In one of those felicitous Internet moments last night I found myself drawn into a website through some stray clicking on an odd link, completely accidental, and I haven't been able to tear myself away much since...
The artwork of Agostino Arrivabene is completely new to me and is almost overpowering in its heady mix of overtones from anatomy illustrations, Bosch, Renaissance costume and religious painting, Lovecraftian horror, the occult visions of Austin Osman Spare, dark sexuality, and a sense of surrealism. In the end the list of associations this work has is just an indication of the depth of its power to fascinate, disturb and enthrall.
There is much on the paintings pages and drawings pages of his website that is simply breath-taking but, as ever, I find myself drawn as much to the ephemeral expressions of an artists vision and so I was delighted to discover that he includes on his website scans of various sketchbooks made over the years, like the images here from the most recent. Go and look but be warned, you may loose yourself there for sometime.
