Concerning The Spiritual In Art

In this episode I am joined by Nashville based artist David Onri Anderson.  This conversation went to a lot of amazing places. We began by talking about David’s spirituality and its connection to his past and his ancestors. He tells a harrowing story of a near death experience that impacted him greatly.  We also discuss the influence the natural world has on his art making as well as his own personal spirituality.  We discuss the nature of spiritual art and the importance it plays in the past and the importance we both believe it will play in our future.  We talk about the art world and the nature of commerce and how we may create new paradigms for artists to exist in, paradigms that allow for a lot more artists to find true sustainability. 

-------------------

David Onri Anderson is a French-American Tennessee-born artist, musician and curator of French-Algerian Jewish ancestry. He graduated from Watkins College of Art in Nashville with

the Anny Gowa Purchase Award in 2016. He has had solo exhibitions at Patrick Painter Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, Blaa Galleri in Copenhagen, DK, Harpy Gallery in Rutherford, NJ, David Lusk Gallery in Nashville, TN, Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center, and Institute 193 in Lexington, KY amongst others. He has shown at the LA Art Fair 2019 and the Hamptons Art Fair 2020. He has shown at the Atlanta Contemporary Museum and the Alabama Contemporary Museum. His work has been reviewed, exhibited and collected internationally with works in permanent collections including the Soho House in Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN, The Joseph Hotel, and the Metro Arts Library in Nashville, TN, amongst others. In 2020 he published a book of drawings with Zürich-based artist book company, Nieves. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, Artnet, BURNAWAY, DailyLazy, Art & Antiques and more. Anderson is founder and curator of an artist-run space called Electric Shed Gallery in Nashville, TN (2018-present) and was guest curator for a section of the permanent collection of Soho House Nashville.

https://davidonrianderson.com/home.html

https://www.instagram.com/davidonri

See More from Martin Benson

In this episode Theresa and I talk about the power of perception, sensation, and the way that abstract painting is the perfect way to express these intangible experiences.  We explore the relationship with the outer world and the patterns we find in nature and how they can help us bridge the gap between our inner lives. We talk about  sacred geometry in historical painting and how that relates to what we do today, along with the power meditation and yoga practice have over the way we connect with a deeper sense of self.  Theresa also talks about her painting practice and her intuitive approach to crafting these dynamic works of art.  

------------------

Bio:

Theresa Daddezio is an artist and curator based in Brooklyn, NY. She received an MFA from Hunter College in Visual Art and BFA at Purchase College in Painting and Drawing. Her selected exhibitions include: “Reworlding” at DC Moore Gallery, “Altum Corpus” at DC Moore Gallery (NY,NY); “Carbona Sunrise,” Transmitter (Brooklyn, NY); “A Mind of Their Own,” Pentimenti (Philadelphia, PA); “Three,” DC Moore (NYC); “Known: Unknown,” New York Studio School (NYC), “Abstraction in the 21st Century,” the University of Hawai’i at Manoa: “Rhythms, Rhymes, Repetitions,” Studio Kura (Itoshima, Japan). Her work will be featured in issue #152 of New American Paintings, and has been featured in Art Maze, Hyperallergic, The Queens Ledger, Bushwick Daily, and The L Magazine. Her paintings were recently included in Phong Bui’s Curator’s Pick at Artfare, as well as featured in MAAKE Mag and Coastal Post. She participated in the Wassaic Residency Project in upstate NY.

In this episode I dive deep with visual artist Jared Freschman about his personal spiritual journey. We talk about the importance of finding new modes of spiritual identity. We talk about how organized religion typically doesn’t create space for Queer people and how that drove him to find his own way of connecting to the mystical and magical components of life.  We talk about the influence Tarot and Astrology has had on him, as well as his own Jewish background.  We discuss the power of art to carve out these new kinds of spiritual spaces for people like himself.  We also dive into his own personal color theory and his approach to creating these powerful, personal expressions of his own spiritual identity.  

---------------

Jared Freschman (b. 1996) is a Jewish-American artist based in NYC. Originally from Hockessin, Delaware. He received his BFA from Pratt Institute in 2018. Freschman also studied abroad in Jerusalem, Israel/ Palestine at Bezalel School of Art and Design. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn.Jared Freschman’s fluid compositions conjure the hidden spiritual practices of today’s queer youth. Ombré fades and jewel-tone color palettes open a door to nostalgic, dream-like memories. Freschman illustrates allegories that combine vivid flashbacks, mysticism, and hyper-feminine archetypes that own the composition. He builds a liminal space where control lies in the hands of queer individuals. Perspectives shift from first to third person, and the artist’s lived experiences mingle with those of a broader queer collective.Freschman has exhibited his work internationally at Field Projects (NYC), Eve Leibe Gallery (London), PRIOR Art Space (Barcelona), The National Arts Club (NYC), The Untitled Space (NYC), Project Gallery V (NYC), GIFC (Norway), The Museum of American Illustration (NYC), Cooler Gallery (Brooklyn), The Delaware Contemporary (Wilmington, DE), Israel Illustration Week (Tel Aviv), Gallery 102 (Washington DC), The Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE). His work has been featured in Marie Claire Taiwan, Dirtybarn, Artforum, ARTpublika Magazine, AIGA Eye on Design, Working Not Working, The Drawing Stall, FORGE Art Magazine, and more. Freschman has also received awards from American Illustration & Society of Illustrators.

In this episode I am joined by visual artist Hazel Florez, where we get deep into the esoteric tradition of the west.  We begin by discussing her dramatic shift in interest toward the occult and esoteric and how that discovery slowly began to guide her toward her creative work.  We discuss the importance of reclaiming our spiritual identity in these modern times of distraction and hyper-materialism.  We dive into her work as an artist and how she explores new ways of expressing ideas from tarot, alchemy, and the pagan sensibilities of pre-christian and European spirituality.  

------------------------

Hazel Florez is an artist, researcher and writer. Hazel is multidisciplinary artist making paintings, drawings, costumes, photography and mixed media collage. Her work draws on a range of mystical influences for inspiration, including the rich symbolic traditions of Jungian archetypal psychology, tarot, astrology, alchemy, mythology, and folklore. Florez’s paintings are made with the intention of drawing the viewer into a slower and meditative state of mind, where prolonged viewing is rewarded with intricate detail. Her paintings act like portals inviting the viewer to enter mythopoetic Otherworlds. Esoteric and surreal Hazel's images weave new stories of their own, often mixing reverence with playful irreverence.

She has an MFA from Edinburgh and taught at Queen Mary University London before becoming an artist. She has participated in many solo and group shows in London. She has participated and given talks at a range of venues and events including the Jung Club, the Magical Women’s Conference and Occulture Conference Berlin and The Last Tuesday Society. She was shortlisted for the London College of Psychic Studies annual art competition 2022. She is currently writing articles for World of Interiors magazine. Her work is due to be published in a book by Taschen called 'Sacred Sites' released with The Library of Esoterica February 2024.

In this episode, with visual artist Fuchsia, we discuss her powerful paintings and how she explores the duality of the angelic and the earthly.  We talk about her background growing up abroad in places like Hong Kong and India and how that influenced her world view. We dig into spirituality and spiritual practice and how that informs her work .  Together, we also dive deep, discussing the importance of the ecological crisis and how the elevation of consciousness is crucial for humanity to move forward and heal our collective wounds.  

-------------------

I just finished a one-year residency at Sarabande (Alexander McQueen Foundation) in east London. Since September, 2022 I have had the opportunity to have four solo shows (one in Paris, one at the Sixi Museum in Nanjing, one at Roman Road Gallery in London and one at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery in Hong Kong) as well as take part in three group shows (including one at Christie's Lates). 

A few words on my practice to give you an idea... 

I am a mixed-media artist (under the name of fuchsia), working primarily with watercolour and oils and am interested in exploring environmental subjects through harmonious colour palettes and spiritual iconography. I create dream-like landscapes inspired by the renaissance period, Chinese landscape painting, and a few incredible 20th-century surrealist painters (Georgia O'Keeffe, Agnes Pelton...). 

There are a few recurring core symbols within my 'ethereal landscapes' (heavily influenced by dreams and the subconscious), including angels and pearls. Angels, having been represented for hundreds of years throughout art history, are, to me, universal symbols representing the deepest state of our core as humans - love, vulnerability and innocence - all things we regrettably and gradually let go of when entering adulthood. My paintings aim to highlight certain conflicting moral forces we face in today’s complex world, namely issues on climate change and 'spiritual famine' which seem to often preoccupy the minds of the angels. 

https://www.alafuchsia.com/about

https://www.instagram.com/alafuchsia

-------------------

See More from Martin Benson

Last Episode of 2023! 

In this episode, Kelsey and I discuss the origins of his art , stemming from his time working as a scientist, and how his interests and passions for art took him on a winding unexpected journey to where he is today. We discuss the intersection of science and art, sacred geometry, and the mystery of consciousness. We talk about his approach to his work and its relationship with meditation, along with the importance of gratitude and the experience of awe in everyday life.  It was such a fun and rich discussion that you all are going to love!

-------------------------------------

In this episode I am joined by visual artist Dan Huston.  During this episode Dan and I had an incredible conversation around his highly disciplined and prolific drawing practice. We talked about his origins with art and why drawing seems to speak to him so inimitably compared to any other medium. We discuss our shared interests in the magic of the natural world along with the mirroring of forms in both the micro and macro cosmic scales.  We also touch upon his playful and organic approach to his work, and the motivations that drive his commitment to his art practice.

-----------------------------

Dan Huston (b. 1992) currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BA in environmental studies and studio art from Bates College in 2014. He makes intuitive drawings and works exclusively in colored pencil.

I am super excited to share this episode with visual artist, Laura Payne.  Laura and I have an exciting discussion around ideas of multiple dimensions and how to express the feeling of these other dimensional spaces on a 2-D surface. We talk about her process and how important it is to just show up and get to work in the studio.  Laura touches upon how her way of understanding her work has changed a lot recently, especially in the wake of reading the book “The Creative Act: A Way Of Being” by Rick Rubin.  Laura and I also talk about the power of intuition and how hard it can be to embrace but how ultimately crucial it is.  

------------------------------

In this episode I have Danish artist, Rebekka Borum on the podcast.  Rebekka and I had an incredible dialogue around her work and her journey as an artist, going from studying technology and design, to working purely analog as a painter. We talked about her evolution as an artist, exploring differing kinds of substrates as well as the evolution in her understanding of her relationship to her creative process.  We dove deep into a discussion around abstraction, math, geometry, and how this kind of visual language can be a gateway to powerful emotional experiences.  Rebekah has such a disciplined and inspiring art practice and I know you all are going to love this episode and love her seeing her work!

------------------------

Rebekka Borum (b. 1992) is a visual artist from Denmark with a BA in Art and Technology from Aalborg University. In her artistic exploration she has developed an abstract, geometric, visual language inspired by mathematical formulas, yet expressed through the analogue medium; paint on canvas. This exploration has evolved throughout the years to be progressively more organic, both in appearance and medium. Drawing inspiration from the microscopic and macroscopic, she is delving into the very meaning of life through her vivid gradients painted on canvas and wooden sculptural objects. Borum's works have been shown in galleries and art institutions several places in Denmark for the last six years, as well as at Knew Conscious Gallery and Ryan Joseph Gallery in Denver, US. In her recent career, she has also created art installations for a hospital and a day care institution.

Links: 

For this episode I am joined by visual artist Stephanie Gonzalez. Together we have a deep and vulnerable discussion around spiritual seeking, healing, and a new movement in art.  Stephanie shares about her background, growing up in Mexico and how her art practiced transformed when she learned to let go of her anger and find stillness within.  We talked about the power and importance of mediation and how those experience can inform art making.  Stephanie shares a lot about her own evolution and her amazing perspective on being an artist during these challenging and confusing times.  

------------------------------------

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1988, Stephanie Gonzalez's art journey is a fusion of Mexican and American influences. Inspired by her grandfather's admiration for Bob Ross, she began creating at 14. Stephanie's work evolved from landscapes to powerful abstractions, where she embraced intuition over technique.

 Stephanie draws from her experiences as a lesbian Mexican woman, channeling her emotions into mixed media works using vintage magazines and discarded materials. After earning a Bachelor's in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Houston, she pursued a Master's in Fine Art, broadening her scope to sculpture and conceptual art. Stephanie's art now graces international collections, including prestigious venues like Starwood Hotels and the CICA Museum in South Korea. Stephanie's work has been shown in museums such as The Masur Museum of Art in Louisiana and the Holocaust Museum in Houston, and she shows her work in various galleries around the U.S. She has received awards from the Glassell School of Art, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, and Rising Eyes of Texas.

 Her recent work explores geometric landscapes, delving into the spiritual and the interconnected. Stephanie Gonzalez's art continues to captivate and evolve, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary art.

In this episode with visual artist, art historian, and writer Alessandro Keegan, we have magical dialogue around esoterica, alchemy, and spiritual practices in relation to visual art. We learn about Alessandro’s thought process and approach to his magical paintings.  We talk about the emergence of this genre of artwork into the mainstream and what that could mean about the deeply transformative times we are living in.  

---------------------

Alessandro Keegan (b. 1980) is a visual artist, writer and art history professor with an MFA in painting and drawing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MA in art history from Brooklyn College. Keegan, who has training as a gemologist, worked at the Gemological Institute of America in New York until 2012, while completing his education. He currently lives and works in the Hudson Valley town of Walden, New York.

Keegan’s paintings have been exhibited in New York, Chicago, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Macau, The Hague, and many other cities around the world. His art can be found in the permanent collection of the College of Psychic Studies, in London, alongside historical artists of the occult. In 2023, Keegan had his first solo exhibition in New York City at Waterhouse and Dodd Gallery. His most recent exhibition was at the Macau Museum of Art, as part of the Macau International Art Biennale, on view from July 28th-October 29th, 2023.

Writings about his work have appeared in Artsy, ArtMaze Magazine, Artforum, Cultured Magazine, Elephant Magazine, and Masthead Magazine as well as journals such as Helvete (Punctum Books, Brooklyn) and J’ai Froid (Castillo/ Corrales, Paris). Keegan’s art practice and ideas are the subject of a short documentary film called “The Matter of Mind”, released in 2020 by Full Moon Films. Keegan is also a writer, and will have a forthcoming essay in "Enchanted Pedagogies: Archetypes, Magic, and Knowledge", an anthology edited by Kari Adelaide Razdow, published by Brill publishers.

In this episode with visual artist, Kristin Farr, we dive deep into a discussion around folk art and folk magic. We talk about these influences in Kristin’s work, how they came to be, and how she utilizes them within her dynamic practice making paintings and murals. 

------------------------------

Kristin’s paintings are directed by color and influenced by folk art practices, synesthesia and ideas about magic. Her large-scale murals can be found in California and internationally, and she has exhibited her work in galleries around the US. Recently, she has been experimenting with ceramic sculpture. Kristin is also Deputy Editor of Juxtapoz Magazine and has produced many curatorial programs and documentary film projects about contemporary art. 

https://www.instagram.com/kristinfarr/

http://www.kristinfarr.com/

------------------------

See More from Martin Benson

This week I have Allie Lyon on the podcast.  She is an visual artist, photographer, and yoga/ meditation teacher. This episode is deep dive into spiritual practice and how it can relate to and inform our creative practice.  There are so many amazing nuggets of wisdom in this one that I think anyone can take away with them.  It was an inspired conversation that I am super excited to share with all of you!

-------------------

Allie is an abstract artist and meditation, yoga nidra, yoga guide originally from New York, currently living in Portland, Oregon. Her artwork is inspired by living most of her life with chronic aura migraines. The debilitating & blinding pain that comes along & blurs her vision, leaving her immobile in a dark room with no light or sound becomes a pathway to deep self inquiry, clarity & inspiration. Immersed in darkness, light and colors would emerge and dissolve behind her eyes, shapeshifting into different worlds that could only be illuminated by the darkness.

Allie’s pain became a portal into beauty.The imprints left in her mind created by the visceral pain of migraines are reflected in her artwork. Glimpses of colors & shapes dance together to create meditative landscapes, a reprieve from something so painful. Allie continues to be inspired by the questions:How can I show something that’s invisible? She discovered her process from a college assignment: take a photograph of nothing. 

Allie was so inspired by this idea of what nothing can mean:darkness, emptiness & invisible space. She was instantly reminded how migraines & meditation offer this same inquiry. The vision of our internal world was so much more inspiring than what we can see with our eyes. Allie describes her work as pushing the medium of photography to offer a vision beyond what is visible and instead, transform the invisible into a visible experience. She focuses on making photographs rather than taking photographs by collaborating with the lens and light to create a view of our internal landscape.

Allie’s dad gave her a film camera when she was 10 years old & she became fascinated with being in the dark room in high school and college, seeing images appear when submerged in the quiet darkness. This became a theme: how darkness is a space for light to exist in. Allie is  inspired by the inward experience that meditation and migraines have illuminated. She views her process of art-making as a collaboration between herself and the medium: showing up with intention and simultaneously letting go to allow the medium of photography, paint or ink to also participate in the outcome. This process also reflects yogic and meditation philosophies on the importance of arrival and letting go. This is the foundation from which Allie creates.

 Art is a shared experience:creating and letting yourself be seen by others becomes a mirror for people to be curious about their own inner worlds. Allie’s passion and purpose is to explore the integration between art and meditation.  We can use these tools to illuminate the world within: inviting more clarity, compassion and understanding to ourselves and the world.

https://www.alexandra-lyon.com/

https://www.instagram.com/allielyonart/

See More from Martin Benson

In this episode with visual artist, Dan Perkins, we dive into a discussion around the evolution of his painting practice.  He shares about how over the recent years, through all the turmoil of global events, he started to turn more inward.  This shift impacted his paintings, moving them away from being solely focused on formal concerns, to being more interested in the psychological landscape.  We discussed the power of meditative practice and how art making, along with art viewing, can offer glimpses into a different state of consciousness. 

---------------------------------

Dan Perkins lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He received his MFA from American University. His paintings channel architectural motifs that connote space: crossing through a threshold, gazing through a window, passing from one plane to another. However the spaces depicted sit in an ethereal haze, where color and form are primary. Scale, time and space are all negotiable, up to the viewer to frame and understand.

He has shown at Deanna Evans Projects, Sperone Westwater, Kutlesa Gallery, Hashimoto Contemporary, Launch F18, Mana Contemporary, and elsewhere. His work is held in the collections of Capital One, Fidelity Investments, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Katzen Museum of American University, as well as in many private collections. His work has been featured in Juxtapoz Magazine, Booooooom, Wired Italia, Art of Choice, Archive 00, Two Coats of Paint, Artsy, ArtMaze Mag, and the Washington Post.

In this episode with visual artist, Audrey Stone, we discuss her meticulous approach to her paintings and the importance of beauty in art. We dialogue about the power of color and its influence on our emotional experience, along with her deeply personal relationship to her abstract work.  We also talk about the power of something being “hand-made” and how in this accelerating digital age, the analog processes still hold an immense amount of value.  

----------------------

Audrey Stone received her MFA from Hunter College and her BFA from Pratt Institute, both in painting. She studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and was selected for the Artist in The Marketplace program at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited across the United States, as well as in Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, England, France and Japan. Recent Solo exhibitions include a 2021 exhibition at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Kent, CT, a 2020 solo exhibition and a 2018 solo exhibition at Morgan Lehman Gallery. In 2022 she had a two person exhibit at Bernay Fine Art in Great Barrington, MA. She has shown in group exhibitions at the Andy Warhol Museum, the Arkansas Art Center, The Columbus Museum, the Flinn Gallery, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Kentler International Drawing Space, McKenzie Fine Art, ODETTA Gallery and Winston Wachter Seattle. Her work is in the collections of the Amateras Foundation, Charles Schwab Print Program, Cleveland Clinic, Credit Suisse, Fidelity Investments, and New York Presbeterian Hospital. Stone’s work is represented by Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York City and Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Kent, CT. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. 

In this weeks episode with artist, writer, and lecturer,  Michael Carter, we dive deep into the esoteric history of modernism.  Together we have an incredible discussion about the nature of art and the role of the artist. We discuss his incredibly powerful artistic practice, along with his deep interest and study of Theosophy.  Together we unpack a lot of questions around why these ideas have been obscured for so long and how the re-emergence of them could play a huge role in the evolution of our culture. 

-----------------------

Michael Carter is a Los Angeles-based artist, researcher, and educator working in painting and performance. His work is an investigation into metaphysical practices in art and the cultural histories of science, philosophy, and religion in modernity to the contemporary. Recent exhibitions include Rusha & Co. (Los Angeles), Nicodim Gallery (Los Angeles, Bucharest), JOAN (Los Angeles), and Hansell Galley of the Philosophical Research Society (Los Angeles). 

In this episode Katie and I discuss her explorations with sacred geometry and her desire to strike a harmonious balance between organic and geometric forms. We discussed our shared interest in Yoga and Meditation and how those spiritual practices inform creative process. Katie and I also dive deep into a discussion about impermanence and the powerful lessons that come from that.

-----------------

Originally from Bradenton, Florida, Katie Niewodowski has lived in Jersey City since 2006 where she makes and teaches art and owns a personalized portrait company: Petitraits. Katie is also a yogi and yoga instructor - a spiritual practice that she integrates into her art.

Katie is currently a professor of Visual Arts at RISD, Montclair State University, Seton Hall University, and Hudson County Community College. She received her BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design in 2002 and her MFA from Montclair State University in 2005.

Her work is a meditation on the phenomenon of life and the creative structures that perpetuate it. She explores the interconnectedness of life that exists in our universe such as patterns in nature, the body, and mathematics such as the Golden Ratio, fractals, and sacred geometry. Her paintings, drawings, and sculptures examine the visual representations of this macro and microcosmic field and seek to understand the systems that connect it.

Katie has had two recent solo exhibits in Jersey City: ‘Circling the Sphere’ in 2022 and ‘The Sacred and the Sublime’ in 2023. Her work has been exhibited in New York at such galleries as Littlejohn Contemporary, Lyons Wier, PPOW, and the Islip Museum. In NJ her art has been shown at Mana Contemporary, The Montclair Art Museum, Long Beach Island Foundation, Drawing Rooms, The Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Dineen Hull Gallery, and The Segal Gallery among others. In Florida her work has been exhibited at The Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art, The Selby Gallery, and many other galleries in the Tampa Bay area. Art fairs include SCOPE Miami, AAF-NYC. Internationally, SCOPE London and an inclusion in the 2017 exhibit ‘‘A Glimpse of the Concealed – body, intuition, art” by Paul Vandenbroeck at The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Follow her work on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/katieniewo/

In this episode I speak with artist and illustrator Liam Warr.  Liam grew up in Salisbury, England near the powerful ancient site of Stonehenge. We talked about his upbringing in such mysterious and magical place and how that impacted him. We also talked about his transition from being a photographer to a digital artist. Liam also shared with me about his beautiful breathing practices he does through a drawing process he developed. We discussed the power of balancing the digital with the analog and how we can better bridge these two mediums to create more interesting and unique works of art. Liam also shared a lot about his process for making his iconic and powerful digital artworks.  

------------------------

Liam Warr is a geometric abstract artist originally from the UK and now based in Toronto. His artwork is diverse, ranging from bold geometric shapes to abstract landscapes, kaleidoscopic patterns, and little planets. He loves to play with color and texture, often incorporating grain and glitch effects into his pieces.

https://www.liam-warr.com/

--------------------

See More from Martin Benson

In this episode I have an incredibly rich dialogue with visual artist Tayo Heuser. We learned about her very unique upbringing, having grown up living multiple countries and continents. We talked about how these experiences shaped her relationship to her art and her spirituality. We talked about her interactions with Shamans at young age and how her explorations of Mosques and ancient sites influenced her curiosity with geometry and organic forms found in nature. We discuss her work and the importance of her studio being a sacred space. We also talk about the art world institutions and contemplated why some may be more inclined to feel the spiritual energy in art while others have a more difficult time. All in all it was a really engaging discussion and Tayo is such an important voice for the emerging institutional acceptance of the Spiritual in art.

--------------------------------------------------------

Tayo Heuser was born in Washington D.C. but raised in North, East and West Africa. She returned to the United States to attend college at the Rhode Island School of Design.

In Tunisia Heuser wandered the ruins of Carthage admiring the vast expanses of the former Roman market place and baths, along with the Roman mosaics still embedded in the ground. The Great Mosque of Kairouan with its horseshoe arches and Islamic tiles were mesmerizing. 

Thus began her interest in the geometry used to create patterns. The visual experiences would continue to inform her artwork for years to come. Libya and the Sudan would also influence her work not only for the Roman ruins but her voyages through the Sahara. The night sky and infinite horizon of the desert would be imprinted on her mind. The other end of the spectrum from the stillness of the desert would be in the Ivory Coast. Heuser would revel in the vibrant color of the textiles worn by the Ivorian people along with the varied and abundant vegetation.  Often a friend would drive her into the bushland to meet with shamans. 

Heuser is a world citizen. Her identity transcends her geography and political borders. Her art work is a confluence of her cultural experiences both visual and spiritual. Her paintings are like portals in that they represent a world of infinite possibilities. There is time for reflectivity and timeless tranquility. They create a heightened perception of the world we live in. They are passageways between her interior and exterior worlds like a spiritual excavation. Her work addresses the central theme of cosmic balance between light and darkness, spirit and matter. 

Heuser has had a yearlong exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. as well as participating in group shows there and at the Weatherspoon Museum, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the University Art Museum at Long Beach California and the Chazan Museum of Art. Her work has been exhibited internationally. Most recently at Space 776 in NYC presently her work is featured at the Phillips Collection Entrance Lobby (2023) and at the Chateau de Fernelmont in Belgium. Heuser participated in an exhibition with the Jamestown Arts Center in 2021 and in 2020 with Jason Jacques gallery in San Francisco (Fog Design +Art 2020), Odetta gallery in NYC amongst others. 

Her most recent solo exhibitions (2018 ) were at The UMass Dartmouth Gallery, MA and The Jamestown Art Center in RI (2016 ) Heuser’s work is in the permanent collection of The RISD Museum, Providence RI, The Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC, The Hammer Museum Los Angeles, CA, and The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.. Other collections, amongst others, include the American Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Leeds Foundation Philadelphia, PA, and the Werner Kramarsky Collection NYC. Heuser’s work has been featured in publications including, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Art New England, Artscope, The Boston Herald, La Libre Magazine, Le Soir and the Washington Post.

In this episode with collage artist Jonathan Conda, we got really deep and quick.  We discussed the power of history and the nuance of storytelling along with  how history is incredibly limited as a form of truth telling.  We talked about bias and how that plays into what histories we remember and which ones we forget.  We also had a deep discussion around identity politics , social media, and why art is a necessary tool to penetrate down to the human spirit.  We discussed Jonathans creative process and how he sources the imagery in his incredible collage work.  We even talk about AI, technology, and how that is impacting art making. 

---------------------

From Jonathan's Website:

Hi, my name is Jonathan Conda. I create future nostalgia (ok, you might say it’s just collage art) as The Quiet Fight.

My work, while remaining politically neutral, seeks to challenge our feelings around culture, history and global citizenship. I try to elevate those who are ignored, forgotten or dehumanized. There’s beauty in all of us, if we’re willing to see it.

In this episode with visual artist Calli Moore, we discuss how her world view was flipped when she moved from rural Iowa to New York City. We discussed how this shift not only influenced her art making, but opened up new spiritual insights. We talked about some research that goes into her art making along with her creative process and the importance of getting into flow states. We also explored how her relationship to spirituality evolved from her exposure to the teachings of the late spiritual giant, Ram Dass.

--------------------------------------

Calli Moore is an American painter currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. Moore was born and raised in Iowa. Moore received her BFA from the University of Iowa in 2014 and her MFA from American University, Washington D.C., in 2016. Moore has exhibited work with notable galleries such as Library Street Collective, Harper’s, Gaa Gallery, Red Arrow Gallery, Deanna Evans Projects, and Deli Grocery. Through her luminous and rich flora compositions, Moore presents a reflective and transcendent experience of the natural world. Her paintings are deeply influenced by and speak to the spirituality of the environment, giving an aura of the divine. Moore's works are not fully abstracted, but highly stylized and symmetrical renderings, resulting in compositions that bring a sense of structure and sublime to her natural subjects. Her paintings are imbued with curvaceous forms and ethereal elements, instilling them with a feminine and celestial energy.  

Upcoming Exhibition Links / Instagram Link

In this episode, New Delhi based artist Sahaya Sharma and I have an inspiring conversation about eastern spiritual practice, yoga, and creative process. We discuss her relationship to her spirituality, and how her upbringing influenced her to dive deeper into exploring it. We talk about how these influences spill over into her creative work and the ways in which her practice is like a form of alchemy, meant to cultivate, induce, and transmit spiritual healing energy.

-----------------

In this weeks episode Zoe McGuire and I dive deep into some amazing topics related to science, consciousness, and creative flow. We talk about her studio practice and how her experience with chromesthesia  influences  her explorations as an artist. We dive deep into a discussion about the interrelationship between music and visual art. We also discuss the mysteries of consciousness and the importance of reframing spirituality in these modern times.

------------------------

Zoe McGuire (b. 1996 Upstate New York) is a Brooklyn based artist. Working predominantly in oil paint and pastel, McGuire creates vivid naturescapes inspired by spiritual ecology. Zoe received her Bachelor of Arts in 2018 from Skidmore College where she studied art history and she is currently completing her MFA in painting at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, set to graduate in May of 2023. McGuire has participated in numerous group shows in Paris, Manhattan, Hong Kong, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Milan, London and more. She was recently included in ‘Conscious/Unconscious,’ a six-woman show at Pippy Houldsworth in London. This year, Zoe inaugurated Gaa Gallery’s new Tribeca location with her solo show, ‘Cambium.’ Library Street Collective in Detroit will host her upcoming solo show, “Earthshine,” opening this May. Her work has been reviewed by Artsy, Artnet, LA Weekly, Whitewall, The Provincetown Independent,  and more. McGuire was a finalist for the New American Paintings Emerging Artist Grant and was featured in their 2022 MFA print issue. 

In this episode visual artist Eric Beltz and I have a powerful dialogue surrounding his art practice and what he means by devotional drawings. We talk about the path of pursing art, the role of the artist, and the ways in which our practice as artists can influence our lives for better and sometimes for worse. We discuss the nature of making art in this 21st century landscape and the ways in which expanded consciousness plays a part in connecting to more universal truths surrounding our lives.

------------------------------------------------

In this episode Barbara shares some amazing stories and dives into how she was initially drawn toward spirituality and art throughout her life. We spoke about her journey becoming an art historian and her move to NYC where she became a well known gallerist and art dealer. We spoke about her experiences with spiritual giants like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,  Swami Satchidananda, and Yogi Bhajan.  We also dialogue about the current shift in the art world, the reasons why spirituality might have been taboo in the past, along with  the potential the spiritual in art holds for our collective future.  Barbara has so much wisdom and insight to share around these subjects and I know you all are going to absolutely love this episode!! 

------------------------

Barbara Braathen is an art historian, curator, dealer and writer.  She had galleries in New York from 1980-2005, programming an eclectic mix of contemporary styles and media.  Exhibitions included graffiti personality Rammellzee, language artist Guy de Cointet, abstract painter Joan Waltemath, sculptor Donald Lipski, Surrealist legend Charles Henri Ford, spiritual expressionist Hunt Slonem,  magic painter Peter Grass, mystic John Wells, plus tombstone rubbings by the infamous Scott Covert, paintings and sculpture of the actor Fred Gwynne, a group show "Surrealismo" co-curated with "The Godfather of Gallerists" Leo Castelli, a collaboration with the French Embassy, Richard Osterweil paintings of the Romanov family at the Russian Embassy on New York's upper east side, as well as readings in the gallery by poet laureate John Ashbery,.  Group exhibitions included works by Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and many others.  Barbara Braathen Gallery was reviewed in Artforum, Artnews, Art in America, Flash Art, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and a host of other publications.  She holds a PhDC in modern art history from UCLA.

Interest in spiritual subjects began while a college student in the 1960s.  Experiences in Los Angeles included close interfacing with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Swami Satchidananda, Yogi Bhajan who brought Kundalini yoga to the west, and innumerable other spiritual leaders.  She as well participated in study groups with a close circle, the principle readings being in Theosophy (Blavatsky, Besant, Leadbetter), plus Cayce, Gurdjieff, and Hindu and Buddhist writings.  She has experienced several miraculous healings.  Current studies include the anthroposophical teachings of Rudolf Steiner.  She is on the Board of Directors of Spring River School, a Waldorf-inspired outdoor school in Jacksonville Florida where she currently resides.

In this episode, Leah Nguyen and I discuss the ways in which art making, and art itself, can elevate consciousness. Leah tells us about their practice of working with various spirit guides that assist her in the channeling of the work she makes. We discuss what that process is like and how they began working in this way.  Leah and I also dive into topics related planetary healing and the much needed shift in consciousness that is necessary to evolve in harmony with this planet. 

-----------------------------------------

Leah Nguyen(they/she) is a queer artist-healer creating on lands of the Duwamish and Xacuabš. They are half Ukrainian Jewish and a fourth-generation artist married to an artist. She received a BFA in Painting from University of Washington, studying with the late Denzil Hurley, and a Masters of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, with studies at The Evergreen State College and Yale at Norfolk.

Energy psychology, reiki, and plant spirit medicine are formative to their work. Leah incorporated aspects of these modalities into her art practice and began to consciously collaborate with their soul in 2007. In 2014 Leah expanded to a larger team of guides and began painting Soul Pattern Portraits. Nguyen places their work within a lineage of artist-mystic-healers that begins in traditional cultures and emerges in western culture with Georgiana Houton, Hilma af Klint and Emma Kunz.

Leah's work provides energetic templates to heal, celebrate, and map the unique gifts of a soul, community, or place. Nguyen creates their work in collaboration with their soul and specialized spirit guides. She sets the intention of the piece, then within a dialogue, her guides show how to make the pattern that fulfills the intention. The purpose of the patterns usually includes healing and balancing individual, place-based, and collective traumas, and providing templates for new ways of thriving.

Leah communicates with their team of guides using a nested series of yes/no questions and a 300+ question matrix that continues to evolve. Answers come to her as an inner pulsing or by energy testing the muscles in her hand. When the answer falls outside of the matrix, Nguyen use inner sight and intuition to find the answer. What results are gorgeous patterns that are at once surprising, visually exciting, and deeply centering. The patterns are a visual medicine, impacting energy systems and levels of knowing we have scant words for.

In this episode with artist Daniel Zeller, we talked about the inherent unity between the macro and micro cosmic scales of reality. We talked about natural systems and how we can visualize the interdependent nature of life. We touched on psychedelics and the importance those compounds might hold in our evolution.  We also dove into Daniel’s creative process, meditation, and how visual art can function in ways that language seems to fall short. ---------------------- 

Daniel Zeller earned his MFA in Sculpture from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a BFA in sculpture from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, though he is now known for his abstract, labor intensive drawings. He has had solo exhibitions at Pierogi in NYC, Daniel Weinberg in Los Angeles, G-Module in Paris, and Michel Soskine Inc., in Madrid. His work has been included in group exhibitions both in the states and internationally, and is included in the collections of MoMA, the Morgan Library, and the Whitney in NYC, LACMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, NASA and the National Gallery in DC, the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, The Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, among others. He has been awarded a Pollock Krasner Foundation grant and a Civitella Ranieri fellowship, and has an MTA permanent installation at the Bay 50th stop on the D line. He currently lives and works in NYC.

In this episode Cedric and I discuss the power of alchemy and how we as artists can perform visual alchemy within our work. We discuss Cedric's creative process and how he is influenced by graffiti culture and ritual.  During our dialogue we talk about our current cultural condition of polarization, and how art and artists alike can help guide us back into a sense of balance.  Cedric also shares about his experience with plant medicine and the importance of those experiences in his life.   

-----------------

In this episode Jessica and I talk about the importance of shifting our perspective beyond our limited environments. We discuss our relationship to the cosmos and the importance of communing with the natural world.  We ask the question about how our relationship to both natural and urban spaces influence us in our lives.  Jessica and I also discuss her imagery and painting process, along with the impact that meditative concentration has on both the artist and the artwork itself.  

----------------------

In this episode Amy and I have a fun and lively conversation about painting, color mixing, and the importance of distilling images down to exactly what they need.  We touched on meditative practice and some of the hurdles that arise when beginning that journey.  We also had a really enriching discussion around consumer culture and what it means to be someone who makes art in a time when there is such an abundance of stuff all around us.  

---------------

Amy Lincoln lives and works in New York City. She completed her MFA in Painting at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in 2006 and her BA in Studio Art at University of California, Davis in 2003. Lincoln’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Taymour Grahne Projects, London (2022), Sperone Westwater (2021), Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York (2018; 2016) and Monya Rowe Gallery, Saint Augustine, FL (2016), among others. Her work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions at galleries including The Hole (2022), Sargent’s Daughters (2018), Regina Rex (2017), as well as internationally at Galerie Valerie Bach, Brussels, Belgium (2020) and Stems Gallery, Paris, France (2022). Lincoln has been awarded residencies at the Wave Hill Winter Workspace program, the Inside Out Art Museum Residency in Beijing, and a Swing Space residency from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

In this episode Guleus and I talk a lot about healing and how creativity and art making can be a gateway for both releasing trauma and cultivating a healthier relationship with ourselves. We discuss how this process ultimately helps us connect with the world in a more positive way and helps us manifest a more beautiful life. 

---------------- 

Guleus E'Xavier's creative process serves as an integration and expression of his own personal healing process and connects him to an  exploration of human consciousness. Often times, Infamous’ works provide an insightful dialogue with his own heritage through the use of symbolism, intuitive abstraction, and his own language of illustration he refers to as “neoglyph.”

As a graphic designer and digital creator, Infamous’ work fuses archives of found images with colorful shapes and symbols that serve as representations of kinetic and spiritual energy. He is both a seeker and collector of iconic imagery, inspiration, and spiritual discoveries. Whether through singing in church choir, creating music with family, or practicing deep listening across genres, music provides Infamous with a deep wellspring of healing and inspiration that is woven throughout his work. A sought after collaborator for album art commissions across the range of musical genres, he is recognized for his deftness at visually translating emotions into layered collages that strike perfect harmony of space and vibration.

As a painter and illustrator, Infamous creates a foundation for his composition through textured vibrant colors before centering the abstract or figurative subjects of his work. Each subject tells a story, including collective and lived experiences of Guleus and his ancestors. His works hold space for ancestral wisdom to be channeled by both artist and viewer. Indeed, at times he is assisted by his ancestors and ascended spirits in the creation of his work. Rather than considering himself a medium, though, he acknowledges his connection to creation as a divine act that allows for the influence of his spirit guides.

His dedication to healing his own mental health and trauma through creativity has influenced him to take steps toward being an advocate, resource, and facilitator for his community. He is currently earning a degree in Art Therapy from PennWest ( Edinboro University ) to embody his personal manifesto: “Create, inspire, heal myself and others.”

Socials :

In this episode with Matt Blankenship Jr.,  we take a deep dive into the relationship between consciousness and spirituality and how this relationship not only influences creativity but influences the way we think about our life!

---------------

Matt Blankenship Jr. is a songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, leader of tropical indie-pop band The Sometimes Island. Synth-heavy pop laced with introspective lyrics and bright, colorful sounds, it’s the kind of music you can both sway your hips to and appreciate both physically and intellectually. 

“I think the point of our music is movement,” says Blankenship Jr. “We make music that people can participate physically with, not just think about. Something to get you into your body and out of your head for a while."

Led by charismatic frontman Matt Blankenship Jr., drummer Nick Lopiano, and guitarist Felipe Valdivia, the trio has seen immense success in their 4 years together, including over 9 million streams on their latest EP Beverly & Barbara, and a #2 spot on Apple’s Alternative Chart, beating out Billie Eilish. The Bad People EP has even been called “the future of synthpop” by Buzznet.
With their quick rise to success, it may come as a surprise that Sometimes Island is label-free. A DIY band at heart, they’ve seen incredible support from their community and fans, allowing them to grow as rapidly as they have.

Links:

In this episode Delta Venus and I talk about ancient wisdom traditions, psychedelic integration, and how to ground our spiritual practice within our creative process.

-------------------

In this episode with Elizabeth Traina, we dig deep into ideas around creativity, healing, and how we can use art as way to evolve our consciousness . We also discuss the role of art in our world today and how spiritual art is making a huge comeback right when we need it the most! 

------------

In this episode with artist Skylar Smith, we discuss creative process in relation to meditation. We also dialogue  about ways to integrate spiritual practice into the art making experience itself. 

----------------

1st New Moon of 2023 !

A spiritual renaissance is upon us and its influences are being reflected in a lot of the art we are seeing today. “Concerning the Spiritual in Art," a podcast hosted by artist Martin Benson, explores spirituality, consciousness and the creative process. This podcast highlights innovative artists working across a variety of genres and mediums. The hope is that these conversations inspire, perplex, and ultimately emphasize the importance of the creative process and how it can be a vehicle for both individual and collective transformation.

-------------

Before the Launch of our official first episode on January 21st 2023. I wanted to have a short introduction about the show, who I am, and my intensions behind it. I am so excited to take you on this journey with me.  I have a ton of amazing inspirational artists lined up for you.  Stay tuned!