Arch-Enemy Gallery
109 & 111 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: 215-717-7774
THE MIDNIGHT SOCIETY
(October 4th-31st)
By: Kate Lomax Blankenship
Snuggly placed in a lurid
side street alley way is the Arch – Enemy Gallery. Once you enter you are
greeted by macabre and dark under toned pieces of art befitting to a moonlight
night where a stranger is leading you into the woods to assemble at a secret
meeting place to discuss important matters of business specifically dealing
with ‘The Midnight Society.’
Images like Gina Martynova’a
‘Vasilisa the Beautiful’ encapsulates this feeling to its very core, depicting
a lady in early European decorated garb enchanted by an illuminated skull in
the darkness of the woods. This image forever burning within the viewer’s mind
as curiosity swells within and questions arise of the girls safety and where
the skull might take her and is she in any form of danger?
Gina Martynova "Vasilisa The Beautiful"(2013)watercolor with acrylic motif border22 x 30" plus frame
Or Sean Talimini ‘Bubuska
Baba Yaga’ depicting an old gypsy woman in a house supported by bird legs
traveling through the dark and dangerous forests. She is looking at the viewer,
almost waiting for you to cry out to her for assistance but she already
anticipated your arrival and welcomes you into her home.
Mary Teicher’s ‘The Second
Reading’ shows a scene of a hand gently grasping fingertips and we gain insight
into what the palm reader can see within their guest’s hands. A magnifying
glass is available to read the individuals past, present and future giving the
viewer a glimpse into the mystical and sometimes tragic fate, which is bestowed
upon us all. Palm readings were also available to the public at the opening.
Maria Teicher
You begin to remember when
your parents told you never to talk to strangers, or apples laced with razor
blades and the folklores/ fairy tales you would hear before going to bed
reminding us to be cautious or we might just end up a tragic story ourselves.
You tell your parents you are not afraid of those stories as they turn off the
lights. But your nightmares depict decapitated limbs, occult scenes with bones
scattered across the ground, candles dripping, paintings of skeletal shadowed ghost figures and children becoming deceased by the most
innocent of acts. All these things can be found in your nightmares and also
within ‘The Midnight Society.’
Just remember to pinch
yourself awake every once in a while or you might never wake up…
The 19 artists who
encapsulated these nightmares are:
Scott Kirschner
Sean Talamini
Peca
Terry Montimore
Caitlin McCormack
Sheri Debow
Katelyn Osborne
Gina Marynova
Maynerd
Dylan Garrett Smith
Maria Teicher
Leilani Bustamante
David Seidman
Courtney Blazon
Kat Toronto
Mike Bell
Anja Altenburg
Anthony Walsh
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