INFORMATION RELEASE October 2024.

 

"MOMENTARY BLASTS OF UNEXPECTED LIGHT: THE VISIONARY ART OF BURT SHONBERG" PRESENTED BY THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY AND STEPHEN ROMANO GALLERY OCTOBER 24 – DECEMBER 21 -THE FIRST EXHIBITION OF THE ARTIST'S WORKS IN LOS ANGELES IN OVER 50 YEARS. -THE EXHIBITION WILL INCLUDE MANY NEVER BEFORE SEEN WORKS. -THE ARTIST IS FURTHER CELEBRATED WITH A CATALOG WHICH INCLUDES ESSAYS BY THE LATE ROGER CORMAN, BURT SHONBERG BIOGRAPHER SPENCER KANSA, FILM HISTORIAN JUSTIN HUMPHRIES, INDEPENDENT CURATOR ROBERT COZZOLINO AND ART HISTORIAN AND DOCUMENTARIAN BRIAN CHIDESTER. -THE EXHIBITION OPENING WILL FEATURE A SCREENING OF THE FILM "OUT HERE - A FILM ABOUT BURT SHONBERG" BY MARSHALL BERLE (FORMER MANAGER OF SPIRIT, RATT AND VAN HALEN) AND AN ONLINE CONVERSATION BETWEEN STEPHEN ROMANO, JUSTIN HUMPHRIES AND SPENCER KANSA (registration is free here!).       Burt Shonberg title unknown, 1961       SPONSORED BY OFFICE OF NITHYA RAMAN, LA CITY COUNCILMEMBER 4TH DISTRICT AND THE LOS ANGELES BREAKFAST CLUB       "There are, of course, certain things that one experiences in the transcendental state that are not possible to communicate in the usual way, so new types of parables would have to be created to get the message through. These discoveries I refer to could be insights or revelations into various aspects of the world we live in, nature, the mind itself, time, the universe, reality and God." — Burt Shonberg, excerpted from "Out Here: A Brief Account of How This All Began for Me"       Burt Shonberg title unknown 1957 Burt Shonberg title unknown (known as Lucifer in the Garden) 1961 formerly in the collection of George Clayton Johnson     PRS is proud to present "Momentary Blasts of Unexpected Light: The Visionary Art of Burt Shonberg" at Hansell Gallery, opening Thursday, October 24, 2024. Shonberg was one of the premiere psychedelic and esoteric artists in Los Angeles in the 1950s and 1960s.  He was a romantic partner of artist, poet, and actress, Marjorie Cameron, as well as a close friend of renowned writers Hampton Fancher (Blade Runner) and George Clayton Johnson (Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Logan’s Run).       Burt Shonbery title unknown circa 1953     Shonberg also embraced the Fourth Way system of Gurdjieff, and his paintings and drawings began to reflect the mystical illumination inspired by his higher states of consciousness. A user of psychedelics since the mid 1950's, in the early 1960's, Burt Shonberg enlisted in LSD experiments of Dr. Oscar Janiger at University of California Irvine. The conveyance in his art of altered cognition and perception of hallucinatory states became a primary pursuit for Burt throughout his life as an artist.       Still from Roger Corman's 1960 film adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Rise and the Fall of the House of Usher" with Burth Shonberg painting and Vincent Price Vintage 1960 press photo for the Roger Corman film "The Rise and Fall of the House of Usher" with Vincent Price and Burt Shonberg's paintings The exhibition will feature an image of the lost painting Burt Shonberg made for Roger Corman's 1962 film "The Premature Burial", which was never seen in it's entirety in the film. Courtesy of David Del Valle.       His work was prominently featured in Roger Corman’s Vincent Price-starring 1960 horror film 'The Rise and The Fall of the House of Usher" and 1962's "The Premature Burial", and on the walls of venues like the long-gone, bohemian Laguna Beach coffeehouse Café Frankenstein. His paintings of mythical creatures in fantastic landscapes have only recently begun to attract the attention they deserve. From the late 1950s until his premature death in 1977, Shonberg was a highly admired artist of his time in Los Angeles.    Burt Shonberg title unknown circa 1958 - 1961 formerly in the collection of George Clayton Johnson       During this period, his eye-popping murals graced the facades and interiors of popular coffeehouses and clubs along the Sunset Strip. His paintings also adorned notable rock album covers by bands like Love and others. During his lifetime Shoberg was managed by Marshall Berle (who also was a manager for Spirit, Ratt and early Van Halen). Shonberg’s only exhibition of his art occurred in 1967.  The only other exhibition of his art occurred posthumously to great acclaim in 2022 at the Buckland Witchcraft Museum in Cleveland.  Ringo Starr has been a long time collector of the artist’s work. This will be the first exhibition of Burt Shonberg’s art in Los Angeles over 55 years, and will include many works never seen before by the public.  An exhibition catalog which will include new images and essays on the artist will be available.        ' Burt Shonberg title unknown 1963   Opening reception will be followed by a conversation in the PRS Auditorium between exhibition producer Stephen Romano, along with acclaimed author and Shonberg biographer Spencer Kansa and film historian & author Justin Humphreys. Registration is FREE here        Stephen Romano is a collector, curator, and private art dealer in Brooklyn, NY. His Stephen Romano Gallery has collaborated with many cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gagosian Gallery in New York, Morbid Anatomy at Greenwood Cemetery and the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in Cleveland and others. Stephen Romano curates exhibitions mixing contemporary, folk, historical and ephemeral artworks.         left: Burt Shonberg title unknown mid 1950's right: Burt Shonberg title unknown circa 1948       For further information and visuals please contact: For Philosophical Research Society Alison Stevenson / PR & Social Media Manager  email:  alison@prs.org Tel 323 663 2167 For Stephen Romano Gallery Stephen Romano email romanostephen@gmail.com Tel 646 709 4725 The Philosophical Research Society Hansell Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-6pm and by appointment (info@prs.org) Please email events@prs.org or phone 323 663 2167 with any questions. Visit www.prs.org to view current event listings, course offerings, shop the online bookstore, and sign up for email announcements. The Philosophical Research Society 3910 Los Feliz Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90027 Tel 323 663 2167  info [at] prs.org Covid Protocols SUPPORT PRS! BOOKSTORE & HANSELL GALLERY: Tuesdays-Fridays: 12-6 pm & during events LIBRARY Thursdays & Fridays: 12-6 pm               THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY IS A LOS ANGELES-BASED, 501(c)(3), NONPROFIT CULTURAL INSTITUTION FOUNDED IN 1934 AS A REPOSITORY OF MULTICULTURAL WISDOM SOURCES AND A CENTER OF LEARNING WITH A UNIQUE LIBRARY CONTAINING OVER 30,000 RARE VOLUMES.  ITS HISTORIC LANDMARK BUILDINGS ARE OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND PRESENT SEMINARS, CLASSES AND CONCERTS ON MYTHOLOGY, THE HUMANITIES AND METAPHYSICS. © COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.