A New Global Agenda: Book Launch

Here is my wife, Diana Ayton-Shenker at the book launch event for "A New Global Agenda" at the New School in NYC on March 1st, 2018.

The Books Have Arrived

Just delivered by the UPS guy...Diana's new book, "A New Global Agenda" arrived this morning. It's always exciting to hold the actual item in your hands...makes it more real, and has the new book smell (printer's ink, mostly).

A New Global Agenda edited by Diana Ayton-Shenker

A New Global Agenda book launch poster

Below is the poster for my wife's book launch event at The New School in NYC on March 1st, 2018. The poster, designed by The New School, contains 2 of my drawings which appear as section dividers in the book (there are 3 in total). I also did the cover painting for the book (see blog sidebar to the right of this post).

Links:
The New School
The New School book launch event
A New Global Agenda (publisher's page)
A New Global Agenda (on Amazon)

A New Global Agenda book launch poster

The Entrance to the Otherworld

This is from a new series of middle-sized (for me) acrylic paintings on plywood. It's a symbolist-leaning piece (reminds me a bit of Böcklin, with its inky sky and shrouded figure). The portal/tomb structure is actually influenced by a recent trip to the Mayan Riviera of Mexico (the three windows at the top come from "El Castillo" in Tulum). The pomegranates (or apples or whatever they are) are for Persephone. It's twilight, and the open door beckons.

The Entrance to the Otherworld, 2018, acrylic on plywood, 20" x 16".

The Maid of the Mountains / Frozen in Time

After having spent the last month or two (or three) reading the Walter Isaacson "Leonardo da Vinci" biography (which I can recommend, more on that anon), I find that whenever I spend a significant period of time in the company of another artist's work, I start to absorb a certain amount of the sensibility of said artist. Which brings us to the work presented here, which is obviously a little more than a nod in the direction of the Mona Lisa (I was thinking of titling the piece "Anom Asil", for example), but I think I caught a little of the essence of the original, whilst bringing something different to the table...you can decide...

The Maid of the Mountains / Frozen in time, 2018, acrylic on plywood, 16" x 12".

The Coils of the Gorgon

I'm working on a small scale due to the fact that it's cold & snowy & expensive to heat my studio right now. I have a stack of sepia card I'm working through, putting the best results on various web sites (my own, Flickr, etc.). Here's an updated version of Medusa, influenced in part by the Leonardo book I'm reading (more on that anon).

The Coils of the Gorgon, 2018, ink & acrylic on sepia card, 11" x 8.5".

Caught in the Storm / Facing the Future

My first drawing (heightened with white acrylic paint) of 2018. A week ago I was in Mexico (Mayan Riviera/Playa Del Carmen/Tulum/Chichen Itza) & now I'm back in the frozen wastes of Rhinebeck New York. The weather doesn't necessarily want me to make art, but I felt I had to start today & this was the first piece that surfaced...

Caught in the Storm / Facing the Future, 2018, ink & acrylic on sepia card, 8.5" x 11"

The Frozen Hive

Actual photo of an actual thing (not an artwork, though it could be). This currently-dormant wasp hive on our property looks like something from a horror or science fiction movie. Makes me want to sculpt something like this...

The frozen hive

Two Heads, Talking

I was considering titling this one "The Conversation" or "The Argument", but settled on the current title as it seems more directly descriptive. Both heads are talking, but they don't seem to be listening to each other.

Two Heads, Talking, 2017, ink on sepia card, 8.5" x 11".

The Man Who Imagined Himself Into Existence

Part of a new small series of drawings on sepia card (some of them heightened with white acrylic). I did this one earlier today—I thought the apparent paradox gave the piece a certain something...

The Man Who Imagined Himself Into Existence, 2017, ink & acrylic on card, 11" x 8.5".

The Emperor

I feel like I was channeling Paul Klee a little on this small (10" x 10") painting. Interestingly, the piece came together with the finishing touch of the plant-like motif under the eye on the profile head.

The Emperor, 2017, acrylic on board, 10" x 10".

The Escapist

New painting, channeling Magritte at least a little, here. The shell-like ear was the finishing touch to this one.

The Escapist, 2017, acrylic on plywood, 16" x 12".

Hermetic Venus

This is a new acrylic painting from a new series of color works, a coming-together of many themes I've worked on over the years. This one had a long gestation period of maybe a week...it went through many different iterations until reaching what (I hope) is the final stage, below.

Hermetic Venus, 2017, acrylic on plywood, 16" x 12"

Babel with Tiny Lights

This one arrived somewhat unexpectedly...which is somehow the way the best images work out. One of many images of the Tower of Babel that I've done.

Babel with Tiny Lights, 2017, acrylic on board, 10" x 10".

The Shootist WIP

This is a work-in-progress painting of a modified head...many of my works feature somewhat surrealistic heads. Also has an anti-war / anti gun violence aspect to it. I think it may be mostly done (?), but time will tell on that. When I have the final version, I'll put it up on this page.

Update: I've added the final version below the unfinished one.

The Shootist (unfinished version), 2017, acrylic on board, 14" x 11"

The Shootist, 2017, acrylic on board, 14" x 11"