Talisman Paintings

Cory Benhatzel Solo Exhibition
Exhibition Dates: August 11- September 9, 2012
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 11a - 7pm

Modern Eden Gallery is pleased to announce “Talisman”, a debut solo exhibition by New York based artist Cory Benhatzel.   Talisman combines the occult, floriography symbolism, and Benhatzel’s own mystical world of animal characters. A talisman is an amulet or other object considered to possess supernatural or magical powers. It is also  a sentimental object or souvenir that when looked at years later, evokes emotion. These illustrative paintings are all about the secretive unseen; the hidden mystical. Every animal lives a secret life, every flower has a hidden meaning, and each talismanic symbol wields magic.

For more information please contact Modern Eden: (415) 956-3303, Info@ModernEden.com

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"Charming (The Spirits)"

acrylic on birch panel

18 x 24 inches, framed

2012

$1,200.00

SOLD

"In this piece, a young fox wears the Seal of Merbeulis talisman, which is used for captivating and controlling all those they encounter. It is best suited for rituals and spells that involve charming others. This amulet enables the wearer to be more charming and charismatic, enhancing their attraction energies.

Here, the fox is conjuring, or charming the spirits of several departed animals; a peacock, a raven, a mourning dove and a fawn. Around him are red roses symbolizing charm, and foam flowers which mean “attractive” in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography." 

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"Talisman"

acrylic on birch panel

16 x 20 inches, framed

2012

$900.00

"In this piece, a mourning dove wears the Circle of Protection talisman, which is best used in rituals and spells involving protection of self and home and most effective when worn around the neck.

Two kestrels sit waiting in attack mode under the dove, flanking an inverted pentagram made of acanthus; the artist’s own Talisman. Around the birds are dahlias, that symbolize misrepresentation and heather, which means protection from danger in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography." 

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"Conjuring"

acrylic on birch panel

16 x 20 inches, framed

2012

$900.00

"This piece portrays a male fox who has lost his dear wife and is conjuring her spirit using her skull and the Magic Hexagram amulet.  I found through research that, although it is not as famous as the pentagram, the hexagram has been used as a magical symbol for thousands of years.  It is frequently viewed as a form that can act as a portal to the spirit world.  As such, the Magic Hexagram amulet is a great tool for anyone seeking to invoke or evoke spirits, angels or demons.

The barn owl also is assisting the husband fox with a heart-shaped Ouija planchette which bears the symbol of the pentacle.  Between the wife’s ghostly image and the husband's solid one is the flower astilbe, which means "I'll still be waiting" in Floriography, the Victorian language of flowers.  Astilbe leaves float down from the sky around them.  Beside the husband fox are white tulips, which mean 'lost love'." 

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"Unmasking Secrets"

acrylic on birch panel

18 x 24 inches, framed

2012

$1,200.00

"In this piece a gray fox wears the Discover Hidden Secrets talisman, which enables the possessor to penetrate everywhere unseen. It is best used for rituals and spells involving divination, scrying or a crystal ball.

The theme of discovering things that are hidden is highlighted by the masks that surround the fox, barn owl and albino raven, and a bat perches above with a scrying pendulum hanging from it’s mouth. A crystal ball sits in the lower right, and the white rose symbolizes “Keep my secret”, the pink representing grace and beauty in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography." 

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"Augurium"

acrylic on birch panel

16 x 20 inches, framed

2012

$900.00

"This piece is about the Ancient Roman practice of Augurs, whose main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of the birds; whether they were flying in groups or alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of birds they were.  

Only some species of birds could yield valid signs, and the meanings would vary from species to species.  Among them were ravens, woodpeckers and owls; the ones I decided to picture here.

The curved object pictured here is the lituus, which was used as a symbol of office of the augurs to mark them out as a priestly group.

Auspicium would design the technical process of the operation, i.e. aves spicere (the Latin phrase included on the bottom frame of the painting), which means, "looking at the birds".  His result would be the augurium, i.e. the determination, acknowledgement of the presence of the auges, the favor of the god(s), the intention and the final result of the whole operation.

The irises represent "messages", the wild strawberries, "foresight" and "future promises" and the pear blossoms represent "hope, health, longevity" and "good government" in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography.

The talisman that the barn owl holds in it’s mouth is the Fourth Pentacle of Mercury amulet which assists in acquiring knowledge of all things, including reading minds." 

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"For My Little One"

acrylic on birch panel

8 x 10 inches, framed

2012

SOLD

"This is a piece I made from a horrific scene I witnessed from my living room window.  It all happened so fast that I didn't even really know what happened at first.  I was sitting at my drawing table and heard a loud sound outside.  I looked out to see a hawk with something in it's claws and a squirrel chasing after him.  

Apparently the hawk had snatched up a baby squirrel from the power line from where the mother squirrel was holding it in her mouth.  I screamed and pounded on the window at the hawk, hoping he would let it go, but it flew away before I could run outside.  I could hear the mother squirrel crying from the trees for what seemed like days later.  

I know that this is just one of the many natural occurrences in the brutal reality that is nature, but it was so excruciating to see it happen; especially when I had seen the mom running around with the baby in it's mouth the day before.

So, I had been wanting to make a painting where the squirrel gets revenge on the hawk that took her little one and brings back his skull, and for it also to look like she's keeping a vigil or visiting the baby's grave.  

She's holding forget-me-nots, which obviously mean "Do not forget me!" and remembrance, and the hawk skull is flanked by peach roses, which symbolize immortality in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography." 

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 "The Sonnenberg Mouse"

acrylic on birch panel

8 x 10 inches, oval, framed

2012

$325.00

SOLD

"This painting was inspired by a childhood memory of traveling to Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, New York. My parents and I saw an adorable little mouse living among the flowers and fountains, and my parents suggested I write a story about him or her someday. My mom always wanted me to be a children’s book illustrator and writer. Although I haven’t written about the little one, I wanted to make a tribute to him in this painting.

The little mouse scampers along on a fountain, where camellia flowers (contentment) and white bellflowers (constancy) surround him. I still love visiting Sonnenberg Gardens to this day." 

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"Flight/Foresight"

acrylic on birch panel

11 x 14 inches, framed

2012

$600.00

SOLD

"Flight/Foresight" deals with symbolism pertaining to flight (the owl ghosts, dove wings, golden bat skull) and foresight (the scrying crystal, runes, holly and wild strawberry).

A golden bat skull flanked by dove wings overlooks two albino owl ghosts that each hold plants (wild strawberry and holly) symbolizing foresight in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography.  The rune on the bat skull's head is Ansuz, symbolizing Odin; true sight, signals, insight.  The runes flanking the skull are Kenaz (vision, knowledge) and Mannaz (forethought, creativity). A tool of divination, the scrying crystal hangs down from the bat skull's mouth." 

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"Invisibility"

acrylic on birch panel

11 x 14 inches, oval, framed

2012

$600.00

"In this piece a rabbit wears the Provide Invisibility talisman which enables the wearer to “become invisible” from enemies. Not only is she invisible from the grackles perched ominously above, she has made the fox spirit a ghostly skull.

Around the rabbit are violets that stand for watchfulness, and a petunia which means resentment and anger in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography." 

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"The Language of the Birds"

acrylic on birch panel

10 x 10 inches, framed

2012

SOLD

The Language of the Birds is a tale, where a young man yearns to learn the language of the birds upon hearing the sweet song of a nightingale.  After saving some baby birds, the mother of the babies agrees to teach him the language.  He then traveled home and could understand the nightingale's song; it is foretelling his future. Later in his life, when he has been separated from his parents, a king vows to award anyone the hand in marriage of his daughter if they can get three troublesome cawing crows away from his window. The young man listens to the crows (a mother, father and child) and hears that they are arguing about which parent the child crow should follow.  The king tells the crows that the child should follow the father, and they fly away. As a reward, the young man receives the hand of the princess and they live happily ever after.

In this painting, the nightingale sits singing in the upper left, and the crow family (albino) perch chattering in the king's window, discussing which parent the child should follow.  The power triangle amulet hangs from the top of the window, which is for developing personal power. The light pink colored cyclamen mean, "I understand you" in Floriography, the Victorian language of flowers.

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"Protect and Create Flanking Sight"

acrylic on birch panel

12 x 12 inches, framed

2011

SOLD

"This piece deals in a small part with my own teenage experiences with the Ouija and Tarot cards; Saturn's seal of protection that the kestrel on the left is holding was something we used to protect ourselves from bad spirits when we used the board.

The kestrel on the left (Protect) deals with protection; besides the protective seal, the flowers in it's claws all represent protection in Victorian flower language or floriography (heather, Queen Anne's Lace, juniper), and the bird on the right (Create) represents creativity/artistic expression; the tarot (the five of wands) it holds symbolizes creativity and will, as does the bunch of oregano in it's claws.

So, overall the piece symbolizes how using the oracle signifying Sight (Ouija planchette with the all-seeing eye) to communicate with spirits can lead to artistic inspiration, but you have to protect yourself against evil. Or, maybe it's 'that which inspires can also be dangerous, so you should be on guard'." 

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"Forest Beauties"

acrylic on birch panel

18 x 24 inches, framed

2012

$1,200.00

"In this painting there are two foxes getting pretty with roses, bluejay-dove hybrids, and a brush and mirror. The roses symbolize beauty in Victorian Flower Language, or Floriography."

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"Tyto Alba"

acrylic on birch panel

8 x 10 inches, framed

2011

$300.00

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"Talisman" print

fine art giclee print

signed and numbered by the artist

limited edition of 25

image size= 8 x 10.25, paper size= 9 x 12 inches

$30.00/each

My work from my Modern Eden solo show, Talisman, are now available HERE online.