In the early days of disinformation books, we were heading to Chicago, then the site of the book industry’s annual trade fair, when we were contacted by a fan who wanted to throw a party for us. Not being the kind of people who look gift horses in the eye, we accepted, and thus began a beautiful friendship with Thomas Negovan, one of the art world’s most innovative gallerists. Tom’s gallery, Century Guild, has since moved to Los Angeles and continues to champion some of our favorite artists, not least Gail Potocki.
The Guardian profiles Century Guild’s Art Macabre collection:
Before TV and radio, the main way of reaching the public was with large, eye-catching posters. Theatre, silent film and opera would be advertised with colourful images fixed to walls or fences. Most have been lost or destroyed, but Los Angeles art gallery Century Guild has a collection of peculiar and macabre prints from Germany, Austria, France and Italy dating back to 1880-1890. “What I find most striking is the modernity of the visual message,” says the gallery’s founder, Thomas Negovan. “We tend to view the turn of the century through a sepia-toned lens of quaintness, when the truth is that the world then was just as dynamic and thrilling as our lives are today.”
The Dance of Death courtesy of Century Guild
Check out the whole collection at Century Guild.
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