Lost City Meets Angelo Filomeno

A Lost City  employee with Angelo Filomeno

Today was the last day of Angelo Filomeno’s “Betrayed Witches” show in Chelsea and some of us had not seen it, so we went. Once again we were struck by the genius of his work. The dark subject matter, highly  sophisticated technique, obssessive details and sheer twisted beauty of his work is mind-blowing. We ran into Angelo himself and found him to be charming, gracious and modest. He told us that he had been sewing since he was seven and had embroidered all of the pieces himself using a hoop. It’s awe-inspiring to imagine this. Each of his embroidered pieces must measure not less than 5ft x 5 ft.  Knowing what we do about embroidery, it must have taken months, even years to create the more detailed works. More respect to you, Angelo. You are a rock star. Hope to meet you again soon in Lost City.

Extreme Embroidery: “Betrayed Witches” and “Pricked”

We aren’t always working at Lost City. We also make time to play. One of our favorite past times is checking out the work of photographers, painters, musicians, architects, designers, and yes, embroiderers. It’s exhilarating to see embroidery being emancipated from boring commercial collections and kitsch to a brand new universe of artistic expression.  “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery”, an exhibition at New York’s Museum of Design and Arts that has representative works of 48 artists from 17 countries, is one of the most scintillating art/embroidery shows we have seen. The pieces are breathtaking in their diversity and technique. Some of our favorites from Andre Dezso (“My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though…”) and Benji Whalen “Fast Machine” are below. Click here for a channel Thirteen video of the exhibition.

“Fast Machine”

“My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though…”

We found Angelo Filomeno’s most recent work “Betrayed Witches” , on display in Chelsea’s Lelong Gallery, quite trippy. Here is the New York Times review of it:

“In Angelo Filomeno’s embroidered paintings, scary skulls and skeletons are often tamed by glittering ornamentation and ethereal needlework. In his latest show, which has the hysterical-gothic title “Betrayed Witches,  Mr. Filomeno strikes a determinedly morbid tone.

Angelo Filomeno: “Shitting Philosopher”

A series of paintings portraying skulls, insects and fish skeletons suggest baroque fossils. The figures are embroidered on striking backgrounds of silver or black silk, flecked with tiny charcoal-colored crystals and adorned with spikes of onyx and hematite. In “As the Water Comes Rushing Over” (2008) Mr. Filomeno uses a combination of silk shantung and silk moir to haunting effect: ripples of moir appear to engulf a skull that is being drowned by a taloned hand.

Angelo Filomeno: “Marianne”

Two sculptures go for, and achieve, high drama. “The Marquis Dominatrix” (2008), a coiled whip of leather, glass and onyx, looks as if it would shatter in the hands of a libertine. The hand-blown glass skeleton of “Cold” (2007) is splayed out on a mirrored plinth, trailing a length of black silk satin. As is characteristic of Mr. Filomeno’s art, otherworldly opulence becomes the subject as well as the medium.” Karen Rosenberg

If you are in the NYC area this is definitely worth checking out. Unfortunately, the exhibition closes April 12.