The 18th-century Romanticist William Blake once wrote, “Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.” New York-based artist, Inka Essenhigh found inspiration in Blake's musing and created a series of lush paintings based on "the natural world" (from the show's press release). Primarily drawn from her coastal Maine studio, Essenhigh created the works in The Old New Age in rich, eerie, almost glowing colors that evoke a sense of mysticism. Depicting landscapes, seascapes, and even a Lower East Side street scene, the paintings feature a character, figure, or sometimes just an aura that suggests a sense of mystery. As the press release states, Essenhigh's work is "imbued with a sense of the hidden spirits revealed by profound communion with one’s surroundings" that "create[s] visionary episodes of realization and engagement with the spirit world."
Born in Belfonte, Pennsylvania in 1969, Essenhigh creates enigmatic, surreal images that evoke "the artist’s unique metaphysical universe." In several instances you feel as if you can step into one of her large-scale canvases and further explore her dream-like worlds. Learn more at 303gallery.com. Through February 20th.
Summer Solstice, 2008
Lower East Side, 2009
Fog, Moss, Lichen, 2008
Molly Waiting in Field, 2009
Minor Sea Gods of Maine, 2009
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