Etchings
OBELISCOLYCHNY —an appellation that intoxicates the viewer with the potentials of unknown narratives, filled with mysterious possibilities leading to…what exactly? Obelisk-shaped lighthouses? Spit-lanterns wearing high-crown’d hats? A windmill inhabited by a cuckoo clock? Imagine these things and more, with the publication of the artist’s book, Obeliscolychny, featuring two etchings by David Avery and excerpts from Rabelais and Jarry connected with the abovementioned term.
OBELISCOLYCHNY
Oxford English Dictionary:
Obeliscolychny, n.
Etymology: <Middle French obeliscolychnie (Rabelais, 1548-52) <ancient Greek ??????????????? a spit used (by soldiers) as a lamp-holder < ????????? OBELISK n. + ??????? lamp-stand (see LYCHNIDIATE adj.)
Obs. rare.
A lighthouse: a lamp-bearer.
The final state my etching Obeliscolychny is now completed and can be seen on my website. It will ultimately become the visual component of a limited edition artist’s book that will attempt to bring together the image with the texts from which the ideas that inspired it were derived.
“Obeliscolychny?” you may be tempted to ask.
And with good reason. Arguably one of the most obscure and rarely used terms to be found in literature (or anywhere else), but with, perhaps, undue influence relative to its obscurity, obeliscolychny was invented/appropriated by Francois Rabelais (@1483-1553) and used in books IV and V of his sprawling tales of Gargantua and Pantagruel. Possibly derived from Aristotle’s Politics, which used it to describe a kind of spit used by soldiers to hang lamps on as a metaphor for…well, something or other, it acquired the meaning somewhere along the way of a lighthouse in the form of an obelisk.
Centuries later, Alfred Jarry (1873-1907), poet, playwright, critic, puppeteer, and subverter of objective reality, discovered the word while reading Rabelais and became enamored with it, using it (pataphysically, of course) in several of his novels. That these works tend to be as convoluted and recondite as the origins of obeliscolychny itself is part of what provides grist for the mill of this project.
We are expecting the book to be completed soon, and are aiming for an opening event in mid July, so please stay tuned. Below are listed my most recent exhibitions.
Purchase Award, Ink, Press, Repeat 2013; 1/21 to 2/15/2013, Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts, William Patterson University, Wayne, NJ (Jacob Lewis—Pace Prints Chelsea).
Lindquist Purchase Award, 2013 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition; 1/17 to 2/20/2013, Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR. (Anne Coffin-IPCNY).
Man, Machine and Nature; 1/17 to 3/1/2013, LA Print Space, Los Angeles, CA.
New Prints 2012; 2/1 to 3/9/2013, Visual arts Center, University of Texas at Austin, TX.
34th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition; 3/9/13 to 4/20/13, Bradley University Galleries, Peoria, Il. (Stephen Goddard—Senior Curator, University of Kansas Kress Foundation).
24th National Drawing and Print Competitive Exhibition; 4/2 to 2/26/13, Gormley Gallery, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Baltimore, MD. (Amy Cavanaogh Royce).
26th Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition; 3/21 to 5/9/2013, Ambercrombie Gallery, Lake Charles, LA. (Claudia Schmuckli).
The New York Society of Etchers 3rd National Exhibition of Intaglio Prints; 5/20 to 6/7/2013, The National Arts Club, NY, NY. (Dr. Leonard Moss and Dr. Muriel Moss).
Trying to catch up…a busy second half of 2011, with the purchase of “A Post-traumatic History Lesson” by the Library of Congress, a purchase award at the 33rd Bradley International, as well as the First Place Award at the 2011 San Francisco Open Studios Exhibition, and many shows. I am also now being represented by the Jane Haslem Gallery in Washington, DC.
As you may have noticed, we are in the process of revamping the website to make it more complete and easier to get around. In addition to the four categories, there is also a complete listing by chronology. You may notice that as you scroll though the titles, some images do not come up. These images are not available yet, but will be added as they become so. The unintended consequence of this inefficiency is that you will be motivated to return to the site again and again to see if the next image has been put up. In the meantime, the following is a listing of shows I will be involved in which all happen to open in January:
From Dublin to LA and Back; 1/9 to 1/28 2012, Monster Truck Gallery, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland.
Global Matrix III; 1/9 to 2/29 2012, Purdue University Galleries, West Lafayette, IN. Traveling thereafter through 2013.
2012 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition; 1/19 to 2/17/2012, Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR.
Traces, Marks and Fragments; 1/20 to 2/26/2012, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo, CA.
The Sixth Annual Invitational Exhibition; 1/17 to 3/4/2012, Gratton Gallery, Gratton, CA.
Off the Press, Contemporary Printmaking from the San Francisco Bay Area; 1/12 to 3/16/2012, The Halden Art Gallery, South Lake Tahoe, CA.
Well, it seems that Saturday, May 21st is Judgment Day, so please come and judge for yourself , the work of 30 printmakers exploring the extremes of size, intimacy and environment at a reception from 6:00 to 9:00 at the Meridian Gallery on 535 Powell Street. I will be showing several recent etchings, including a just finished piece, “A Ticket to Ride”, that is loosely based on Albrecht Durer’s “The Knight, Death and Devil”. In addition, I will be creating an intimate environment in which to present the work that will involve not only some of the very smallest pieces in the show, but also the largest, in the form of a single piece of silkscreened wallpaper (108 sq. ft.!) created and printed with the help of Art Hazelwood.
For more information, including the press release listing all the participating artists, please go to www.meridiangallery.org
First of all, the etching, A Post-traumatic History Lesson has been awarded the Lakeview Museum Purchase Award at the 33rd Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition. (See Art for Aids post)
Feeling a bit Lightheaded will be available to bid on at Kala-fornia: State of the Art, an exhibition and auction to benefit the Kala Art Institute. The auction will be held Saturday, April 30th from 6:30 to 9:00, and will feature the works of over one hundred well known Bay Area artists. the silent auction opens on April 20th with a preview party from 6:00 to 8:00, (this part is free!). For more information www.kala.org/auction.
If you are in New York City on May 5th, there will be a one day only benefit for the Red Cross to help victims of the earthquake in Japan at the Sacred Gallery, 424 Broadway, 2nd floor. Again, over one hundred artists from around the world, with no artwork priced over $200.00! I will be showing The Ticker. For more info: www.sacredgallerynyc.com.
Current and upcoming shows:
Ink and Clay 37: W. Kieth and Janet Kellogg University Gallery,CPSU, Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue Pomona, CA, Juried by Allegra Pesenti, Curator at the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum, through April 29.
Light/Dark: Juried by Enrique Chagoya from the membership of the California Society of Printmakers, showing at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut Street, Berkeley, from April 2nd to May 22nd.
In Extremis: Prints Monumental, Intimate and Encompassing, at the Meridian Gallery, 535 Powell Street, May 21st to July 30th. In this upcoming show, featuring 30 printmakers at the extremesof their medium, I will be creating a special environment to show several of my most recent (detailed in the extreme) etchings, including a new print inspired by Durer’s Knight Death and Devil. More on this soon! For more info: www.meridiangallery.org
My most recent etching, The Ticker, now available;
Image size: 5 1/2″ x 1 1/2″, printed on Zerkall Cover Laid Lt. Green (12 1/2″ x 8″)
Edtion size: 30, Price: $160.00
The quote from Ovid was found in John M. Cohen’s translation of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantegruel (book 3, chapter 41) and has been appropriated in an attempt to distill the essence of the social contract, among other things.
Upcoming Exhibitions around the World:
Miniprint Finland, Lahti, Finland, Nov. 26,2010
2010 Harnett Biennial of American Prints, Richmond, VA, Oct 21, 2010
2010 Pacific States Biennial National Print Exhibition, Hilo, HI,Oct. 15, 2010
Delta National Small Prints Exhibition, Arkansas State University, AK, Jan. 20,2011
Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA, Jan. 14, 2011
I will be showing with the Bay Printmakers this year for Open Studios, during the weekend of Oct. 23-24 from 11:00 until 6:00 both days. The Bay Printmakers comprises of 20 artists who explore different facets of printmaking, and will be showing in the Fleet Room in Building D at the Ft. Mason Center, Buchanan and Marina Boulevard. There will also be a preview and reception on Friday, Oct. 22 from 7:00 intil 9:00. On view will be, hot off the press, my most recent effort, The Ticker, in addition to my many other etchings. I look forward to seeing you there and hope that you will enjoy veiwing work by this diverse group of printmakers.
Also: If you happen to be in Los Angeles this weekend (Oct. 16th and 17th), I will be showing at the Beverly Hills Affaire in the Garden at booth #134. See www.beverlyhills.org/artshow for more information. My work was judged Best in Show last May.
Well, okay, so A Post-traumatic History Lesson was featured in the live auction and sold for $1000.00, a bit more than the $600.00 retail value framed. But for a limited time it is still available for $350.00 unframed! See me at SF Open Studios.
David Avery will again be participating in the Art for AIDS auction on Friday, September 24th starting at 5:30 PM at the Galleria at the SF Design Center, 101 Henry Adams Place. He will be donating his etching, “A Post-traumatic History Lesson”. This is your chance to aquire an original David Avery etching for (possibly) below cost, the minimum bid starting at $250.00 (framed!). Hang this one on the wall so that you can say “I told you so!” when the Republicans take over again. General admission for the auction is $100, but if you can’t afford the pricy admission you can submit an absentee bid online at www.artforaids.org. Just go to the print catagory at the online gallery, find my print (easy!), submit a bid, and support a good cause.
David Avery has published a 28-page catalogue reproducing his portfolio of etchings, God’s food or Der singende Knochen, based on titles from the Brothers Grimm. It includes a forward by the artist and an essay by arts writer Dewitt Cheng. Can’t afford $2500.00 for a porfolio of etchings? How about $25.00 for the aforementioned catalogue? A shippng charge applies if needed. You can see the original images on the website www.davidavery.net.