Madge Gill, Daniel Goncalves, Ted Gordon, Nigel Kingsbury, Margot, Malcolm McKesson, Dan Miller, Michel Nedjar, Evelyne Postic, Mehrdad Rashidi, Ody Saban, Harald Stoffers, George Widener, Ben Wilson and Agatha Wojciechowsky and more!
My process involves at least two layers of filtration and documentation, and here’s another layer…
My next entry will manifest sometime after the exhibition opens. See you on the other side. Take care,
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Boy travels Uncategorized: Adolf Wolfli Agatha Wojciechowsky Akio Kontani Albert Aloise Corbaz Andrea Bellini Aradne August Walla Ben Wilson Bethlem Gallery Candid Arts Centre Carlo Zinelli Cathy Ward Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneve Chewing Gum Man Chris Neate Codex Seraphinianus Collection de l'Art Brut Dan Miller Daniel Goncalves Darren Adcock diary drawings Dolly Sen Evelyne Postic Gaston Chaissac George Widener Harald Stoffers Henri Michaux J.B. Murray James Moss Jean Dubbuffet Jennifer Lauren Gallery Julia Sisi Kate Bradbury Laure Pigeon Leonhard Fink Lines of Revelation Liz Parkinson Luigi Serafini Madge Gill Malcolm McKesson Margaret Mousseau Margot Melvin Way Michel Nedjar Michel Thevoz Monochromatic Minds Nick Blinko Nigel Kingsbury Norimistsu Kokubo Octopus Ody Saban Outside In Outsider Art Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair New York 2020 Phil Baird Portico Library Rashidi Raw Vision Magazine Roger Cardinal Sarah Lombardi Scrivere Disegnando Shinichi Sawada Sugarglider Susan Hiller Talking Sense Ted Gordon The Changing Vocabulary of Mind and Brain The Horse Hospital When Language Seeks Its Other Writing by Drawing
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As we enter 2020, part II: New York, Manchester, Geneva, London
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Greetings. Here it is, part 2. Part 1 had me tying up last year’s loose ends. Part 2 looks at the near future and which walls you’ll find my work on. As usual, everything happens at once. I’m in exhibitions at the Portico Library in Manchester (UK), the Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva (Switzerland), and with Jennifer Lauren Gallery at the Candid Arts Center in London (UK) as well as at the Outsider Art Fair in New York (USA).
Outsider Art Fair – Jennifer Lauren Gallery /// January 16-19th. Metropolitan Pavilion. New York, USA
I’m not sure exactly what happened during the fabrefaction of my July 31st – November 28th, 2019 diary drawing, but the result is 12,627 words in my bubble text on A5 card. This is almost 2,000 more words than were recorded on the previous page and by now more than have been recorded on any of the ten A4 size diary drawings. If you want to go see the combobulation for yourself, find yourself at the Jennifer Lauren Gallery booth for their third year at the fair. Jennifer Lauren will also be showing work by Shinichi Sawada, Akio Kontani, Margaret Mousseau, Leonhard Fink, Chris Neate, Norimistsu Kokubo and more.
For further info on the fair, opening hours, special events etc.. see here.
Outsider Art Fair, NYC 2020
Diary, July 31st – November 28th, 2019
Talking Sense: The Changing Vocabulary of Mind and Brain. /// January 17th-April 13th. The Portico Library. Manchester, UK
James Moss curates the works and minds of 50 artists in this playfully conceptual exhibition fitting to the ethos of the Portico Library, a 200+ year old subscription library in Manchester’s city center. The exhibition “explores the idea of “mind/brain-then/now” – combining 18th and 19th century literature with new artworks to create a space for conversations around the vocabulary of neurodiversity, mental health and psychology”. Sugar Glider vs. Octopus, a painting I did in 2009 will be included along with works by the homies Darren Adcock and Dolly Sen. Quite pleasantly, we are accompanied by 47 artists I can’t say I am aware of by name. I look forward to discovering their work and how all this might fit together in the context! The public preview is from 6-8pm on Thursday 16th January.
Talking Sense: The changing vocabulary of mind and brain
Sugar Glider vs. Octopus, 2009
Scrivere Disegnando (‘Writing By Drawing’): When Language Seeks Its Other /// January 29th- May 3rd. Centre d’Art Contemporain. Geneva, Switzerland
I’m thrilled to have several diary drawings included in this near-exhaustive exploration of writing as drawing and how this leaves the communicative aspect in ambivalence and/or ambiguity, focussing on work from the early 19th century to the present day. At least that’s my reading of it so far. I impatiently await experiencing the exhibition for myself at the opening on Tuesday, January 28th. I understand the exhibition will be accompanied by an elaborately produced book of 300+ pages. I will report back with details regarding that as I learn them. Co-curated by Andrea Bellini (Centre d’Art Contemporain, Director) and Sarah Lombardi (Collection de l’Art Brut Lausanne, Director), it will be interesting to see works by artists associated with Art Brut side by side with contemporary artists, brought together through the context of this theme. On those walls I’ll be in the very good company of Nick Blinko, Gaston Chaissac, Aloise Corbaz, Jean Dubbuffet, Susan Hiller, Henri Michaux, Laure Pigeon, Luigi Serafini (Codex Seraphinianus!), J.B. Murray, August Walla, Melvin Way and Adolf Wolfli among others.. In my previous blog entry I spoke on the writer Michel Thevoz and the artist Carlo Zinelli. Thevoz is contributing text to the book published in conjunction with this exhibition, and there is a big Zinelli exhibition at the Collection l’Art Brut in Lausanne, so I’ll also be able to experience that, which should be wonderful. I’ll report back upon returning.
Monochromatic Minds: Lines Of Revelation – Jennifer Lauren Gallery /// February 25th- March 4th. Candid Arts Centre. London, UK
I can’t help but feel this will be a historic exhibition relentlessly championing works in black and white, through a roster of 62 artists, most of which I admire immensely, and some I’d not heard of or seen but am thus far impressed with based on images revealed here. Jennifer Lauren has taken on quite a task and brought together an extremely impressive group of artists, which I’m overwhelmingly excited to see curated together in one space. On these walls I am joined by my PPP crew (Posca Pen Pals) Liz Parkinson and Julia Sisi, the highly potent Albert who I’ve met through the Bethlem, Madge Gill who needs no introduction, the great Aradne, it’s an endless list and I’d love to think of specific words to describe each artist but I must go and do my tax returns. It’s very tempting though.. Ody Saban who’s work I’ve admired over the last fifteen years, Cathy Ward whom I’ve crossed paths with since encountering her work at The Horse Hospital (which is in grave danger of being shut down after over 25 years, spread the word to your powerful and caring friends please!) around the time they offered to show my work for the first time in 2007/8, Nick Blinko who I’ve written about quite a lot over the years (here are a couple of bits: 2011, 2016), Rashidi, Margot, Harald Stoffers, George Widener, Ben Wilson, Malcolm McKesson, Dan Miller, Kate Bradbury, Nigel Kingsbury, Daniel Goncalves, Michel Nedjar, Evelyne Postic, Agatha Wojciechowsky, Ted Gordon, and the list goes on! I just wish brother Phil was here. Right,.. I feel like I’m about to malfunction. For full details check this and I’ll reiterate all this in a more succinct and informative manner within the next blog entry in a few weeks, with updated specifics regarding the series of events surrounding the exhibition including presentations by some of the artists and more.
Roger Cardinal (1940-2019)
It was saddening to hear that Roger Cardinal, the man who first used the controversial term ‘Outsider Art’ with having his book titled as such (published in 1972), has transcended the Earth at the end of last year. The forthcoming issue (104) of Raw Vision magazine will be a special tribute edition. I was privileged to meet him several times. My first encounter with him was interesting, I had been writing in my diary drawing for a couple of hours, alone at a table and he walks into the room and asks if I mind him sitting beside me. He then asked if I minded him taking some notes as we conversed. We went from there into another smaller room where a video interview with Jean Dubuffet was showing and we sat there for a short time before he nodded off for a while in an armchair. We crossed paths a handful of times or so after that and began a somewhat intense email exchange, which began with him actually saying he would be “honoured” to write about my drawings (too much!). He could also be quite playful in his approach. Referring back to that email, he wrote: I would be honoured to write something about your work, which is definitely on my personal list of a site of “outstanding natural beauty” (that’s a quotation from the Kent County Council road sign that you’ll find at the entrance to our local villages!). I regret not having resolved the unusual and perplexing tone of our last emails. Irrespective of that, Roger Cardinal will forever be gargantuan.
Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: AACM Adamson Collection Trust Adolf Wolfli African Skies Aloise Corbaz Amelie Ravalec Art & Mind Artistic Heritage Ensemble Augustin Lesage David O Flynn Derk Reklaw diary drawings Earth Wind and Fire Edmund Monsiel Edvard Munch Francisco Goya frankiphone Hieronymus Bosch ICA John Maizels Josefe Marie Verna Kelan Phil Cohran and Legacy Mad Pride Mad Pride All-dayer Madge Gill Nick Blinko NTS Radio Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris 2019 Phil Cohran Raw Vision Magazine Sun Ra Arkestra Timmy Miller Has a Heavy Head William Blake
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End of summer updates (exhibitions, film screenings, art fairs, radio shows…)
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It has been half a year or so since my last blog post.. Some updates as we transition into the climax of an unknown winter…
Manchester Mad Pride All-Dayer, Sunday September 8th
This subversive celebration is coming up very soon, at the end of this very week in fact. I was invited to partake and have contributed a couple of prints to the visual art exhibition, as well as my film Timmy Miller Has a Heavy Head which will be screened in a programme of short films throughout the day. It is a rare showing of the film and no other showings are currently planned to take place. The event will showcase various artists spanning a vast spectrum of dynamic media for all your senses to glean. These are the co-ordinates:
Niamos, Chichester Road, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5EU
You can find further info here (where if you scroll down to a post from August 3rd, you can read my answers to a few questions that were put to me) or here.
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2019, Thursday 17th – Sunday 20th October
I’m proud to announce that some of my work will be on show again with the Galerie du Marche (Lausanne, Switzerland) at the seventh edition of the annual Outsider Art Fair in Paris this October. It has been surreal to be included among highly potent artists such as Aloise Corbaz, Edmund Monsiel, Adolf Wolfli and Madge Gill on what I have always considered to be one of, if not the, strongest stands at the fair.
The most recently completed diary drawing is on an A5 format (21 x 14.8cm). In some sort of unexplainable phenomena, it has resulted in several thousand more words than the previous diary of the same size, and contains more words than eight out of the ten A4 diary pages that exist, at almost 11,000 words in ‘bubble text’. Usually the word difference, especially in such close succession (months, not years), can be a few hundred more or less. This diary page will be on show at the fair. See here for further details.
Diary, May-July 2019
Art & Mind film
I should mention the manifestation of this truly ambitious documentary film, Art & Mind, which attempts to chart evolving opinions, views and research regarding the convergence of mental health and visual art whilst considering a period of give or take 500 years. I was present at the premiere which took place at the ICA in April (where it will be shown as part of a double bill on Sunday September 8th again). There are dozens of further screenings scheduled globally, which you can find here along with the trailer and further information. The film is narrated by the unparalleled John Maizels, editor of Raw Vision Magazine, who was on the Q & A panel at the premiere alongside chair of the Adamson Collection Trust, David O Flynn and director of the film itself, Amelie Ravalec. From having viewed the film once, I recall my immediate response was a feeling of inundation. There were 350 or so images shown in the film (including one of mine), in a sort of suspended montage sequence. The film was divided into an array of sub-chapters, giving a short time to highlight each. It would not go amiss to re-edit this film and the extensive omitted footage, into a series of episodes, allowing more time for the information to flow. The sequence of images is beautiful and to see it on a big screen was fantastic. With such an amount to be tackled within the time frame of a feature film, and to summarise the centuries explored, naturally there is a lot left unsaid and, for example, failing to include non-Western art and non-Western interpretations of mental health assessment and behaviour, is significantly detrimental. I found the relentlessness of the on-going music under the interviewees words contributed to a somewhat suffocating viewing process, but paradoxically find the alignment of that to the subject, an interesting choice of formatting and that perhaps it in some way can work to the film’s advantage. Needless to say, I can’t wait to re-watch this film, probably several times. To see works by Bosch, Goya, Blake, and Munch contextualised with Lesage, Wolfli, Blinko, and an endless list of incredible artists, and practitioners active in various aspects of the field pondering on these works and how they were viewed in their time and since, is incredibly fascinating.
Art & Mind Q & A panel, l-r: Travis Collins, David O Flynn, Amelie Ravalec, John Maizels
See’s To Exist Show, edition 179 – The Sphereology of Phil Cohran
I recently put a pre-recorded radio show together focussing on the extraordinary music of self-proclaimed ‘sphereologist’, Phil Cohran. A difficult task to fit what I can into two hours, especially after a very rich hour and twenty minute conversation recorded between myself and harpist Josefe Marie Verna (who’s majestic opening notes on White Nile, from the African Skies LP recorded in 1993 were my introduction to Phil Cohran’s music) , which I edited parts of into the show, as well as fragments of a phone conversation I had with Derf Reklaw who was involved in Phil Cohran’s Artistic Heritage Ensemble in the late 1960s. Cohran played in Sun Ra’s Arkestra for a couple of years as the 1950s turned into the 1960s, and is known for being co-founder of the legendary AACM. He invented the Frankiphone, a sort of electrified thumb piano, which was popularised by disciples of his who went on to form Earth, Wind and Fire. I get into details about all of that and much more. Most importantly, you can hear some of this great music in the show here.
My show is monthly and you can hear the next show in its usual format of me playing some of my records live and talking about them on September 22nd, 3-5pm (UK time) over at NTS Radio.
a young Phil Cohran and his frankiphone
That’s All Folks!
I have some exciting news simmering and hope to report back soon. Meanwhile, back to your lives.
Take care,
Carlo.
Boy shows you his... Boy travels Uncategorized: Afrohorn After Hours Ahmed Abdullah American Folk Art Museum Andrew EdlinGallery Arthur Blythe Bob Stewart Cathy Ward Cavin-Morris Gallery Christine Sefolosha Cosmos Donald Smith Eric Wright Francisco Mora Catlett GG Allin Guggenheim New York Henry Boxer Gallery Hilma af Klimt Jennifer Lauren Gallery Joe Coleman John Dunkley John Maizels Julia Sisi Marcel Storr MC5 Nick Blinko Night of the Purple Moon Norbert Kox Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair New York 2019 Paa Joe Phyllis Kind qpsm unit ras moshe burnett Raw Vision Raw Vision Magazine Ricco/Maresca Gallery Salim Washington See's To Exist Serpentine Gallery Sun Ra Sweet Earth Records Warren Smith Wayne Kramer Zinc Bar
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Time is the whirlwind (part II: New York, New York)
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Needless to say life since the previous newsletter/blog entry has been a whirlwind and thus this ‘part II’ is justified. A lot to touch on in this post, including very recent unexpected and exciting developments…
Get your coffee, this may take a while…
Outsider Art Fair New York, January 2019
Bar the near-infuriating process of getting out of Newark airport (which is considerably less infuriating than that of JFK airport), my journey was quite smooth. I do love arriving to New York, post-airport. Feeling the cold air on my face. Getting the train. Usually something happens that reminds me where I am. On this occasion, after leaving my things at the apartment where I’m staying, I went on my way to Raw Vision magazine’s party celebrating its 100th issue. On my way there, it was perfect, I entered the subway and heard the music that was used to open and close the film After Hours. A classical piece, I forget who wrote it and what it’s called but I very much enjoy it. Most likely through the association with the film. It is perfectly fitting in the film, which is Manhattan atmosphere-focussed and from the lens of an ‘outsider’s’ view of the downtown art scene of the early-mid 1980s (near enough when the film was made also). It was great and surprising to hear this piece on the subway upon arriving to New York. As if I was being welcomed by a specially curated subway journey. It was a violinist or cellist playing. It was quite a last minute decision and possibility to come, so I was very glad to be embarking on this odyssey. It is the first time my work is being shown at the OAF in New York. Thanks Jennifer Lauren Gallery!
Carlo beside himself
Queue for Carlo
Nice image nabbed off of Instagram via kirstycnyc
A couple of my small drawings (The Disadvantages of Time part IV: Time Lapse, The Disadvantages of Time part V: To What End?) were shown and both sold, covering my trip with a bit of extra change. Nice. The Raw Vision party was cool. It was a night of short films submitted to Raw Vision, which made for some interesting viewing. The jetlag wasn’t too intrusive to my wakefulness but the atmosphere was somewhat surreal. I suppose sitting in an environment like an airplane for a good part of the day and then finding yourself walking around New York City in itself would do that. I had a complimentary beer. That was nice. I saw a few familiar beings. Jennie who was showing my drawings. Cathy Ward and Eric Wright. Fresh off the press: Raw Vision will be hosting a similar event in London (UK) mid-March.
The OAF opening was busy and buzzing. I saw friend Julia Sisi there, working at the Raw Vision stand with the great John Maizels. It was cool to see them. A man came up to me to express his admiration for my drawings. We talked about the different pens I use. He said something about the level of detail “you and Nick Blinko“. Wow. The most pleasing work at the fair for me to experience were three paintings by Joe Coleman, who has finally been un-banned from having work shown there, and his works were incidentally shown at the Andrew Edlin Gallery stand, Andrew Edlin being owner of the fair also. Coleman was banned under previous ownership though. Edlin’s stand for me is generally a highlight in what they show. I was awestruck by another monumental Marcel Storr work there again. The most impressive of Joe Coleman’s works must have been finished just days or at most a couple of weeks before the fair opened, evidenced by a section in the work being dedicated to the late Norbert Kox who had very recently transcended the Earth.
Joe Coleman ‘Adam Parfrey: A Feral Man in a Feral Land’, 2018-2019
detail of Norbert Kox
Also of note, as is usually the case, to my eye anyway, were the selections displayed by the Cavin-Morris and Henry Boxer galleries. Apparently the exhibition Cavin-Morris had on at their actual gallery in New York was considered by some to be the best show they have ever put together. I was adamant that I’d reach and see it while I was there but sadly the stars didn’t align that way. They currently have a solo exhibition of Christine Sefolosha‘s work on show, which must be fantastic. Sefolosha is a force to be reckoned with. It has now been a month since the fair, and a lot else has been happening so I’ll move ever onward..
Whilst in NYC, I did manage to see the Hilma af Klimt exhibition at the Guggenheim. I was not aware of her and had missed a recent exhibition of her work at The Serpentine in London. The Guggenheim show was interesting to see. I think it could have been curated better but it was fascinating to see her work and learn about it. I can’t say I like all of it, but some of it was pretty special and considering it in various contexts was quite enlightening, notably when the work was created and how overlooked it was within art history.
Hilma af Klimt works at the Guggenheim, NYC
The New York trip continues with a party at the American Folk Art Museum where I saw the Paa Joe and John Dunkley exhibitions. Both interesting in different ways. I walked around the John Dunkley exhibition sensing something very familiar about the work and eventually saw this painting which immediately took me back to the museum in Kingston, Jamaica where I had seen this very painting a few years ago when I was there. I believe it was the only John Dunkley painting I saw when I was there, or it was the only one that struck me, but clearly it stayed with me somewhere in the brain files.
John Dunkley ‘Banana Plantation’, c.1945
Lastly, it was Saturday, I had been running around town since Wednesday and against my urge to reach everywhere I wanted to reach, felt I did need some rest. My calculations of timing had begun to be off, and it was clear I needed to make some adjustments. I passed on the Ricco/Maresca party dedicated to the recently passed Phyllis Kind, which I’d really have liked to experience. (note: I’d only met Phyllis Kind once, over a decade ago in the last year or two of her New York gallery being open. The exhibition was fantastic and I also got to see a Nick Blinko drawing up close for the first time, which was brought out from the stock room after we’d got talking about his work.) I laid low for an hour and then walked through the rain to Zinc Bar. It was imperative to check out some music, after all. I’d been in touch with trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah whom I’d interviewed for my radio shows over the years (the Sweet Earth Records special, and the Arthur Blythe special) and he said he would be performing there with a group called AfroHORN and that Bob Stewart (note: Bob Stewart’s solo on Arthur Blythe’s Lennox Avenue Breakdown from the late ’70s is potentially the most significant tuba solo in Jazz history) would be guesting also. This show was from 8-10pm and there was another show over in Brooklyn that I’d initially planned to go see from 10pm onwards. I was toying with the idea of doing both somehow. The other show was a collective improvisation featuring the legendary drummer/percussionist Warren Smith, saxophonist Salim Washington who I was interested in seeing from having listened to him on a record by QPSM Unit, and Ras Moshe Burnett whom I was intrigued to see also. I never made it to that event. Partly because, to my surprise, Salim Washington was on stage at the AfroHORN gig! I’d mentioned to Ahmed Abdullah via email, the other show, and he responded delighted to hear Salim Washington was in town and that they had known each other for a couple of decades and had been neighbours and worked together but that he had moved to South Africa. I could be wrong, but there is a possibility that Salim Washington was on that stage in Manhattan in part due to me having mentioned him in an email to Ahmed Abdullah!? Potential evidence in support of an alternate explanation is that the bassist on that QPSM Unit record was also on stage in Manhattan that night and that could have been his in. (In some sort of way, this reminds me of the time Wayne Kramer of the MC5 was performing in London on the day GG Allin died, give or take a couple of decades, and as we were in correspondence at the time, I’d mentioned it to him the day before. The first words he said before starting to play referenced GG’s death and the newspaper reviews the following day made a point to highlight this. Kind of silly, but it’s funny how and where things ricochet). In any case, I was so glad I had come to hear this. It truly lifted my spirit and rejuvenated my everything. I was fulfilled and didn’t need to rush off to any next thing. I was soaking it in and reflecting on it for some time after. Salim Washington’s partner and baby were in attendance, all seemingly leaving for the other gig ten minutes before the set ends. Also not in the listing was that the incredible Donald Smith was on piano that night. Blissful. They did a great rendition of Sun Ra’s ‘Love in Outer Space’ (standout version being from Sun Ra’s ‘Night of the Purple Moon‘ LP from 1970. Note: both Ahmed Abdullah and ArfoHORN leader Francisco Mora Catlett played with Sun Ra’s Arkestra in the 1970s and beyond. I first heard Ahmed Abdullah on one of the first records that got me into Sun Ra, ‘Cosmos‘ from 1976) and a wonderful version of Reggie Fields’s ‘Reminiscing’. I sacrificed the moment to capture some on my phone, which you can check out if you scroll down to the bottom of all this.
with Ahmed Abdullah
As if I don’t have more significant things to include in this already overstretched newsletter/blog post, here is an inflated rat I saw in New York, and a couple of octopus sightings..
You know what? This was all stuff from my New York trip and I have a lot of other things to write still, but there is enough here. To keep it neat and for those of you that have read this to the end, I’ll let you return to your lives for now.. The subheading for this post was ‘New York, New York’ because the second dose of New York will be happening in March already. Those very recent and exciting developments alluded to in the opening sentences of this post will have to wait. I’ll save that information for the next entry, which I will follow this one up with sooner than you think.. I hope.
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AfroHORN – ‘Reminiscing’ live @ the Zinc Bar, NYC, January 2019
Boy talks Boy travels Uncategorized: Achilles G. Rizolli Adolf Wolfli Albert Aloise Corbaz American Folk Art Museum Aradne Cloisonne de theatre James Edward Deeds Jr. James Lake Jarvis Cocker Jennifer Lauren Gallery Jerry Gretzinger Joe Coleman Kate Bradbury Manuel Bonifacio Marc Steene Nick Blinko Outside In Outside In: Journeys Paul Laffoley Phil Baird Sotheby's Susan T King The Alternative Guide to the Universe Valerie Rousseau Vestiges and Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic
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This was January 2018
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Outside In: Journeys at Sotheby’s, New Bond Street (London, UK)…
I’ve just returned from New York and will use this space to recall some of what happened. Firstly, prior to embarking on that odyssey, I was excited to see the Outside In exhibition at Sotheby’s, a bit closer to home in London. The opening night was quite extravagant and as busy as could be. Perhaps someone knew there would be bottomless champagne glasses handed out? I’d like to think all these new faces were there to marvel at some of the wondrous works on show. The works were nicely lit, with a strange blueish hue hovering around them (or was that just me seeing it?). In some ways it was the perfect setting to celebrate Outside In’s certified charity status, and they did well in accumulating art works from throughout their journey, from 2006 to the present. In my case, Picture Worth a Thousand Words was on show. This was the painting I submitted for their competition/exhibition in 2009. I was one of the six ‘winners’ and they offered me my first solo exhibition as a result. At that point in time, the painting was a decade old already. Seeing it hung in Sotheby’s a few weeks ago, I realised it had doubled in age since then. It returns every ten years to fuel and strengthen my belief in the power and propelling of cycles. And to think, this painting blew off the roof of a car twice on the motorway from London to Chichester when we were initially delivering it in 2009. It suffered wounds. Thankfully that was all! Anyhow, it was certainly touching to see it again and whilst waiting for my coat in the cloakroom on my way out, I had a sudden urge to go and see it once more and to touch it. In that moment, a strange sense of time and movement ran through me, much more effective than my words could reflect. Something I have never felt before. I did return a few days later to show my family. There were a healthy amount of people around, but it was much easier to speak and move around. I must give a mention to some of the other great work on show, courtesy of artists Phil Baird, Kate Bradbury, Nick Blinko, Aradne, Albert, Manuel Bonifacio and James Lake among others. Normally I would have taken some photos of the works in situ but am whirl-winding through life at the moment, so I hope the links contained within the aforementioned names typed will suffice. I did get a snapshot of Jarvis Cocker making a speech at the opening though (if you haven’t seen his two part documentary on ‘Outsider environments’ for Channel 4 which screened in the late ’90s of the previous millennium, check the internets). Also, a shot of me with Nemo (a few weeks prior to his first birthday) a few days later in front of my work (also from the late ’90s). Big shout out to Marc Steene, founder and Director of Outside In and all round renaissance man for being unquestionably transcendental.
Jarvis Cocker speaks at Outside In: Journeys opening
Carlo and Nemo beside ‘Picture Worth a Thousand Words’
Vestiges and Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic at the American Folk Art Museum, Lincoln Square (NYC, USA)…
I’ve just returned from New York and will use this space to recall some of what happened. In terms of the exhibition, a very impressive and ambitious conceptual manifestation. It is an honour to be among the (mostly dead and few living) artists chosen to be featured. Five of my diary drawings are shown, spanning the years 2010 – 2016. Interestingly, that is the most of them that I have seen alongside each other at one time. Most probably I have never had that many in my possession at any one time, either. It was somewhat challenging negotiating time with little Nemo, considering the five hour time difference to back home but we took him along to the opening as planned. He fell asleep in a sea of noise and wonderment. It was a bizarre cocktail of adrenaline and tiredness. A surreal experience for sure. My works were hung in a space opposite a master work by Aloïse Corbaz and works by James Edward Deeds Jr. Some magnificent Adolf Wölfli works were displayed in the same area. It was a trip to be shown in an exhibition with so many works by Achilles Rizzoli, which in this case heavily focussed on compositions comprised mainly of text rather than the phenomenal architectural imaginings he penned. I highly recommend this book. It was interesting to see some Paul Laffoley works again. His weighing out of systems is very intriguing to me. His work first caught my eye at the highly poignant The Alternative Guide to the Universe exhibition at the Hayward, in London in 2013. He was still alive then. Vestiges and Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic in some ways reminded me of that great show at the Hayward. So many interesting artists collected and put into a captivating context to provide a lens through which you observe the similarities, and sometimes somehow the similarities through the differences, based on how far in a direction they will each take you.
My work was in view upon first glance beyond the entry point into the exhibition. Approaching it, it didn’t take a nanosecond to realise one of the drawings was hung upside down. This has since been rectified. I thought not to mention it here, but human error occurs (and we should be thankful for that!). This incident raised the question for me, ‘Am I so far down this road that only I can see how obvious it is that this drawing is upside down?’. Among attendees at the opening were, aside from myself, two other living artists being shown in the exhibition. Susan T King and Jerry Gretzinger. The former, I have admired and written a bit about in recent years. Jerry, on the other hand, I was not aware of. It was a great pleasure to meet him and speak at some length with him specifically/personally, but also as someone else included in the show, sharing stories about our paths and how we end up where we end up. I’m completely in awe of his map project which began in the 1960s and is on-going. Mesmerising. Find yourself ten minutes, get yourself a hot drink and watch this. An artist I was not expecting to meet that night was Joe Coleman, which was a more than pleasant surprise. It began with a “look who’s behind you, Carlo”, and there he was beside my work. Thanks to Jennie we got talking a bit, about Henry Darger (who has some incredible work in the show), The curator Valérie Rousseau, and other artists in the show. He left me with the words “Welcome to the family”. The family? The family?? Thanks Joe. Below are some photos from the opening. The exhibition runs for a duration of three months or so. Check it out if you can!
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Rizzoli works being scrutinised at the opening
Joe Coleman and Carlo Keshishian. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Gilbert.
Joe observes Carlo’s diaries. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Gilbert.
Joe Coleman, Carlo Keshishian, Jennifer Gilbert. Vestiges and Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic exhibition opening at the American Folk Art Museum in New York, NY on January 20, 2018. (Photo by Stephen Smith/Art Zealous)
In view: Aloïse Corbaz’s 14 meter long master work ‘Cloisonné de théâtre’.
Carlo Keshishian and Jerry Gretzinger. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Gilbert.
Part of Jerry’s map visible in bottom left corner. Photographed during Valerie Rousseau speaking at opening.
I feel like there was more I wanted to write but it escapes me now. I need to stop writing here and continue writing in the current diary drawing, so will let this be for now. I hope to update the blog more frequently, yadda yadda.. let’s see..
Bright moments, Carlo.
Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: Andrea Joyce Heimer Castlefield Gallery Darren Brian Adcock David MacLagan Jenna Kayleigh Wilkinson Joel Lorand Marlene Steyn Mehrdad Rashidi Mit Senoj Nick Blinko Peter Darach Richard Nie Rudimentary Peni
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Inside Out at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, UK
‘Inside Out’ at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester (UK) / 4th March – 24th April, 2016
As promised in the previous blog entry, I am expanding on the topic of a current exhibition which features some of my work. At the time of writing this, it has been open to the public for just under two weeks and will remain open for just over a further month. I highly recommend a visit after having attended the preview night. The space is impressive, and the combination of artists and works make for a rich experience which should have something to absorb you into and intrigue you. I think it is fair to say that there is enough potency in this show to captivate beyond the much too often case in my experience of entering gallery, perusing ’empty’ feeling ideas/art for a matter of a handful of minutes at most, and sometimes even forcing further attention in case time might do anything in me understanding/appreciating the work, but more often than not failing to accept there is any substance of real value. I am so tired of that, that I wanted to write that sloppy sentence as quickly as possible and move on.
I have to send a big shout out to co-curator of the show show, David Maclagan, for his support over the last few years and for bringing me into this show. The work on display was co-curated with the Castlefield Gallery and I saw some interesting work that I was unfamiliar with until that point. Darren Brian Adcock‘s interactive pieces had a wondrous and original way of engaging with me. I had the honour or being in this group show with an artist I have admired for over half my lifetime thus far, Nick Blinko. This strangely put some sort of perspective on things, for me. In fact, and I hadn’t thought of this until now, but Nick Blinko’s original drawing used for the insert of his band Rudimentary Peni‘s first album ‘Death Church‘ from the early 1980s, being exhibited in this exhibition, is a result of some cosmic vibrations if ever there were any. A friend of mine in school made a compilation cassette for me, containing hardcore punk recordings from his record collection. It took him months to finally get round to finishing it and giving it to me. A song from ‘Death Church’ was on this tape, and I went to seek out the album after that. Purchasing it was my first exposure to Nick Blinko’s art, and right now you can see the original art for that album on show in an exhibition along with some of my work. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but something happened there!
I was going to write more, but I think I’ll leave it at that! I hope you can make it along to see some interesting work that doesn’t often get an outing. Vibrations courtesy of: Darren Brian Adcock, Nick Blinko, Peter Darach, Andrea Joyce Heimer, Carlo Keshishian, Joel Lorand, David Maclagan, Richard Nie, Mehrdad Rashidi, Mit Senoj, Marlene Steyn, Jenna Kayleigh Wilkinson.
Below are some photos from the opening.
David Maclagan introducing the exhibition
Manchester is awash with youth
Man steps into my realm
Crowd congregate with fascination and intrigue in regards to a stranger’s diary
Further attempts are made to decode my rantings
Diary Drawing, Sept. 2015 – March 2016
Another diary drawing has reached its natural ending point. On this occasion, without filling the entire page. I’ve covered most of it though. There are a handful of reasons that I am aware of relating to why, one of which is how difficult I found using the pen that I chose. It was not very fluid and did not flow so well. This, in part, delayed the process by months. Anyhow, that’s the way it goes. It was not the sole reason, in any case.. Unfortunately, my scanner is not scanning the page straight, regardless of how straight the page is placed into the scanner, so I hope this temporary scan should do for now.. I guess you won’t notice too much either way though..
Lastly, I must mention I have been on some inspiring adventures lately. In contrast to the behemoths I normally post as blogs, and rather sparsely, I hope to submit somewhat more frequent and digestible posts, in which I’d like to focus on these adventures, for example. Until then,
Peace
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Boy talks: Ahmed Abdullah Amina Claudine Myers Carlo Keshishian Castlefield Gallery David Wertman David Wertman & The Sun Ensemble diary drawings Ed Blackwell Eternod/Mermod Collection Galerie Du Marche Joel Lorand John Sprague La Maison Rouge louis soutter Madge Gill Marion Brown Mehrdad Rashidi Nick Blinko Outside In Outsider Art Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris Stephen McCraven Sun Ra Sweet Earth Records The Sun Ensemble theo
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Outsider Art Fair Paris, Castlefield Gallery, Sweet Earth Records and a Happy New Year..
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2015…
Greetings friends, family, fans, followers and spies. I thought I’d write one of these posts to update everyone on some of my activities before the year is out. Firstly, as I mentioned in the previous post in September, I had two drawings shown at the Outsider Art Fair Paris thanks to Galerie du Marché and the Eternod/Mermod Collection from Lausanne, Switzerland. I must reiterate how much of an honour it is to have my drawings in their incredible collection and to be shown at their consistently strong booth, having attended the fair for several years and been absorbed by the potency and selection. This was the first time that my works have been exhibited at the fair, and I was in good company on the wall with a Louis Soutter above me and a Theo below me, with a Madge Gill below that. As I said in my entry of reflections on the Outsider Art Fair Paris for Outside In‘s blog which can be read here: “In a weird way, I quite like being in the company of dead people who manage to speak from beyond the grave (and particularly in this way).” Quoting myself from other blogs, into my own. The future has arrived. Anyhow, for my perspective on the fair, click on the aforementioned link. The two diary drawings of mine that were shown were bought by the La Maison Rouge collection and a private collector.
Carlo, beside himself at OAF Paris 2015
Diary Drawing…
I am currently drawing the 9th in my series of diary drawings, with the intention to stop at the 12th, as I’d like to continue a painting that I began in 2011 and hopefully build a series around it. Below, you can see an image capturing a moment in the process of my current diary in progress..
Ninth diary in progress
Castlefield Gallery… Inside Out
I am pleased to announce that some of my work will be shown in Inside Out, an exhibition with a very interesting roster of artists, at the Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, UK. The show will be on from 4th March until 24th of April. For (a lot of) additional info, check out the first link in this paragraph. I’ll go into some more detail about this exhibition in my next blog post, but for now I will say I am very excited to discover I’ll have works shown alongside Nick Blinko, Joel Lorand and Mehrdad Rashidi.
Sweet Earth Records
I undertook a most pleasurable adventure in recent months, in an attempt to shed light on a somewhat obscure, short-lived record company that was active between 1977-1979. My curiosity resulted from a variety of ‘coincidences’ in regards to the records that were released on the label, most of which are rare and all out of print with the exception of Sun Ra‘s The Other Side Of The Sun which saw a reissue through another label in recent years. In my attempt to demystify the story of Sweet Earth Records, I managed to speak with John Sprague who kindly elaborates on his memories of performing and recording with David Wertman and The Sun Ensemble, as well as his involvement with the label and their releases. I also speak with the legendary Amina Claudine Myers about her album Poems For Piano ‘The Piano Music of Marion Brown’, I chat with the charismatic Stephen McCraven who kindly invited me in his home to speak on his classic Wooley The Newt LP, and lastly I interview the great Ahmed Abdullah about a Sweet Earth Records non-release and what would have been Ed Blackwell‘s first album as leader. As far as I know, there isn’t really even a synopsis of what Sweet Earth Records were about, online, let alone an exploratory show containing interviews with someone associated with each release to come out on the label, which is what I’ve managed to piece together. I hope you enjoy it. With that, I’ll stop typing and leave you with those two hours of audio Sweet Earth Records special / See’s To Exist show. Happy New Year!
Bright moments,
Carlo