Reseña

    Este es sobre todo un libro de imágenes, acompañadas por tres ensayos sobre arte visionario, o más concretamente, sobre la visión del arte que tiene Alex Grey. Es un libro de un gran formato (27 x 35 cm), y las ilustraciones son de una gran calidad y en color; en definitiva un regalo para los ojos.

    Casi todas las representaciones corresponden a un ciclo de pinturas que el autor ha ido elaborado durante 10 años, y que lleva el mismo título del libro (espejos porque los óleos son de tamaño natural, de la misma 'estatura' que la de la persona que los contempla; y sagrados porqué en ellos se representa la relación entre la materia y el espíritu con el todo, con la trascendencia). Este ciclo arranca de la 'estructura' material del ser humano, pasando por los chakras hasta llegar a la visión 'áurica' de la conciencia.

    El ciclo de pinturas fue ideado para ser albergado de forma permanente en una especie de 'templo', un lugar en el que el visitante pueda recogerse y contemplar estas obras de arte espiritual y dejarse penetrar por lo que el diálogo con estas figuras le sugiera.

    Al final del libro se incluyen varias pinturas que no pertenecen al ciclo de Espejos Sagrados, pero que son igualmente de gran belleza -algunas de ellas son muy conocidas por haber porque han sido editadas en formato de póster y pueden encontrarse en todos los rincones del mundo, desde Europa hasta Japón-.

      Contraportada

    This unique series of paintings takes the viewer on a graphic, visionary journey through the phisical and metaphisical anatomy of the self. In his exploration into the nature of man/woman, Alex Grey portrays the nervous, vascular, skeletal, and other bdily systems with images shcu as Universal Mind Lettice, envisioning the sacred and esoteric symbolism of the body and the forces that define its living field of energy.

    The Sacred Mirrors, presented here in full, have been exhibited worldwide. The figures are life-sized and face directly forward for a mirroring effect: standing in front of the paintings, the viewer can 'see into' himself. Further, Grey has painted the various systems in an ideal, healthy state so that they can function as an aid in healing visualizations or meditations. Poirtraying different sexes and races, the Sacred Mirrors also ask us to see ouselves reflected in others.

    Essays by Ken Wilber, eminent transpersonal psychologist, and noted New York art critic Carlo McCormick explore the spiritual element in art from the vantage point of the Perennial Philosophy and trace the development of Grey's work -including his performance art- along the path of the artist/shaman. Grey's own essay explains the inception, construction and symbolism of the Sacred Mirrors and describes numerous other paintings (also reproduced in this book) from his rich and varied body of work, including Gaia: The Workd Soul, pictured as the tree or web of life taking part in the continuous cycle of birth, sustenance, and death; and Journey of the Wounded Healer, depictingthe shamanic descent, desintegration, and transmutation of the self.

    Fascinated since adolescence with the themes of mortality and polarity, Alex Grey saw in the human anatomy a microcosm of the many systems and levels of order in nature. He spent several years in medical school studying human anatomy, with an interest in portraying the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit. His work has appeared in the Stux galleries, New York and Boston; the New Museum, New York; the Universiry of California Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; the Chicago International Art Exposition; the London Regional Art Gallery, Canada; the Grand Palais, Paris; the Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil; and in numerous other exhibitions.

    «Mr. Grey's paintings, as detailed and anatomically accurate as medical illustrations, present man as an archetypal being struggling toward cosmic unity...Grey's vision of a flawed but perfectable mankind stands as an antidote to the cynicism and spiritual malaise prevalent in much contemporary art.» (New York Times)

    «... it is only Grey's inquisitiveness, his desire to understand the cosmic metastructure of humanity, that drives him to touch a rigorously detailed account of the typically unseen.» (Artforum)

    «[Alex Grey's] work places him in a very small group of important contemporary artists; through his art he aspires to all three realms -reaching from matter, to mind and spirit- in itself a very rare ideal.» (Ken Wilber)