Through playful exploration of the emotional, mythical, morbid, and psychedelic, “Deep Down” invites viewers to delve into the waters of the subconscious.
We often attach a negative morality with the concept of being “down”. “Deep Down” aims to embrace the dark and mysterious beneath the palpable. It is often beyond the visible where brilliant changes take place and from which new life and insights are born. As there is light, so there is darkness. This exhibit honors all that dwells in the dark, under the surface, and under the flesh. We celebrate these shadowy spaces for the seeds that they germinate, the dreams that they sew, the strength that they build and the secrets that they hold. We are born from these deep dark places and we will return to them. With this body of work, we’ve chosen to surpass the shallow depictions of our daily lives, and dive deep down into a kaleidoscope of simultaneity, where the doors of perception become unhinged.
Opening Reception
Saturday, January 25th
6 – 9 PM
Steele Tea Studios
Jonathan Steele will be providing tea services the night of the opening. Steele hosts a delicate and magical tea experience by serving with his own beautifully hand-crafted tea-ware, at a mystically ornamented tea table set to enchant and inspire those who come to sit and sip together.
About the Artists
Ila Rose
Ila Rose’s work is colorful, dark, complex, layered, luscious and surreal. She plays with symbols which emerge from a combination of research and subconscious exploration. Ila is constantly concerned with improving her technique -as well as researching topics ranging from psychology, mythology, spirituality and science- so that she may be a better vessel for articulating potent and relevant information as it flows through her. Rose has been painting all of her life and considers herself an art activist. She strives to use her privilege, to be a voice for social injustices as well as an advocate for the value of art in our lives and uplifting the value of the working artist. Rose believes art practice is vital to invoking collective creative thought and a necessary and positive transformation in our world. The process of art-making is symbolic to the process of forging our own personal paths; there is much to be learned, in any creative practice, about enduring and transmuting struggle.
Lindsay Swing
Lindsay Swing is a self taught artist, her background in science heavily influences her work and style. Captivated by the art of biological illustration, Swing strives to capture the beauty of all things around her by exploring non-traditional mediums. Her love of abandoned treasures led to an obsession with vintage windows, which she uses as her primary canvas in her illustrated work. She employing freehand etching and inking techniques to create each one of a kind piece. Her sculptural work focuses on recognizing the magic around us. Swing mixes found biological oddities such as bones, insects, and botanicals, with clay and grown crystals to create surreal worlds designed to highlight the natural beauty of the object with attention to detail and respect for conservation. Swing believes in the importance of art and expression. She is interested in helping to raise awareness of the value of art in the community by encouraging individual artists to recognize their own worth, by finding ways to point out the significance of art culturally and collectively.
@honeyandsass