Isaiah Zagar at Philly Magic Gardensuntil February 25, 2018 "Lava Flow: New Mosaics by Isaiah Zagar" highlights Zagar's newest method of mosaic-making along with his more traditional works. A short documentary focusing on the beginning of his mosaic career, the development of his artistic process, and the conception of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens also accompanies the exhibition. A public reception will take place on Friday, December 1, from 6:00-9:00 PM. Philadelphia's Magic Gardens Ody Saban at Galerie Claire Corcia, ParisDecember 7–23, 2017 "Paintings 1981-2017" at Claire Corcia is a personal retrospective exhibition of Saban's paintings. On the evening of December 7, the gallery will celebrate the release of the book "Ody Saban, Paintings 1981-2017" with a book signing by the artist. Published by Lelivredart, the book contains a selection of acrylic paintings on canvases, with text in English and French. It can be purchased here. Gallery Incurve KyotoDecember 1–9, 2017 Gallery Incurve Kyoto will present the third exhibition of “Allstars”, featuring artists from Atelier Incurve. The six artists featured all have their own unique style and ways of working and they have selected the pieces for the exhibition themselves. Don't miss our autumn/fall issue, out now! This packed issue features:
In our special sale, we are offering a huge 50% off back issues! If you are missing any copies in your RV collection, now is the time to order while we have stock. For a limited time only! For orders of 10+ issues please email info@rawvision.com for a reduced postage cost. Featured Artist: John Bunion Murray (1908–1988)portrait courtesy William Arnett Collection John Bunion “J.B.” Murray attended school for just one month and spent most of his life as a farm worker in Georgia. By the 1970s, he was living alone in a shack. It was there that he had a religious experience, seeing Jesus on a cloud and feeling empowerment from the sun. He felt God had set him apart for special work and he experienced a compulsion to paint. His early work was three-dimensional, in the form of piles of rocks and stones placed around his home. These may have had some protective significance but most of Murray’s work was essentially calligraphic: he painted messages he had received from God, in an indecipherable script. courtesy Cavin-Morris Gallery These may have had some protective significance but most of Murray’s work was essentially calligraphic: he painted messages he had received from God, in an indecipherable script. The virtually illiterate Murray would read the text to neighbours through a bottle of “holy water”. The paintings combine his scrawling script, often in marker pen, with rhythmic daubed paint, compartmentalised into rounded or rectangular forms. Some of the letter forms are in rigid horizontal designs, others vertical. He carefully coded his colours, symbolically representing spirits, devils and the divine. At first he used scraps of paper, but his doctor later supplied him with better-quality materials. His later works are more organic: as Murray battled with cancer, he began to represent cells and anatomical forms. courtesy Webb Gallery JB Murray is featured in our Outsider Art Sourcebook, currently half price, and in Raw Vision 58 (PDF). |