Black Thorns in the White Cube
Gallery Opening0

My favorite part about writing for CVLT Nation is that I can sit back and look at a collection of art that truly reflects my taste for the macabre. Occasionally I have been able find galleries or curators dedicated to dark and/or disturbing artwork, but up until recent years I have found myself at group shows, admiring one one or two of the artists, people who see the infinite beauty in grotesque places. This Friday the 20th from 6-9pm, Black Thorns in the White Cube is opening at the Paragraph Gallery in Kansas City, MO, and it is an exhibition of artists that I would jump at the chance to see together if only I wasn’t 1,600 miles away. Curated by artist and scholar of black metal Amelia Ishmael, Black Thorns in the White Cube features work by Alexander Binder (Stuttgart, Germany), Vincent Como (Brooklyn), Terence Hannum (Baltimore), Karlynn Holland (Brooklyn), Elodie Lesourd (Paris, France), Aaron Metté (Brooklyn), Grant Willing (Brooklyn), and Tereza Zelenkova (London, England). This is an intellectual exploration and visual interpretation of black metal, and the artists participating are visionaries of their dark crafts. Ishmael is internationally known for her study of black metal in art, and has spoken at several international conferences, including the Black Metal Theory Symposium in London and the Home of Metal Conference in Wolverhampton, U.K. To hear her discussion of Black Thorns in the White Cube, come out to the gallery on Saturday the 21st at 4pm. The exhibition runs until March 3rd, and then will be resurfacing in Chicago for a western exhibit. If you can’t make it out this Friday, stay tuned for coverage of the show next week here on CVLT Nation.
(Image from Alexander Binder’s Maleficium I)