BLAM Gallery

56 Bogart Street

Brooklyn, NY 11206

www.blamprojects.com

brooklyn@blamgallery.com

BLAM is pleased to announce the exhibition "MATERIA PRIMA", curated by Stephen Romano. The exhibition is a mixture of leading contemporary artists, folk art, vernacular photography, esoteric ephemera, outsider art and unexpected images and objects.

"MATERIA PRIMA" is based on the theme of diverse magical practices, challenging the notion that all magic is necessarily dark in nature.

Curator Stephen Romano says,“The exhibition is an articulation of the esoteric nature of the artist as shaman, a producer of art works that serve as social healing devices, to make well again our collective consciousness. To re-inject the forces of hope, optimism and belief of magic into our declining culture. The true artist…the art they make, is a primary experience in and of itself. The creation is an act of magic, a conjuring or a protective spell. It is where the artist makes a stand: socially, politically and spiritually.

We live in this universe that has no known boundary, the concept of the scale of spatial infinity is one that is impossible to comprehend, and equally we live for a very brief time, in a very microcosmic space. Given that realization, what is purpose? In my experience, which is what I try to articulate as a curator, what sustains us is the need for self-actualization, the perpetuation of the metaphysical, and contact with the higher order.

This is achieved through culture, in what Teilhard de Chardin would call a ‘biophilic’ experience as opposed to say, looking at something that would dumb down our perceptual senses, a ‘necrophilic’ moment; one that perpetuates the death of the psyche. Great art is an enrichment, and one that ought to be a shared social experience."

When asked about the extreme and esoteric nature of the works in the exhibtion, Stephen Romano responded "We live in extremely times, the art of our time should be an extention and reflection of those extremes"

Stephen Romano has been a prominent Brooklyn gallerist and private art dealer over the past few years, curating exhibitions at his eponymous galleries in Dumbo and Bushwick featuring the works of well known artists such as photographer William Mortensen, Charles Dellschau, Colin Christian, Rithika Merchant, Jel Ena, Matthew Dutton and David Molesky. He has also held ambitious group exhibitions such as "Mysterium Cosmographicum", "In Missa Interfectionis", Infernum", "Heirogliphica", "Saint Bowie" and the blockbuster "Opus Hypnagogia" at the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn. Stephen presented outside curated exhibitions such as "Destinesia" and "The Devils Reign' curated by the high priest of the Church of Satan Peter H. Gillmore.

Romano has published several seminal catalogs on the works of Jel Ena, El Gato Chimney, Darcilio Lima (with text by Barbara Safarova), William Mortensen (with text by A.D. Coleman,) Colin Christian "Trypophobia", Rithika Merchant, Pavel Kraus (with text by David Ebony), and Lu Chan (with text by Robert Morgan). He has also produced a large format coffee table book on the works of renowned artist Charles Dellschau (1830 - 1923) which included the final published essay by the late Thomas McEvilley. Stephen Romano is the publisher of lexiconmag.com.

An active and enthusiastic member of the international art community for the past 30 years, Romano has championed female artists, artists of diverse cultural backgrounds, as well as esoteric and occult artists. He also includes outsider, marginalized, self taught artists, and artists whose visionary practices placed them outside of the mainstream art world.

BLAM Mission Statement

At the core, BLAM is an exhibition model focused on creating a synergy between artists in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. These bi coastal, multi-platform exhibition spaces in downtown Los Angeles and Bushwick are designed to showcase a wide range of artists and curators. The goal is to introduce the wealth of talent in both communities to a wider audience of art lovers, art writers, curators and collectors. The spaces also brings selected artists/curator from other states and countries to audiences in the two cities. Each coast differs slightly from one another, constantly adapting and adjusting based on what works best for each city.

For each show at BLAM Brooklyn, we seek out a curator whose vision in which we trust and believe in. The individual shows can differ in personality and mood, however BLAM always aims to exhibit respectable artists that are distinctly recognizable and push boundaries. We lean towards intellectually and visually stimulating art, that a wide audience can identify with and be excited by.

For further information or visuals, please contact:

Nina Catalanotto
Assistant Curator
BLAM

56 Bogart Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206
1(917)-421-0616 (U.S.)
brooklyn@blamgallery.com

BLAM Gallery

56 Bogart Street

Brooklyn, NY 11206

www.blamprojects.com

brooklyn@blamgallery.com