Robert Venosa show in Eugene

If you happen to find yourself in or near Eugene, Oregon, before the end of August, you might want to wander over to the Fenario Gallery, to check out a show by psychedelic painter Robert Venosa:

It is the revelatory quality in Venosa's painting that one finds so intriguing. His world is a world of mysteries and secrets - but we have the sense that in some elusive way the artist is sharing these secrets with us, even if we are unable to fully grasp the portents he is presenting. Venosa paints the astral imagery of inner space. His crystalline goddesses, effulgent landscapes and liquid skies strike a deep chord because they seem to resonate with our yearning for dreams, visions and sacred knowledge. And Venosa's art also reveals an astonishing affinity with sensory textures and translucent forms - his imagery literally enfolds you with its magical power. It seems to me that Venosa has his own unique style - his paintings are immediately recognizable. They speak to us in a special way, and they take us somewhere that we have perchance forgotten: to a domain inhabited by spirits, gods and elementals. A cosmic terrain which lives on in the language of our dreams.

If you can't make it to Eugene, the Fenario Gallery's web site offers an online version of the show. And if that's not enough, Venosa's personal web site is worth a tour as well, which I enjoyed especially for his reminiscences of time spent with Salvador Dali.