Mysterium Coniunctionis by Marion Peck and Mark Ryden

Dorothy Circus Gallery proudly presents “Mysterium Coniunctionis” a duo show presenting very rare and limited edition prints from the American artist couple Marion Peck and Mark Ryden.
 
During the opening ceremony on December 10th, for the first time in Italy, the artists will meet their public while signing their latest books, Lamb Land by Marion Peck and Pinxit new edition by Mark Ryden featuring works from his previous exhibitions The Meat Show, Bunnies & Bees, The Tree Show and many more.
 
Marion Peck and Mark Ryden’s creations are very influenced from each other. On the title of the exhibition, Peck and Ryden talk about “Mysterium Coniunctionis” which directly refers to the mysterious conjunction, the final alchemical synthesis (of ego and unconscious, matter and spirit, male and female) that brings forth the Philosopher’s Stone.

“Mysterium Coniunctionis” will present more than 20 artworks, mainly artist proofs, some of which are sold-out, offering our visitors a unique and probably very last chance to acquire these precious prints.
This collection showcases Peck and Ryden’s peculiar and intriguing combinations with their simple compositions but extremely complex detailed artworks. In their hauntingly beautiful and masterfully executed pieces, they create their very own contemporary mythologies whose archetypes include fairy tale creatures, historical figures, animal, and pop cultural icons juxtaposing macabre motifs like meat grinders and disembodied presidents with eye-pleasing ingénues and seductive landscapes. The artists produce a vision of society in which menace and comfort are inseparably interwoven.
 
“Mysterium Coniunctionis” will also be the occasion to discover “The Isle of Joy”, Marion Pecks’s very latest edition print of 40, specially made for this event and available to pre-order from November 9th only at Dorothy Circus Gallery in Europe, and at Porter House Fine Art Editions in New York City.
“The Isle of Joy” which is part of Marion’s “Clowns” series is a prime example of themes that encase her artwork, both dark and luminous with a magical quality. Peck here takes viewers into her marvellous dream-like world inhabited with strange creatures and sad-faced children. She further explains she thinks of “clowns as almost mystical beings, like messengers from other realms ; although clowns have come to be mere figures of amusement in our modern Western world, they radiate the dark energies of the underworld.”
  
"Mysterium Coniunctionis" sarà anche l'occasione per scoprire “The Isle of Joy”, la più recente stampa in edizione di 40 ad opera di Marion Peck, realizzata e prodotta dalla Porter House Fine Art Editions appositamente per questo evento e già disponibile per il pre-ordine dal 9 novembre presso Dorothy Circus Gallery in Europa, contemporaneamente al lancio in US .
 
“The Isle of Joy”, che fa parte della serie “Clowns” di Peck è un primo esempio di temi che le sue opere racchiudono, magici se pur nella loro oscura alchimia. Peck qui accompagna gli spettatori nel suo mondo onirico abitato da strane creature e fanciulli introversi. L’artista spiega inoltre che i "clown sono come esseri quasi mistici, come messaggeri di altri regni; anche se pagliacci sono venuti a noi per essere figure uniche capaci di divertire il mondo occidentale moderno, irradiando le energie oscure del mondo sotterraneo. "

About the artists
 
Marion Peck is considered to be a major force in Pop Surrealism and heralded for her creation of world’s colliding - animals can become human, features are exaggerated, and everyone coexists in a fantastical world that can be at once, poignant, celebratory, and solemn.
She loves the facial expressions that are seen in really old photographs when people had to hold still for the camera. “It gives them so much more gravitas, which can be so beautiful, especially in portraits of children” she says. It is interesting how before modern photography, when portraits were paintings or drawings, the expression of the face was not one of a particular moment in time, but an amalgamation of many moments. “I love that kind of deep, still gaze, and I try to get to that in my artworks”.
 
Mark Ryden came to preeminence in the 1990’s during a time when many artists, critics and collectors were quietly championing a return to the art of painting. With his masterful technique and disquieting content, Ryden quickly became one of the leaders of the Pop Surrealist movement on the West Coast.
Upon first glance Ryden’s work seems to mirror the Surrealists’ fascination with the subconscious and collective memories. However, Ryden transcends the initial Surrealists’ strategies by consciously choosing subject matter loaded with cultural connotation.
Viewers are initially drawn in by the comforting beauty of Ryden’s pop-culture references, then challenged by their circumstances, and finally transported to the artist’s final intent — a world where creatures speak from a place of childlike honesty about the state of mankind and our relationships with ourselves, each other and our past.
Clearly infused with classical references, Ryden’s work is not only inspired by recent history, but also the works of past masters. He counts among his influences Bosch, Bruegel and Ingres with generous nods to Bouguereau and Italian and Spanish religious paintings.

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