The harbingers of Autumn include the publication of five new prints; a series of four etchings entitled The Coming of the Cocklicranes (view here), as well as the just recently completed Runner (Mom, Death and Devil), based on the (you guessed it) famous Durer engraving of a similar name. In addition, there is the upcoming publication of a new artist book based on the aforementioned series of four etchings, which is anticipated to be ready for my 2015 Open Studio exhibition. This year I will be showing at the John Gruenwald Studio the weekend of Oct. 31st, along with four other accomplished and varied printmakers. More information will be forthcoming as the date approaches.
This year has seen a solo exhibit at the New Grounds Gallery in New Mexico, a three person show at the Sandra Lee Gallery in San Francisco, as well as prints included in an exhibit at the Venice Biennale, the Child’s Gallery in Boston, and several competitions with six awards and honorable mentions.
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.
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.
detail, Obeliscolychny
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).
Yes, this is becoming my own Tower of Babel, but, as promised, I will be showing an impression of the second state (about two thirds!) of my ongoing project, Obeliscolychny, with the Bay Printmakers during the first weekend of San Francisco Open Studios at Ft. Mason (see details above). Also featured will be Tempestuous Muse, first place winner in last year’s Open Studios exhibit. And, in a further example of shameless self-promotion, don’t miss the blurbette on me in the 2012 Open Studios guide (heavily edited to protect the public). In addition to the usual display of the perennial favorites in glorious black and white, at least some of the texts which caused my current project to come into being will be available for examination, and for those who must insist I will, of course, be on hand to attempt some sort of rationalization as to what connection there could possibly be between these recondite excerpts and the images that supposedly resulted from their discovery. Looking forward to seeing you there.
“…Ho, ho, I see land! I can see harbor! I can see a great crowd on the pier. I can see fire on the obeliscolychny. “
Detail, Obeliscolychny
In addition to Open Studios, here is a list of current and upcoming shows in which my work will be included.
2012 Harnett Biennial of American Prints; 10/23 to12/9/2012, Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Richmond, VA.
New Prints 2012/Autumn; International Print Center New York, New York
Culture: Man, Machine and Nature; 10/3 to 11/16/2012, Sisson Gallery, Dearborn, MI.
Inclusions, Art from within Bernal Heights; 9/22 to 10/21, Inclusions Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Hopefully, if you have gotten this far, you have visited my updated website. Almost all of the work I have produced to date is now available for your perusal in glorious black and white, including my most recent etching, Abstracting the Quintessence. Don’t forget my dealers, Annex galleries, Jane Haslem Gallery and Warnock Fine Arts, whose sites can be found on my links page.
This summer I am becoming involved in a new book project, entitled Obeliscolychny. It will involve an etching 28 inches by 5 inches which will be utilized as a vertical accordion foldout in the book, as well as being editioned as a separate stand alone print.
“Obeliscolychny?” you may ask.
Ostensibly, “a lighthouse in the shape of an obelisk”. —Perhaps. An ancient Greek word favored by Rabelais and Alfred Jarry and used in their work. Twice. For both of them. Possibly originated with Aristotle, to describe a kind of spit to hang lamps on. Described in the Oxford English Dictionary as “rare, obsolete”. Hmm. Well, I’m running with the obelisk-light house thing, with letterpress text by the above-mentioned writers. And since it is to be a lighthouse in the shape of an obelisk, it must also be a windmill. You can see the kind of direction this thing could be going in…
I will post images of the sections I am working on as they develop (28 inches is a lot for me), so please check back occasionally if you are curious as to what could possibly be going on.
Inked Surfaces; August 27 to Sept. 28, 2012, Diablo Valley College Art Gallery, Pleasent Hill, CA.
Global Matrix III (traveling show); August 9 to October 5, 2012, Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. www.cla.purdue.edu/galleries.
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
