Featuring three floors filled with compelling visual art and immersive experiences, visitors to the gallery are drawn deeper into the story of the tarot as retold by the artist, a Philly native with east coast renown. In the ground level, a premonition of what was to come on the upper levels, standard lighting went dim: in its place, black light and the mesmerizing glow of accent layers in many of the works, a less than rare motif amongst Robin’s painted art. Animals of power, including a large painted tiger donning the real whiskers of its subject, hung among figures such as Anubis and Papa Legba, and adinkra overlays, all with nods to the roots of the artist and intentions embedded throughout the pieces in the spaces above that would evolve from the spirit of these originals. One small, perfectly round canvas with a silhouette stands apart from the others in its size and simplicity, catching the eye as one leaves the door for the next level up. A woman’s shrouded silhouette in blue with a heart texturized at her center: “Calypso’s Heart.”

We meet her again immediately upon entry to the second level of the gallery, on a full size wood canvas in the window with breathtaking detail in aquatic blues and sparkling gold. Rising from the water, she is the face of the Lover’s Deck, the main feature of the show being debuted as an oracle deck based on the original 22 major arcana of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot plus two new pieces unique from the artist’s perspective of the story. Each card is a miniaturized work of art, the larger panels hanging on the walls of the second and third levels, layered with unimaginable genius and intent.

As the viewer moves through the gallery, one is led through the journey of the development of the Heyoka (The Fool, in RWS), card by card, as he seeks to craft the perfect song for Calypso. Numbered and labeled with the inspiring Rider-Waite-Smith
card for those less familiar, the pieces tell a similar story as the original, marking the importance of balancing one’s shadows, finding and honouring divine connections amongst our personal tribes, embracing cycles, and nurturing spirituality in our pursuit
of growth. While the style B/ue has used is undeniably not just more aesthetically appealing than the RWS deck but also downright beautiful in its movement and depth, it becomes apparent to those more familiar with tarot that each card contains its own story within the story and this is a show that demands time to take in. Where other attempts to recreate the tarot stop at fun design, B/ue Robin has excelled not just in creating beautiful renditions but truly unique and compelling stories, making this a deeply unique retelling that maintains a universal messaging. Individual anecdotes weave into a complete, robust story that is not just an echo but an evolution that will take its own stand amongst the popular decks of tarot. Its familiarity in modern references from Peter Pan to the globalism of hip hop as well as timeless traditions in the Creole second line and Brazilian martial art of capoeira, this collection as a whole offers something anyone can find connection in. As mother after mother lines her son for a photo under “Ra’s Rising,” The Sun reborn as a toddler under feathered nimbus, it becomes apparent this collection brings the magic of tarot home for the first time from its place of antiquity and Other mysticism.

This magic in capturing universal sentiment extends beyond the tarot collection as one transcends the stairs into the third level of the gallery, where the journey of the cards not only concludes with his two unique additions, “Grandma’s Hands” and “Storm’s Song,” but opens to a broader story of legacy. At the top of the stairs, a film freshman from Temple University excitedly gasps, “Is that House Party?” as she rushes toward two unmistakable high tops painted against an appropriately bright yellow and pink backdrop. She recounts watching the movies with her older sister and mother when she was a child and the word “tradition” comes into conversation. Larger than life portraits of the artist’s family members surround guests as they interact with installations, contributing digital photos next to the family albums, leaving notes in bird nests adorned by paint brushes, and taking in homage to J. Dilla, the Eagles, and even Calypo’s lover’s guitar “Lovio,” with gold insignia referencing the Heyoka’s journey through images seen on the individual tarot pieces.

Of course, no event by B/ue Robin is ever complete without live performance. Strolling throughout the venue, two models strut their stuff, that “stuff” being collection-inspired fashion pieces, uniquely hand painted and designed by creative Rich Rocket of Vintage Thrivals. The walking pieces include a black blazer inspired by card 13 (formerly Death in RWS and now Papa Aubus) and a once khaki trench now hosting panels of blues and purples with numbers through 23 emphasizing the relation of the story of the new tarot to self (with the first card being 0). The evening was fully rounded by sidewalk parade with returning drumline Whourockinwit, whose energy breaks the cold of any November Philly wind, and powerful spoken word piece by familyartmoney. (POET’S) performance resonated with the sentiments of standout piece and card 22, “Grandma’s Hands,” one of the two unique add-ons to the major arcana, with the motif of words his grandmother gave him, an honoring of his grandmother not unlike the honor given to the family and especially matriarch of the artist and curator of the night. B/ue Robin describes the 24 pieces as a meeting of art and mysticism and this event that brought together tarot, urban art, tradition, and intimate glimpses of the composition of the artist himself was undoubtedly a capture of what happens when love is in the cards.