Alyss Estay. Chthonic Visions

About

Drawn primarily from personal photographs that have been digitally manipulated, Chthonic Visions presents paintings that transcend the materiality of the subterranean landscapes they depict. Beyond the craggy mouth of a cave and the refl ected pools therein, lies the greater metaphor for the hidden self which overfl ows with complexity. Even the most placid of waters can carve mountains in time.

With this body of work Estay has crafted a dynamic visual language that gives precedence to that which is most faithful to personal experience. Eschewing the tradition of strict representation for a style more in concert with the paradigms of Mysticism or Taoism, she approaches the subject of landscape with shimmering detail. “Tunnel Vision” and “Shining II” epitomize her impressionistic approach to light, which dazzles in a technicolor palette. Each intuitive mark
vibrating off the canvas on a ground which they appear to simultaneously emerge from, and disappear into.

Mining the depths of nature as a mirror of cosmic interiority, the paintings are at once both familiar and alien; not unlike the daydreams and fantasies of the subconscious that Carl Jung wrote of in his autobiography. In it he speaks of a fear of psychosis born from surrendering to these visions, though ultimately fi nding the surrender a requisite undertaking. The path to self discovery beckons both because-of and in spite-of the unknown.

The challenge of balancing light and dark, soft and strong, both on the canvas and within the self is cardinal to Estay’s methodology. Chthonic Visions abandons the folly of certitude in an effort to accept the duality within and the cyclical continuity of the natural world. As the scale of the paintings grows, the viewer is further entreated to traverse the threshold before them.

Chthonic Visions will open on Saturday September 9th, from 6-9pm at Modest Common.

About the Artist

Alyss Estay (b. 1988, West Covina, CA) received a BFA from Academy of Art University (San Francisco, CA).
Estay’s work has been the subject of a exhibitions at BozoMag (Los Angeles, CA), Museum of Museums (Seattle,
WA); Left Field Gallery (San Luis Obispo, CA); Peripheral Space (Los Angeles, CA); Pt. 2 Gallery (Los Angeles, CA);
Good Mother Gallery (Oakland, CA); Bobby Hotel (Tinney Contemporary; Nashville, TN); The Offi ce (Miami, FL);
and Circle Contemporary (Chicago, IL). Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Juxtapoz
and Artmaze Mag. Estay lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.