Our newest Observatory exhibition "Paradiso Contrapasso"--curated by my boyfriend GF Newland along with our good friends Lord Whimsy and Susan Crawford of Plankton Art Co-- will be opening its doors this Thursday with a free reception running from 8 PM till the wine runs out.

Full details follow; very much hope to see you there!

Paradiso Contrapasso: An exhibition curated by Observatory’s G.F. Newland with Lord Whimsy and Susan Crawford of Plankton Art Co.
OPENING RECEPTION: October 14th, 8:00 PM
ON VIEW: October 14th - November 28th, 2010
HOURS: Thursdays & Fridays 3-6; Saturdays & Sundays 12-6

To compliment the recent opening of Paradise, a year long event at Proteus Gowanus, Observatory explores the theme: Paradiso Contrapasso. In Dante’s Inferno, Paradiso Contrapasso distinguishes each sinner by making his or her punishment uniquely appropriate to the committed sin, so that every soul inhabits a Hell all its own.

For example, consider the story of Paolo and Francesca:
An unlikely marriage is proposed between the beautiful Francesca and the rich, but ugly Gianciotto. Paolo, the handsome brother of Gianciotto seduces the young bride and they become lovers. When Gianciotto discovers their indiscretion, he murders them both. In Hell, Paolo and Francesca are fused together in an eternal embrace, wishing only to be separated.

As Dante journeys through Purgatorio and Paradisio, he does not revisit this technique of contrapasso. For our event, however, Observatory encourages artists to consider divine comedic retribution in all of its possible representations, and from sources such as the Bible and religious and esoteric cosmologies, the ethical philosophies of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, Symbolist poetry, the works of Roald Dahl, the Wizard of Oz, Cautionary Tales, Folklore and Fairy Stories, the Twilight Zone, Modern Dystopias, etc. The emphasis is on “Divine” and “Comedy”, and on our superstitious fear of getting what we wish for!

ARTISTS INCLUDE:
Martin Bland
Erich Carlle
Dennis Corrigan
Matthew Cox
Lord Whimsy / Allen Crawford
John Dilworth
Arlene Ducao
Joanna Ebenstein
Crista Grauer
Andrew Keating
Ilias Koen
Luis Locarno
Heather Masciandaro
Richard Meyer
GF Newland
Alison Overton
Herbert Pfostl
Rebecca Posner
James Prochnik
Rachel Rabhan
R. Sikoryak
Melissa Stern
Alison Termine
Friese Undine

To find out more, click here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here.

Image: "Holiday in Hell," Denis Corrigan, Oil on Canvas