About
I have been called the proprietor of satanic art. Perhaps this has been the best insult I could have honored upon me. There is always a mischievous grin when I retell this story, but the truth of the matter is that I am not shocked that my art evokes such distaste from a viewer who only sees art at face value. That is not to say that I am sorry they did not enjoy my art, but rather I am pleased that I was successful in creating art that is not a clear and precise picture. It is something of emotion, something sinister, lurid, lecherous, confounding and beautiful.
The notion of being a proprietor of anything satanic comes across as something silly, since I don't draw, paint, or sculpt anything with any demonic or maleficent intentions (well, not always). However, I'd describe my art as scary-pretty-weird. All one adjective; a place-holder for a creative outlet I have made my legacy. Every man needs a legacy, and the rough sketchy art, embroidered with vibrant colors, ominous blacks, and sometimes scary motifs has become the style I feel most comfortable exploring and is the manifesto I hope to leave in the abstract wake of my life.
My name is Cory Dahlstrom, I am an artist, born and raised in the land of Grant Wood. Loquacious and affable, my persona is anything but the astern American gothic of the Midwest, but ask me to describe my thought process on painting, and you might as well grab my pitchfork. I've never even began to understand my own style, but I know that the abstract expressionists are more or less my forefathers.
Stygian Æ is a pseudonym and metaphor expressing the abstractly dark imagery I paint with wild and often fervorous intent. I paint when there is a cause to do so. I paint when my emotions and my mind no longer exist on the same wavelength and I need to find solace in the atelier.
This art comes in many hues, but always shares the passionate, impatient quick strokes, bold dark outlines, and the haunting reality that I will always search for something different. I don't make art to please everyone. Hell, I'm usually the biggest critic, often recycling works and reworking a project until I'm satisfied, but I work fast and with a drive that is only understood in that moment between brush strokes.
Maybe you have seen my work before. I have exhibited locally for over ten years, sold nationally, and found my way into the hearts of a few collectors who know the truth of my art. I paint with a purpose and I don't masturbate with realism - any camera can do that. I paint abstract and obscurely strange beautiful for the sheer tantalizing, thought-provoking aspect that makes art the pillar of life. Regardless if life imitates art, or if art imitates life, I consider my efforts a failure if someone, without any qualitative feeling, views my art and walks away thoughtless and uninspired.
I believe the purpose of all art is to provoke thought and meaning. If that is not what art is, then call me the proprietor of satanic art if you must muster your simplistic black and white views into my world, but know this, red and yellow continue to reach out to me, as they have and always will until my spirit takes its own Stygian journey home.