Sacred Geometry

About

In certain systems of belief, there is an understanding that specific geometric shapes and configurations hold sacred meaning. To some, the angles and shapes are simply representations meant to focus the mind back on certain tenets, while others believe that there is an inherent holiness carved into every degree and line. While none of the artists in this exhibition believed in either of those concepts, there is still a reverence for the purity of mathematical forms in each of these pieces. 

Marc Kostabi is a Pop artist and a Surrealist who's work often uses visual puns and cultural metaphors to make his point. In Stairways to the Stable Mind, Kostabi is playing off of the imagery of a very famous lithograph by Dutch artist M.C. Escher titled Relativity. This print, which features, several stairways and doorways that violate the laws of gravity, has been referenced hundreds of times in various forms of media. Kostabi's rendition on it fills the space with his signature smooth and faceless figures and makes the almost terrifying space seem comical instead. 

Josef Albers worshipped geometric concepts. He is remembered best for his lifelong series Homage to the Square, in which he examined the relationship between the form of the square and the interactions of color. Several pieces from his portfolio Formulation: Articulation are on display in this exhibition, including several Homage to the Square prints. Each work on display is a study on the interplay of shape and color.

It isn't possible to talk about Optical art without discussing the work of Richard Anuszkiewicz. His work used tightly-formed geometric patterns to trick the eye and make movement where there was none on the surface of a still piece. The beauty is in the details, with carefully-placed lines in narrow rows that work like seeing stripes on TV. The brain can't process the details correctly and the result is a piece that seems to constantly be shifting underneath the gaze of the viewer. Geometry, in the hands of Anuszkiewicz, is a tool with which to make magic happen.

Join us for the opening reception of Sacred Geometry at 37-02 48th Avenue in LIC, NY on Thursday, November 14th at 4:00pm. Contact us at info@rogallerymuseumoflic.com to RSVP.