Anathema was a two person show of new paintings by Shawn Barber and Vincent Castiglia.
a-nath-e-ma
[uh-nath-uh-muh]
–noun, plural -mas.
1.a person or thing detested or loathed: That subject is anathema to him.
2.a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.
3.a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.
4.any imprecation of divine punishment.
5.a curse; execration.
THE FOLLOWING WAS TAKEN FROM: sdbarber.blogspot.com
San Fransisco based artist Shawn Barber graduated with a BFA from the Ringling School of Art & Design in 1999. Since, his work has been featured in galleries around the planet and can be found in celebrity collections including those of Robin Williams, Christian Slater, Kat Von D and more. Though he is best known for his fine art, he is also an acclaimed illustrator, professor of art, and tattooist. Shawn has been profiled by publications including Art News, Juxtapoz Magazine, and SF Weekly; in addition to having two published books of his art. Last Rites will be hosting a signing of his newest book, Forever and Ever during the exhibition's opening reception. Famous for his insightful portraits of tattooed artists, Shawn's paintings are classically rendered, intimate glimpses into America's creative underground. In this exhibit he will unveil his first collection of erotic work.
Vincent Castiglia lives and works in New York City. The award-winning painter, who literally puts his life into his art, has mastered the use of his own blood as a medium. His works on paper have been showcased at museums and galleries throughout the US and Europe. His latest solo show opened in November 2008 at the HR Giger Museum in Switzerland, for which he was the first American artist to receive an invitation to exhibit. His artwork has been featured in numerous art and tattoo publications both in the US and internationally. Painstakingly rendered, Castiglia's paintings are monochromatic tableaux examining life, death and spirituality.Last Rites Gallery is New York's only gallery of dark art. Having opened in April 2008, the gallery has received accolades from publications such as Juxtapoz, Inked Magazine, Hi Fructose and the Channel 11 Morning News.
Last Rites was founded by legendary painter and tattooist Paul Booth, an artist who has devoted his life to the evolution of his craft. Paul has been featured on networks such as CNN, MSNBC, DISCOVERY, A&E, TLC, and MTV. In 2002, Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed Paul "The new king of rock tattoos." There is currently a two-year waiting list for his work.
All shows at Last Rites are curated by gallery director Genevive Zacconi. As well as being a seasoned curator, Genevive is an artist known for her meticulously detailed, classical oil paintings, which have been displayed in galleries around the world. Genevive has been profiled by MSNBC, FHM, Juxtapoz, and the NY Press.
Anathema opens on Saturday, December 13th, 7-11pm at Last Rites Gallery, 511 W. 33rd Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues (3 blocks from Penn Station), 3rd floor, New York, NY 10001. Show runs December 13th through January 22nd, 2008. More info at www.lastritesgallery.com. So, Katie and I met Joe Capobianco in New Haven, and drove into the city where we met up with Nichole from Kid Robot and had an awesome dinner at this Irish pub near Madison Square Garden. We've eaten there every time we've gone to an event at Last Rites, and I still can't remember the name of the place! After dinner, we walked down to the gallery (it was FREEZING) and checked out the show. It was crowded, and there was a lot going on. There was a constant rotation of artists working on some art fusion pieces, Shawn and Vincent were both signing their books, and photos and video were being taken from every angle.
I'm a huge fan of Shawn Barber's work, we actually have 3 of his paintings here at Pulse, and they're among my favorites of our entire collection. Two are from the original "Tattooed Portraits" series and one is a piece we commissioned him to do for us, a beautiful still life of our Archer machine. Being such a fan of his, I'm super psyched to say he's also a fan of ours! Now that he is a fine artist turned tattooer, he uses some of our equipment! The erotic work in this show was a departure for Shawn, and it was very cool to see something different and unexpected. It was great to see him on the east coast again.
Here are some photos from the opening:
Vincent Castiglia's paintings are all painted with his own blood.
Vincent Castiglia signing in front of his painting "The Great Whore"
Joe Capobianco, Me, Katie from Pulse and Nichole from Kid Robot checking out Shawn Barber's new works. 
Team Capobianco. We should really have uniforms. 
"The Unsaid" by Shawn Barber
Paul Booth, Joe Capobianco, and Kim Saigh of LA Ink/High Voltage Tattoo.
Shawn Barber and Paul Booth working on art fusion.
Krystal and I have decided that we need to arrange a photoshoot together ASAP. Ideally, this would be shot for Vogue and also feature our fashion/life idols, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg, a sort of passing of the torch if you will. I also happen to think that K and I should go into business together, and whatever we create should utilize some grouping of the letters AKLM. What do you think? 
We stayed at the Hotel Carter in Time Square. The hotel is filthy, out dated and lacking amenities, the staff is rude, but the location is wonderful. It is officially ranked as the dirtiest hotel in the country, and we quickly saw why. When we entered our room, the heat was stuck on full blast, so the windows were propped open with drawers from the decrepit dressers in the room. We eventually accidentally knocked one of the boards out where it then fell to the street stories below and may have possibly killed someone on the sidewalk. Our room came complete with bugs, rats, graffiti, holes in the walls, exposed wiring, a pile of garbage in the corner and dirt EVERYWHERE. The only thing that was missing was a dead hooker. What can I say? We like adventure.
