World renowned visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey have been creating mind-bending, transcendent art for decades, drawing from a diverse spectrum of spiritual and artistic influences, and when they bring their show In:Sight to Nelson this October it will be the first time the pair have shared their work with a Kootenay audience.
“There’s this trajectory that stretches across the centuries and culminates with someone like Alex Grey, who is still alive and has gained some notoriety for his style, his philosophy of life, his cosmology,” said Naasko Suffiad, who invited the pair to the Kootenays to share their work with four upcoming events at the Capitol, the Hume Hotel, Kootenay Studio Arts and Bloom Nightclub next month.
“Alex draws on world traditions, on mythology, to create an understanding of how the human body and the soul are revealed. It’s fascinating.”
The four-day event, called In:Sight, runs from October 8 to October 11, and will showcase different projects the pair have worked on over the years.
Suffiad first experienced the Greys’ work in the late 1990s, and he was fascinated by Alex’s exploration of the human body. By isolating the different systems—skeletal, circulatory, nervous—and then conjuring them through paint, Grey invites his audience to contemplate what’s going on beneath their skin.
As his relationship with Grey grew, Suffiad became determined to bring him to Nelson, an endeavour that took years to make a reality. And since then, Grey’s work has only become more popular.
The Greys now have a permanent venue in New York where they offer retreats, full moon activities and permaculture workshops.
Suffiad believes the work they’re doing is a perfect fit for a Kootenay audience, and he wants to make sure fans of all ages can engage with their work.
The first event, on Friday, Oct. 8, is a six-hour workshop that has already sold out. The Greys will work with aspiring artists to find exciting new ways to engage with their creativity.
“There will be a bunch of easels there, with equipment provided, and they’ll go through the visualization process to help people imagine their art in a new context and go further along the path they’re already on.”
That will be followed by a Capitol Theatre presentation called ‘The Entheo-Generation’ the following night at the Capitol at 7 p.m. This event will be primarily a lecture.
“They’ll be talking a lot about their process through art, and about why this particular visionary art tag has been put on what they do. It will be about two hours, and they’ve prepared some slides and video.”
That will be followed on Saturday by a free public appearance called ‘Assemblage Point’ and a signing event in the banquet hall at the Hume Hotel from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fans will get a chance to chat with the Greys and buy merchandise.
Finally, the Greys will present ‘MetaCoSM’ , a multimedia event with live painting and special musical guests that include Bluetech, AtYya and Suffiad himself, at Bloom Night Club from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Suffiad thinks the different events will appeal to different parts of the community.
“For those people who don’t like the night club experience, the Capitol’s sit-down event might be more appealing, and for the younger generation they might want to come out to the bar and see the live-painting.”
For more information visit In:Sight with Alex Grey and Allyson Grey on Facebook.
