Gothic sensibility sends shivers down the spine. It is the essence of foreboding, never going out of style, it unveils the eternal moments of human dread—our fear of the unseen monster in the dark, or our quieter brooding on time’s passing and our own ultimate deaths.

The word “gothic” carries double meaning. In architecture Gothic refers to the soaring medieval churches that emerged in the 12th century, but since art historian Horace Walpole published his novel The Castle of Otranto in 1764, gothic has been associated with sinister literature—Frankenstein to Dracula—stories that show lurking evil.

Gothicism, intensely popular in 19th-century fiction, betokens dread from the gently moody and melancholic to fearsome mystery and murder. The genre invites pastiche, but visual artists today have adapted the strange fruits of gothic literature: the haunted castle, the deserted graveyard, the ominous black-feathered bird, the lone woman in desolate mourning, and brings them to us in recognizable and powerful vocabulary that calls up deep emotion.

Dark and Stormy Night: Gothic Inspiration in Contemporary Art is supported by New York Council through the Honorable Andrew Cohen and the Bronx Delegation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, and The New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund