Biography
The Visionary art of Robert Venosa (1936 – 2011) has been exhibited worldwide and is represented in major collections, including those of noted museums, rock stars, and European aristocracy. In addition to painting, sculpting, and film design – pre sketches and conceptual design for the movie Dune, and Fire in the Sky for Paramount Pictures, and Race for Atlantis for IMAX – Venosa has added computer art to his creative menu.
His work has been the subject of three books, as well as being featured in numerous publications – and on a number of CD covers, including those of Santana, Kitaro, Ornette Coleman, et al.
New York City born, Venosa was transported into the world of fine art in the late 60’s after having experimented with psychedelics and having seen the work of the Fantastic Realists – Ernst Fuchs and Mati Klarwein in particular – both of whom he eventually met and studied under. Of his apprenticeship with Klarwein, Venosa says, “What a time (Autumn, 1970) that turned out to be! Not only did I get started in proper technique, but at various times I had Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Jackie Kennedy, and the good doctor, Tim Leary himself, peering over my shoulder to see what I was up to.”
Venosa moved to Europe in the early 70’s settling in the celebrated Mediterranean village of Cadaques in Spain, where he enjoyed the honorable and mighty pleasure of getting to know and hang with neighbor Salvador Dali, as well as the numerous notables in the world of art and literature who gravitated to that magic locale.
Much of Venosa’s work and attendant exploits have been published in his books, Manas Manna (Big O), Noospheres (Pomegranate Artbooks), and. most recently, Illuminatus (Fine Arts Press), which features the poetic text of Terence McKenna.
Presently Venosa maintains studios in both Boulder, Colorado and Cadaques. He also devotes a few weeks each year giving workshops with his wife, the artist Martina Hoffmann, at such institutes and locations as Omega in NY; Naropa in Boulder; Manaus, Brazil; Skyros Institute, Skyros Island Greece; Cadaques, Spain; Kona, Hawaii: and Esalen at Big Sur, California.
Venosa had the crux of his creative existence insightfully encapsulated in these comments by author Nevill Drury:
“If the most exciting art-making one can hope to encounter is an exploration of the furthest realities of the imagination, then Robert Venosa must surely rank among the luminaries of our era. His unique approach to Visionary art is nothing less than a fascinating scrutinization of the mysterious realms of being. Venosa’s imagery enfolds us with its magical power – truly mythology for our times.”
In his confrontations with the transpersonal, other-worldly offerings of the entheogens, Venosa discovered the magic and magicians of the Fantastic / Visionary world of art. Having Ãœbermeisters Mati Klarwein and Ernst Fuchs as mentors, while discussing art and decadence with Salvador Dali, Venosa was suffused with the energy and dynamics that transported him into the realm of the Fantastic, while providing him with the palette and paints with which to make it manifest.
Through his participation in various workshops and seminars, Venosa now shares the techniques and experiences that entice and enchant one and all as to the magic and mysteries of the transcendent realms he inhabits…and paints.