Annual update

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Greetings once again. Happy New Year (?)

I’ve been on a longer hiatus than usual on delivering any news through this blog. I am now aiming to write a few shorter entries with a bit more frequency. So, today the 30th anniversary edition of the Outsider Art Fair opens in New York. I would love to be there! But I am at home, making worm costumes for my son, and trying to evict a squirrel from the loft instead.

 

 

Outsider Art Fair, New York. Metropolitan Pavilion, March 3-6th, 2022 – Jennifer Lauren Gallery / Booth C14

Venue: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 (between 6th & 7th Ave)
Dates: 3 March, VIP preview and Private View, 12–8pm
4–5 March, 11am–8pm
6 March, 11am–6pm

 

Jennifer Lauren Gallery will be showing my work alongside works by Robert Fischer, Shinya Fujii, Keisuke Ishino, Jesse James Nagel, Pradeep Kumar, Cara Macwilliam, Chris Neate, Makoto Okawa, Valerie Potter, Shinichi Sawada, and Agatha Wojciechowsky

Should you be present, a wall at booth C14 will reveal my

 

Diary (22.6.21 – 21.10.21)
Ink pen on paper, 15,118 words
21x15cm (8.3×5.8 inches)

     and another text drawing from The Disadvantages of Time series. The Disadvantages of Time part XV – The Wasteland Tape (part II) to be specific. You can click on the image above to experience with some more detail. 

It’s an exciting program aside from a lot of the interesting work being shown by some great galleries. There is a showcase of Bruce Bickford’s work which I feel is a lost opportunity to see his creations first hand. I already missed the chance when he was still alive and showing at The Horse Hospital in London, where my work was first shown also a couple of years later. There is also the interesting and potent looking curated space titled Field Trip: Psychedelic Solution, 1986-1995 which includes work by Joe Coleman, Alex Grey, H.R. Giger, Robert Crumb, Rick Griffin, Gary Panter, Spain Rodriguez, Gilbert Shelton, and S. Clay Wilson among others. There is also a curated space dedicated to the collection of Michael Stipe, which is intriguing.

 

I will post again soon with any updates regarding the fair and may also post a bit of back log, or other things moving forward.

Onwards!

Carlo.

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

A hardback book has been published to accompany/memorialise the Scrivere Disegnando exhibition which was on show for most of the first half of 2020 at the Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva, Switzerland.  This book contains images of and words about my diary drawings. Separate French and English editions available. Including text by Michel Thevoz and artists of interest: Adolf Wolfli, Aloise Corbaz, Henri Michaux, Nick Blinko, Laure Pigeon, Luigi Serafini, Melvin Way and many others… I’ve written about the exhibition in previous blog posts, which you can dig out if you so desire. Here is the blurb from the art space in Geneva: Through the work of nearly a hundred contemporary artists and Art Brut personalities, the exhibition “Scrivere Disegnando” and the catalogue “Writing by Drawing” explore writing’s shadow side. This 300-page catalogue is published in EN and FR editions by Skira, brings together essays specially commissioned from curators, critics and philosophers on the questions of asemic writing and plural writings.

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

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.

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 SawadaAkio 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. 

 

Summer/Autumn updates

Outside In 10th Anniversary

Greetings. As usual, it has been a while since the last time I have posted here. Time passes, things accumulate, etc.. So, let’s get on with it!

Outside In have put a show together at Pallant House Gallery, in order to celebrate 10 years of Outside In, which is quite an achievement. It’s great that they can continue to carry out the work that they do and seem to be going from strength to strength. I have a couple of diary drawings in the exhibition alongside the works of other award winners. The show is on until the 30th October, so if you are nearby, do check it out! Also imperative to mention, something that really blew me away and was a total surprise, on exhibition in the DeLonghi Room at Pallant House, are some (many) collected works by Friedrich Nagler. Seriously incredible, faces created out of all sorts of materials throughout his adult life.. Some simple, others quite detailed and complex.. I can’t stress how great this exhibition is and urge anyone remotely near to go take a look, I’m not sure what the probability of seeing them again is, where or when, but I do hope it can tour for others to share this experience. These shows aren’t on for much longer, so check it out while you can!

Friedrich Nagler works on show at Pallant House Gallery

Friedrich Nagler works on show at Pallant House Gallery

Three Quarters Records

By now, I do have a somewhat dynamic history with a figure known to some as Joe Dub. He resides in Hawaii and first came to my attention in the last few years of the previous millennium for his work with the group San Francisco Street Music. He has gone through a few name changes and it is about to happen again, on this occasion to be coinciding with the launch of his new record label, Three Quarters. For their first release, Joe, alongside longtime collaborator Alex 75, handles the production for singer Doug Shorts on a 7″ called ‘Throwing Our Love Away/Slow Poison’.

I am proud to present to you all, a wooden 45/7″ record adapter that I’ve designed for the Three Quarters record label. It is my understanding that these will be available as a limited edition promotional gift with orders of the first release by Doug Shorts very soon.. Stay tuned for more info! In the meantime, you can read a bit more about Doug Shorts here.

Additionally, I have included part of an interview that I recently conducted with Joe Dub, in my 100th radio show for Itch FM (It is my 140th in total). The show focuses on the historical development of my interest in Jazz and I’ll be uploading it to my Mixcloud archive soon. It can be found on Itch FM’s archive already. Furthermore, I am in the process of putting together quite a thorough show focusing on Joe Dub and his music, which will include the full interview. I’ll provide a link to both of these as they become available.

 

The Carlo Keshishian/Three Quarters 45 Adapter

The Carlo Keshishian/Three Quarters 45 Adapter

 

three-quarters-adapter-2

three-quarters-adapter

 

Outsider Art Fair Paris 2016

It’s that time again..  October 20-23rd. Outsider Art Fair Paris, at Hôtel du Duc. A few dozen galleries and organisations from around the world will be exhibiting. I will have works on display with the Galerie du Marché (Lausanne, Switzerland). I’m in great company alongside favourite artists of mine such as Raphael Lonne and Edmund Monsiel, whose pieces are very rarely exhibited, so treat yourself to a trip and journey. Come see us! I will be writing my opinion piece for Outside In as per usual, so if you can’t make it, perhaps you’ll be able to gauge and glean something from that once it’s published. I’ll keep you posted, in any case..

Right, that will be all for now! I’ll be in touch again in due course..

Bright moments,

Carlo

 

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. 

 

oaf paris carlo 2015

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

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

Further ongoing adventures..

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I’m back from Amsterdam. Nice place. Pockets of land with windy water passages throughout. The place is not short of record stores. Good to see  that vinyl all around town. The Circus Terminal came to town and we had a lot of fun..

 

Circus Terminal Amsterdam

The opening took place last Saturday at Amsterdam Outsider Art. With 85 artists from 19 countries being represented, you certainly get an overwhelming sensation of creative energy channeled through your optical orifices through to your brain, soul, and wherever else allows. A dynamic experience for sure, with raw ox meat and olives tantalising the taste-buds and illusory potential brides in a seemingly physical form, interacting with the onlookers. She was also there the following day, I am pretty sure, though perhaps I was just in a strange dream. There are photos though, so it must have been real. Click on these to see larger images..

 

Gareth Hughes, Carlo Keshishian, Chutima Nok Kerdpitak, Julia Sisi, Liz Parkinson

Gareth Hughes, Carlo Keshishian, Chutima Nok Kerdpitak, Julia Sisi, Liz Parkinson

Julia Sisi trying to read my mind

Lady and her dog contemplating my creations

Lady and her dog contemplating my creations

In comes the bride..

In comes the bride..

Catherine Goodwin (the bride) encounters Liz Parkinson

Catherine Goodwin (the bride) encounters Liz Parkinson

And then we hit the pub. Check out our Circus Terminal Amsterdam customised drink mats. Featuring Sisi, Liz, Bea, Gareth, Susan, and Carlo. Nok's was in production at time of photo.

And then we hit the pub. Check out our Circus Terminal Amsterdam customised drink mats. Featuring Sisi, Liz, Bea, Gareth, Susan, and Carlo. Nok’s was in production at time of photo.

 

The following day, I took it upon myself to lead and initiate a collaborative piece, which we enjoyed adding to for a couple of hours in the garden. So far there have been contributions from 7 artists and the canvas is open to addition until the exhibition ends August 17th, so if you’re in the area, make sure you get down there! Entry is free. I’ve got a few photos of  fellow Circus Terminalists Julia Sisi and Liz Parkinson getting involved with the collaborative canvas. I’ll post a photo of the (hopefully) finished canvas in my next blog entry. Gotta send a shout-out to Nok and Bert for all their energy going into putting this all together. Also, was nice to meet Susan and Emily from Studio B based out of Boyertown, Philadelphia, USA who hosted the last Circus Terminal incarnation. I think the next one might take place in Slovenia? or Serbia? Oh wait! Before that, there is one in London, UK in early September. Stay tuned for details…

My Posca pen partners and I getting busy. Gareth getting married in the back.

My Posca pen partners and I getting busy. Gareth getting married in the back.

Liz and I. The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Liz and I. The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Sisi and Liz

Sisi and Liz

Julia Sisi creating wonderfully. Nice little octopus dedication to me also!

Julia Sisi creating wonderfully. Nice little octopus dedication to me also!

Gareth adding his bit. I went on to put a stream under Sisi's ark.. I also did a half octpus half elephant half snail, no photo yet though.

Gareth adding his bit. I went on to put a stream under Sisi’s ark.. I also did a half octpus half elephant half snail, no photo yet though.

 

Maybe it’s just my tinnitus, but turn your volume way down..

Carlo meets Catherine

Carlo meets Catherine

 

The Running Horse Contemporary Arts Space

So, I’m off to Beirut to continue to put in motion (in more ways than one) some things to do with my big solo exhibition happening in November at The Running Horse Contemporary Arts Space and very much look forward to seeing Emi Miyashita‘s solo show which is currently on. Here’s some photos of what I remember from the Drawing Now Paris art fair which took place at the Carrousel du Louvre (I mainly remember seafood, but you can also see some Miyashita drawings nicely configured with many curious onlookers, and a few people looking at my drawing)..

All mine

All mine

All gone

All gone

Me being closely observed

Me being closely observed

More onlookers at the Louvre

More onlookers at the Louvre

 

Here’s some photos from my last Beirut trip..

Spiralling into control

Spiralling into control

Some graf'd up buses in Beirut

Some graf’d up buses in Beirut

Hot dog

Hot dog

Exploring the Spiral 5th World to no end

Exploring the Spiral 5th World to no end

Beirut at night with a large moon

Beirut at night with a large moon

Eat fruits

Eat fruits

Finish off with an Armenian beer brewed where I stay in Naccache, Lebanon

Finish off with an Armenian beer brewed where I stay in Naccache, Lebanon

 

Outside In / Impact Art Fair

Finally, when I get back from Beirut, on the very same day in fact, I’ll be picking up art works and rushing over to the Impact Art Fair in Brixton, London, UK to help out with Outside In‘s booth. The day I’m speaking of is Thursday 25th July. I’ll enjoy the preview night (I will!) and then head over and do a little DJ set at The Sun also in Brixton. That’s the plan anyway, but considering I have to get up at 4am and nomadically transport myself around for the following 20 hours, I might not make it to The Sun, but I really want to! I think I will. I can be a trooper. I’ll also be at the Impact Art Fair on Sunday 28th July (the last day) invigilating the Outside In booth, so if you’re around, do drop in and check out some art! Come keep me company.. all of the above.

Final Thoughts

I can’t seem to get into the habit of writing these blog entries more regularly, in more digestible doses, but I suppose it goes with my character to build and build and build and then deliver, so that’s the way it is. If you’ve cared to read this far down, good on you! I’ll be back with more in a while, but be sure to check some of the above stuff out when it’s happening.

Enjoy the summer,

Carlo.

 

Entering the Spiral 5th World…

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2013..

So, it appears this is my first post of 2013?! Where does the time go?!! Well, I guess all the 12 hour days of painting I’ve been doing is where. It’s not too out of control though, or ‘too in control’ should I say. I don’t need to put reminders in my phone about eating and showering, at least.. anyhow, art. Yes.. I am normally backed up 2-3 years as it takes time to execute projects and when I have an idea I want to do, I am uncompromisingly stubborn about doing it, regardless of when it will be, and I do things in order, so if I have an idea and it takes 3 years to reach an available time, that’s when I start. One such project is my next solo exhibition which is set for the end of this year. I’ve been wanting to do it for almost 5 years I think. It is focussed on a series of spiral-based works. Incidentally, this mix up about the end of the world/December 2012/the supposed Mayan prophecies that were actually a misconstrued version of Sumerian ideologies, brought to light something that the Mayans do have in one of their calendars, and that is the Spiral 5th World, what we are entering in 2013. I’ve been drawing spirals since I was an early teen or further back than that. That this Spiral 5th World is meant to be this year and it coincides with my solo exhibition of spiral based works is at the very least amusing to me, or maybe there is something to it, who knows!? Anyhow, as I’ve not written in this news blog for some time, I should address a few current on-goings…

My Website, Updated!

Thanks to sleepless Noel putting the time in (I owe him some fine dining), my website now contains a few additional images for you to peruse, so please go and zoom your hearts out! Also, the bio has been brought up to date. www.carlokeshishian.com

DRAWING NOW PARIS at the Carrousel du Louvre

From 11th-14th of April (next week!), the Drawing Now Paris art fair will take place, and I’ve got something showing with The Running Horse Contemporary Arts Space. Very happy to be shown alongside the wonderful work of Emi Miyashita.  I’m very excited about this as I love Paris, and I love that there is a whole art fair dedicated to drawings with galleries from around the world showing. There’s a couple of other galleries/organisations showing that I admire a lot also, so looking forward to seeing their stands especially too.. The Parisian gallery Christian Berst, and the Creative Growth group from California are of note. I don’t believe in coincidence but for lack of a better word, one is occurring in the form of the Hey! Part 2 exhibition at the Halle Saint Pierre‘s coinciding with my being in Paris due to being shown in an art fair. I was there for the Hey! exhibition in late 2011 and absolutely loved the show and the gallery/museum, and somehow the stars have aligned or something.. looking forward!

Books

Yes, people still read these things, and people still publish them. I am in a couple that are both available to buy! Well, one is out and the other is available for pre-order.. hmmm.. Maybe I will give them both individual attention, look:

Eight Arms of Inspiration: The Octopus Art Project

This is a big hardback book by Jinxi Caddel with the works of over 440 artists paying hommage to that cephalopod I am especially fond of, the octopus. Naturally, I have an image in there. Page 147, I believe. There’s a section for tattoos, a section for fine art, digital art, jewellery, any art form you can think of. Unfortunately it is difficult to get this book outside of the U.S.A. so I’m gonna have to wait a while before getting my hands on one, but if you can’t live without it or live in the USA, you can order it here or here. Here’s a photo of the book, and a short video:

Eight Arms of Inspiration

 

 

Line Let Loose: Scribbling, Doodling and Automatic Drawing

I’m super excited about this book. I’d read David MacLagan’s Outsider Art: From the Margins to the Marketplace  book a few years back, and so to be contacted by him asking if he could include a couple of images of mine in his new book was a pleasant surprise considering I’d never met him or anything. Eventually, it also came to be that one of my images is being used for the cover of the book as can be seen in the image below. This one isn’t quite out yet but can be pre-ordered from here or here or here or various other book stockists that your search engine will lead you to, if you are in other parts of the world etc… below the image of the book, I’ve put a lengthy video of Mr.MacLagan speaking with James Brett of target=”_blank”>The Museum of Everything and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, on the topic of Outsider Art at the ICA in London.

Line Let Loose

 

Circus Terminal in Amsterdam

Well, that’s enough for you to chew on for now.. Next update will most likely be about the Circus Terminal exhibition that will take place in Amsterdam in July. I’ll be showing with them, and hopefully taking part in some live art action. It should be a lot of fun, so if you are in Amsterdam, please come and join! More details to follow..

Take care,

Carlo

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Nick Blinko exhibition…

Nick Blinko is one of my favourite living British artists and so I feel quite privileged to have written an article about him alongside the interview Marc Steene conducted in the latest issue of Pallant House Gallery magazine. This article was published to accommodate Blinko’s first ever solo exhibition (though he has been drawing for over 3 decades) ‘Visions of Pope Adrian 37th’, which is currently on at Pallant House in Chichester, UK. The exhibition is free and if you are intrigued but feel you are based slightly too far away, you can make a day of it and pop into the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition also currently showing there. I went along to the joint opening night private view and was blown away by the potency of both shows. It was also great to meet Nick Blinko after having appreciated his work for over a decade. Also coinciding with the show is a very nicely put together book of Blinko drawings, with each drawing published at the original A5 size and in the order that they were produced. Find out about the two editions here.

 

 

I first discovered Nick Blinko through hearing his band Rudimentary Peni.. He was/is the singer/guitarist and it’s pretty potent stuff.. check it out also..

Rudimentary Peni – Radio Schizo

 
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