Visionary art might be loosely described as an attempt to express the inexpressible, to make manifest a visual statement of an inner mystical or visionary experience that is almost universally categorized as one that cannot be directly described in conventional terms.
Still the desire of artists to create some form of expression in response to such experiences is a strong one, and has produced some fascinating visual art, often astonishingly intricate, intensely colorful and suggestive of transcendent states of consciousness.
Whether that appeals to you or not is a matter of personal preference, of course, but the art itself is notable as a specific and unique genre; with many visual and compositional characteristics descended from tantric art, mandalas, thangkas and other sources of imagery from India, China, Japan and Indonesia.
Alchemeyez is a 3-day conference on the Big Island of Hawaii on June 10-13, 2010. Attendees include an extensive list of widely recognized names in visionary art circles, including several I’ve profiled previously on Lines and Colors: Robert Venosa, Martina Hoffmann, Alex Grey and Android Jones.
Though there isn’t a great deal of art featured directly on the conference web site, the page that lists the participating artists features a representative piece by each artist, a short bio and, when available, a link to the artist’s web site, where you can find additional examples of their work.
(Images at left: Robert Venosa, Martina Hoffmann, Alex Grey, Luke Brown)
