Big Magic Incoming!

My first big show, a cover reveal and a very special NYC evening

There is Beauty in the World by John Abell, 2025

I’ve been starting this beautiful green spring at a deliciously slow pace, savoring the golden evenings, knowing that as we tumble into summer my life will be speeding up. I have been sitting on announcements of a number of exciting projects and engagements for quite some time, and it’s time to start sharing!

First off, I’m heading back for a drop in visit to NYC for a couple of days in mid-June. Wednesday, June 17 from 6:30–8 pm, as part of the Whitney Museum’s Pride Month programming I will be in conversation with one of my favorite people, the lovely and big brained Zach Blas. He will be performing his lecture “Does an AI God Have an Ass”, after which we will be chatting about the performance, his Whitney Biennial installation CULTUS and his broader body of work around the strangely occulted cultures of Silicon Valley. If you are in or around New York City, I think this is going to be an electric event as Zach and I have a delightfully queer conversation about sigils, Renaissance magics, submission, surveillance, and of course—glorious asses! Tickets here!

I can finally announce my exhibition Holding A Bright Untroubled Sky: Visioning a Better World Through Magic, running from August 10-September 18 at the Rowe Galleries at the campus of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. This will be a riotous, colorful celebration intended to jumpstart our capacities to start visualizing a future we can all love, featuring an amazing group of the most inspiring international artists:

John Abell

Alice Bucknell

CROSSLUCID

Edgar Fabián Frías

Angela Fraleigh

Heather Freeman

Hilma’s Ghost (Sharmistha Ray and Dannielle Tegeder)

Loni Johnson

Alessandro Keegan

Anna Kenar

Tai Shani

Mark Titchner

Suzanne Treister

Erik Waterkotte

Expect more details very soon about the opening reception, artist profiles, and programming. I am so very excited about this one!

Ithellmania is getting another boost! Already announced is my long awaited edited collection of Ithell Colquhoun’s magical essays, A Walking Flame, which should hit the material plane in late June. This uniquely curated and annotated collection demonstrates the range of Colquhoun’s esoteric interests, and also places her in a wider context of women occult essayists of the mid 20th century. This is going to be a very pretty book, so pre-order here from Strange Attractor Press.

Last but certainly not least, I am finally ready to start unveiling a super special project that you will be hearing much more of over the next few months. Here is the cover reveal for my new book with Tate Publishing, Magic: Beyond the Supernatural in Contemporary Art featuring an image by Natasha Viosna Moody. This is a survey of 45 global, contemporary artists who combine magical practice with their artistic practice. I can’t wait to introduce you to these amazing artists and share their work with you. This project is designed to expand our conceptions of magical practice into exciting new territories while showcasing the cutting edge of occult, esoteric and magical art. It’s due out in October, and you will be hearing much more over the coming months.

So that’s a bit of what I’ve been getting up to. I am just bouncing with enthusiasm! Things might be getting busy around here, so I might go put my feet up and read a good book while I can. Take care of yourselves and each other, always.