Fleeting Darkness: William Mortensen and the Coven of the Sibylline

from DISINFO

Some Great Events are like rare astronomical anomalies. The Exhibition WILLIAM MORTENSEN + THE COVEN OF THE SIBYLLINE was one such event which occurred in NYC! Organised by the Patron Saint of Lost Causes! Stephen Romano of the Stephen Romano Gallery. Stephen has discovered and championed almost forgotten great artists such as William Mortensen, Darcillo Lima and Charles Dellschau whose works has now graced some of the most prestigious art and cultural institutions in the world. In this unique show which was up for just 4 days saw a COVEN of artists responded to one or more of Mortensen’s photos from Stephen’s extensive personal collection. BWH

 

 

“For us, William Mortensen was the antichrist.” – Ansel Adams

WILLIAM MORTENSEN + THE COVEN OF THE SIBYLLINE

Featuring Alexis Karl, Kim Bo Yung, Anaïs Delsol, Nyahzul C Blanco, Luciana Lupe Vasconcelos, Vivien Masters, Tiffany Hsiang, Tine Kindermann, Aurore Lephilipponnat, Josh Stebbins, Barry William Hale, Ken Weaver, Zach Brown, Alessandro Keegan. curated by Stephen Romano

New Works of Art In Homage to William Mortensen (1897 – 1965) and most of the works by Mortensen in the exhibition are newly discovered, and have never been seen in public until now

“William Mortensen’s 20th Century Photos Are Some Of The Most Beautifully Terrifying Images Ever Made” – Huffington Post

 

William Mortensen “TRAGEDY” circa 1930 — Josh Stebbins’s “Tragedy Devil”, 2017

November 2017 – Stephen Romano Gallery is thrilled to announce the exhibition “WILLIAM MORTENSEN + THE COVEN OF THE SIBYLLINE” in association with The Living Gallery Outpost in New York City’s East Village.

The exhibition features newly discovered and never seen before works by American cultural treasure WILLIAM MORTENSEN, also renowned as the Father of Pictorialism, an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The art of William Mortensen has in recent years seen a revival as the artist has been celebrated as seminal in the art of manipulated photography and gothic subject matter.

 

 

Most of the works by Mortensen in the exhibition are newly discovered, from the collection of his close friend and associate Quenton Bredt (to whom Mortensen bequeathed his own personal collection) and from the estate of his first wife Courtney Crawford, and have never been exhibited in public until now.

 

 

 

see full article below @ DISINFO

WILLIAM MORTENSEN + THE COVEN OF THE SIBYLLINE

 

Stephen Romano Biography.

Stephen Romano has been in the art business since 1989 when he began working for the late legendary Canadian art dealer Walter Moos in Toronto. Shortly afterwards, Stephen Romano was hired as assistant director of the 49th Parallel Gallery in New York City, then followed a series of engagements with prominent galleries such as Marlyn Pearl Gallery, Miriam Shiell Gallery, The Ricco Maresco Gallery in New York, where Stephen served as Gallery Manager for 8 years. For the next ten years from 2004 through 2014, Stephen Dealt privately and played a pivotal role in building some of the most significant collections of Self Taught and Outsider Art, particularly sourcing masterworks by Henry Darger, Charles Dellschau and Martin Ramirez.

In 2013, Stephen Romano produced the first ever book on Charles Dellschau which included the final published essay by Thomas McEvilley. The book was awarded vast critical acclaim as being of the highest standard, and established Dellschau as an outsider artist in the same Parthenon as Henry Darger, Adolph Wolfli and Martin Ramirez.

In July 2015 Stephen Romano curated “Opus Hypnagogia” at the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, which received a 12 paragraph review in the New York Times.

In 2014, Stephen Romano opened an eponymous gallery in Dumbo Brooklyn where important exhibitions were mounted by William Mortensen, Colin Christian, Darcilio Lima, as well as extravagantly themed group exhibitions. The Gallery moved to Bushwick in 2015 and continued presenting museum quality exhibitions, including the highly acclaimed “Magica Sexualis” and “Saint Bowie”. Stephen Romano Gallery published a series of catalogs complimentary to it’s exhibition program on artists such as William Mortensen, Darcilio Lima, El Gato Chimney, Colin Christian, Rithika Merchant, Jel Ena, and included essays by such luminaries as David Ebony, Robert Morgan, Pamela Grossman, Alison Meyer, Samuel Gliner of Between Mirrors and Decadence Darling.

Since the temporary closure of the gallery in Brooklyn, Stephen Romano Gallery has collaborated with major cultural institutions such as the MET Breuer and Reina Sophia Museum in presenting the works of Brazilian artist Darcilio Lima, as well as participated in art fairs including SCOPE and The Outsider Art Fair. Stephen Romano Gallery will present a one person exhibition of William Mortensen’s art curated by Barry William Hale at the Dark MOFO festival in 2018, as well as an upcoming presentation of the Art of Charles Dellschau with details forthcoming.

This is the second collaborative exhibition between The Living Gallery and Stephen Romano Gallery.

for further information and images please contact Stephen Romano romanostephen@gmail.com