WAPPINGERS FALLS, New York — In 1974, Alex and Allyson Gray met on the Faculty of the Museum of Advantageous Arts, Boston, now a part of Tufts College. They had been each in an artwork class they described to me as “performance, conceptual art, and mixed media.” Over 50 years later, the couple’s outstanding inventive visions could be skilled at Entheon, the museum positioned on the grounds of their nonprofit group Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM), a hidden gem nestled within the hamlet of Wappingers Falls in Upstate New York.
That includes Allyson’s sacred geometric artworks and Alex’s visionary work in addition to non permanent exhibitions, Entheon at CoSM is an otherworldly expertise. A spot of creative worship, schooling, and private exploration by way of artwork, the house welcomes guests to expertise the ability of the divine inside us by way of expansive visions of our place within the universe — a part of a world motion known as Visionary Artwork. Recognized amongst followers of New Age and occult types of artwork, Visionary Artwork explores themes of interior consciousness and common consciousness, generally by way of the usage of psychedelics, leading to work that expresses numerous mystical and non secular themes by way of imaginative realms and esoteric symbolism. Grounded in Vajrayana and the visualization practices related to Tibetan Buddhism, in addition to symbols from different religions and spiritualities, Alex and Allyson’s artwork goals to supply an encounter with cosmic energies and the divine.
The Nice Corridor on the Entheon is dwelling to Alex Gray’s Sacred Mirrors collection, which provides the nonprofit its identify.
The apex is the Nice Corridor upstairs, a temple-like house that homes Alex’s Sacred Mirrors collection (1979–88) depicting the development of our lives. Throughout the 21 work, a stoic skeleton turns into a residing determine earlier than finally dissolving into the universe in a fountain of sunshine.
The artists conceived of the concept for the house in 1985, once they envisioned the spherical, domed chapel to show the Sacred Mirrors collection. Now, CoSM serves as a hub for non secular reflection, workshops, and different month-to-month packages, together with celestial celebrations the place artists can get pleasure from conversations concerning the nature of consciousness. “Visitors feel free to share visionary and psychedelic experiences, especially related to creative outcomes,” Alex and Allyson mentioned.
Allyson and Alex Gray met in 1974 on the Faculty of the Museum of Advantageous Arts, Boston.
Alex, who has additionally designed album covers and digital artwork shows at live shows for the rock band Software, and Allyson, recognized for her extremely geometrically graphic works that she says are composed of “chaos, order, and secret writing,” need the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors to mirror the ability of Visionary Artwork as a portal for private growth. “CoSM is an Art Church, a welcoming refuge celebrating life as a creative spiritual journey,” Alex and Allyson mentioned.
“When two people collaborate devotionally to a greater calling, a ‘third force’ can emerge that is more powerful than the capability of either individual alone,” they added, commenting on the pressure of their decades-long creative partnership.
The primary-floor gallery at Entheon at the moment options Interior Sanctums, a gaggle present together with works by Judy Chicago, Bo Bartlett, Joe Coleman, and Kelsey Brooks, amongst others.
Left: One mirror in Alex Gray’s Sacred Mirrors collection (1979–1988); proper: Daniel Popper, “Mycelia” (2023) in Interior Sanctums
Lauren Holland, Entheon coordinator, mentioned that a number of benefactors “have helped bring this project to life” over time, notably the late artwork collector and Chicago businessman Marshall Frankel and his daughter, the artist Bex Frankel Wilkinson. The group is at the moment engaged on the outside design of the Entheon constructing, which can embrace dragons, murals, and different sculptural parts.
I requested Alex and Allyson concerning the core of CoSM’s mission: to supply therapeutic by way of artwork.
“Psychedelic science and consciousness research has proven in repeated trials that the greatest healing occurs through the mystical experience,” they replied. “Visionary Art enshrines the essence of the mystical experience. Art, music, dance, and performance can be a healing force.”
Two works within the Sacred Mirrors collection
The outside of the Enthon on the Chapel of Sacred Mirror’s grounds
Allyson Gray along with her work on view on the Entheon
