Through the Veil of the Soul

Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it 'the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.' The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of 'Artist.' - Edgar Allan Poe

The art selected for this exhibition has the distinction of being soulful. When deep critical thoughts and emotions are revealed in a painting a visceral effect may emerge through the layers of paint and posturing. This illumination of some inexplicable sight or sensation is akin to a pigmented atmosphere that is pierced by the sound of a ship’s horn on a foggy night. There is, in this battle between unknowing and knowing, the hope for an understanding of something that is rather misleading at times, even when we anticipate feeling something concrete or easily definable we can get lost, meditating in our own thoughts and day dreams. And it is this elusive place or state of being that one’s soul may speak or guide us.

Especially in the arts, one’s spirit or soul can become an energy source. We look, as artists, for answers not just to the selfish questions that may profit us in some way, but to the puzzles presented in representing something you can’t actually see, or something that you could have seen or felt if you were looking or feeling carefully enough.   

Moses Hoskins sees, through thin washes of mixed media, shapes in transition from one dimension to the next. We feel the presence of an unconscious, manipulating, combative soul making malleable forms bend and break to fit some indecipherable scheme, while order is fortified by the artist’s choice of line and color. The result is this poetic vision that conveys clashing and coalescing alternate dimensions.

Peter Konsterlie creates art that blends complicated scientific theory and data with easily recognizable representations to form the ever-transient current of the restless soul. Working in many layers, multiple media and divergent techniques the artist brings forth a certain shift in the viewer’s awareness of one’s place in the big picture while establishing ample ambiguity to drive the narrative.

In my own work I find it curious how certain individuals, saints in this instance, have such powerful and inspiring souls. I am by no means religious, I find the explanations the sciences put forth about our world and existence to be far more plausible, yet there is this curiosity I have for the souls of certain saints that inspires and challenges me as an artist to represent them in a contemporary way.

Michelle Mackey creates art that both pulls you in and dares you to stay. There is a very tangible apprehension to move in on the narrative here, a feeling that there is the presence of a lost soul that can play with your head by bending your thinking. Then the story changes, the textures, colors and perspective challenges you and you realize that these are beautiful places filled with extraordinary mystery.

Rachel Phillips paints in such a way that the viewer is reminded there is always humor and buoyancy even in the darker days. She asks if we know just how complex the physical world can be, or how contested our sense of reality can become. She is forceful, her visions are stormy and her gut tells her to defy the senses and move to where the spirit wills and the journey takes us.

Kjeld Tidemand looks at the world around him and sees many interchangeable universes colliding in a multitude of media. This concept of multiple voices layered conceals certain souls that wade through the murky muck of modern-day virtual realities, unable to find their way back into the mix. The resulting marks, textures and colors in his art suggest this state is timeless and always in flux.

-D. Dominick Lombardi, curator