Concerning The Spiritual In Art

Martin Benson
  • 5.0 (34)
  • VISUAL ARTS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A spiritual renaissance is upon us and its influences are being reflected in a lot of the art we are seeing today. “Concerning the Spiritual in Art," a podcast hosted by artist Martin Benson, explores spirituality, consciousness and the creative process. This podcast highlights innovative artists working across a variety of genres and mediums. The hope is that these conversations inspire, perplex, and ultimately emphasize the importance of the creative process and how it can be a vehicle for both individual and collective transformation.

  1. Portals To Consciousness with Jason McDonald

    1D AGO

    Portals To Consciousness with Jason McDonald

    Jason McDonald is an artist currently based in Melbourne, Australia.He completed his BA (Hons) Graphic Design 1995. Since then he has lived and worked in London, Singapore, Bangkok and Melbourne.McDonald has undertaken advanced studies in consciousness, including practitioner accreditation in energetic field work, research grade brainwave state monitoring in the field of neuroscience, Meditation Teacher training and extensive education and practices in Tibetan Buddhism, Korean Buddhism,Anthroposophy, Esoteric creativity and other wisdom traditions.He is also deeply informed by over 20 years of meditative & spiritual practice. His work deals with consciousness, transcendence and beauty and is at the frontier of synthesizing and anchoring energy, aesthetics, inspiration and the way in which spirit moves through art as a resource for growth and evolution. https://www.jasonwmcdonald.com/ Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my website www.martinLbenson.com *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link available from website). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support⁠⁠⁠⁠

    1h 13m
  2. Solo Cast #2

    JAN 23

    Solo Cast #2

    Quick podcast update ! New episodes coming soon ! 🙏🏼💫 *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.martinLbenson.com *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support⁠

    7 min
  3. Encrypted Mementos with Matthew John Betzalel Bivalacqua

    11/20/2025

    Encrypted Mementos with Matthew John Betzalel Bivalacqua

    In this episode I am joined by a dear friend, artist, poet, philosopher, and all around magical human being Matthew John Betzalel Bivalacqua. In this episode we discuss his deeply personal art process and its relationship to memory, emotion, and spiritual experience. His works explores a fresh approach to still life and the power of personal symbols encased in memory. ------------------ Matthew John Betzalel Bivalacqua was born in Metairie LA, 1981. In 2015 he received his undergraduate degrees from the University of New Orleans, in Fine Arts and Philosophy. In 2018 Matthew John received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Orleans. After converting to Judaism, in 2021, Matthew John was awarded an artist fellowship from Pardes Institute of Jewish Learning, in Jerusalem, where he held poetry workshops. Matthew John’s process draws subject matter from his narrative, to express a sentiment, a historical relation, or convey an identity beyond an object’s or environment’s manufactured function. The surfaces he creates are technical manipulations of traditional practices for applying mediums. Some of his influences are Van Gogh’s still lifes and David Hockney’s joiner photographs. Website Instagram Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support

    1h 17m
  4. Channeling and Transmission With Terra Keck

    10/21/2025

    Channeling and Transmission With Terra Keck

    In this episode I am welcomed by visual artist Terra Keck. Together we explored her initial interests in occult spirituality and how that began to evolve in her life and especially its influence over her art practice.  We discuss the nature of awareness and the importance of cultivating a space (both physical and mental) that allows for channeling and transmission to come through the creative process.   ——————————— Terra Keck is an artist, curator, and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her MFA from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and her BFA from Ball State University. She is a partner at Field Projects Gallery in the Chelsea Arts District of Manhattan and cohosts the comedy-educational podcast “Witch, Yes!” Her work has been published in Hyperallergic, The Art Newspaper, and Oxford American Arts and can be found in permanent institutional collections in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and California. She is a regular contributing writer to Artspiel, Impulse Magazine, and Artefuse.  www.terrakeck.com   Field Projects Gallery https://www.fieldprojectsgallery.com/  Terra’s Podcast: Witch, Yes! https://open.spotify.com/show/1kWQXQEAkBUhLRFpvqP0EJ  Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support

    1h 3m
  5. Reality Testing with Elijah Chong

    09/21/2025

    Reality Testing with Elijah Chong

    In this episode I am joined by one of my best friends on this planet, Artist and Art Therapist Elijah Chong.  Elijah and I have known each other for over a decade and have always been kindred spirits on this journey of cultivating spiritual knowledge and wisdom. In this episode we dive deep into his personal journey and talk extensively about his practice as an art therapist and how that intertwines with his own personal creative practice.   -------------------- Born in Anchorage, Alaska, raised in Houston, Texas, Elijah Kane Chong left home to study Architecture at Texas A&M University, which is where he dedicated himself to the arts and specifically to painting. He then moved on to New Orleans to teach art and establish his career in the post-Katrina revival. There, he met up with like-minded friends and helped to establish the Krewe of Motha Roux, an independent collective of far-out creatives and freethinkers. He rededicated himself to art as service, and journeyed to Santa Fe to study Art Therapy and Counseling at Southwestern College. He currently works as a licensed mental health counselor and art therapist in St. Tammany Parish, LA and continues to expand and grow upon his practice and body of work. Website Instagram Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support⁠⁠⁠⁠

    1h 19m
  6. Glorifying The Soul with Alex Coma

    09/07/2025

    Glorifying The Soul with Alex Coma

    In this episode I dive deep with the incredible visionary artist and podcaster Alex Coma.  Our conversation is an incredible discussion about spiritual practice, astrology, and the synchronicities to help guide us on the path of expanding our consciousness.   -------------------------- Alex Coma is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the complex intersections between symbolism, consciousness, and esoteric knowledge. A graduate in photography from Concordia University and former scholarship recipient at the Montreal Fine Arts Academy, Coma’s practice draws on figures like Arnold Böcklin and Carl Jung. His work navigates between visual art, philosophical investigation, and spiritual exploration, deploying a rigorous methodology that questions symbolic systems, cryptographic elements, and ritual methodologies. For the past decade, Coma has studied under Egyptian spiritual teacher Shri Amir Mourad, developing meditative techniques that enable deeper access to unconscious realms and inform his artistic practice—a disciplined inner exploration that has become instrumental in his ability to perceive increasingly more profound symbolic content and archetypal energies.   His works, exhibited internationally at venues including the Visionary Art Collective in New York, the Affordable Art Fair in London and Brussels, and recognized in collections such as Colart and Ubisoft, have been acclaimed by media including CBC Arts, Vie des Arts, and La Presse. In 2023, Coma founded Roze Umbra, an initiative and platform dedicated to visionary artists, extending his commitment to collaborative artistic research that examines the subtle connections between symbolic languages and collective consciousness. As part of this initiative, he created "The Blue Hour Podcast," where he engages with visionary artists worldwide. His approach to all he does is constantly seeking a delicate balance between empirical knowledge and the ineffable mystery, offers an exploration of the borderlands of artistic creation. Websites:   www.alexcoma.world Visionary Roze Grant:  www.rozeumbra.com/visionaryrozegrant Instagram: @alexcoma.world⁠ @rozeumbra Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support⁠⁠⁠

    1h 17m
  7. Healing Frequencies with Si Golraine

    08/23/2025

    Healing Frequencies with Si Golraine

    My conversation with Ukrainian artist Si Golraine is not to be missed. This heart-opening episode begins with her spiritual journey of healing from various physical ailments, which ultimately led her to a path of holistic learning. This journey transformed her life and introduced her to metaphysical and spiritual knowledge that she incorporates into her life and art practice in such an inspiring way. We also dive into the origins of her unique art-making process, where she channels electrical currents through her brushes to “paint” on sheets of titanium, creating a remarkable fusion of art and metallurgy. Si Golraine (born Olga Panchenko) is a Ukrainian-born multidisciplinary artist based in New York City whose work bridges spirit, science, and art. Her practice centers on applying raw electrical voltage to titanium. Through this medium she explores energy, consciousness, and healing - transforming elemental forces into vibrational fields of color. Raised in eastern Ukraine, Golraine studied classical piano for eleven years. After receiving a Future Leaders Exchange scholarship, she relocated to the U.S., eventually moving to New York to pursue interdisciplinary arts. Her path later became self-directed in response to the war in Ukraine and its impact on her family. She is also half of Sestra Kuya, an experimental sonic-visual duo that in 2025 invented and engineered the transmission of fluctuating electrical voltage into both color and sound. In their system, electricity is applied to titanium sheets creating shifting fields of color while simultaneously being routed into modular synthesis to generate sound - merging scientific process with spiritual presence in a living fusion of art and energy. Golraine is the recipient of a Staten Island Arts Premier Grant and the international Creative Climate Award, where her work received first prize by a panel that included Stanford University. Her practice has been shown with Visionary Projects (NYC), Red 225 (Nashville), and Human Impact Institute, among others, and has been featured in Staten Island Advance.  sigolraine.com  @si_golraine Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support⁠⁠

    1h 14m
  8. Centering The Feminine with Shuling Guo

    05/27/2025

    Centering The Feminine with Shuling Guo

    I have a special episode for you today with visual artist Shuling Guo. In this episode we hear about her incredible story going from a very traditional, small village in Southern China, and her triumph against a very dominant patriarchal culture structure, to go to art school in Beijing, and ultimately to the United States to pursue her artistic path.  We learned about her spiritual influences from the women in her life and how that set the stage for her artistic journey.   ----------------------------------------- Guo graduated from the Oil Painting Department of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (B.F.A.) in 2010. She moved to the United States in 2019, and currently lives between Philadelphia and aboard the Sailing Vessel Selkie. In 2012, she had her first solo exhibition in Beyond Art Space in Beijing. Since then, her work has been exhibited in New York, Beijing, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Platform Art. Her works have been included in the permanent collections of Central Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum (Beijing) and Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (Guangzhou). Her work has been selected to appear in New American Paintings, 2025 Issue 172. Mindy Solomon Gallery Shuling's Instagram Follow Martin Benson for more insights: *To stay updated on the podcast and related content, check out ⁠⁠⁠my Instagram⁠⁠⁠ *To support the show and access exclusive content, consider subscribing for $0.99/month on Instagram (link above). Credits: Special thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island⁠⁠⁠ for our podcast theme music! Support this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support⁠

    1h 8m
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5
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

A spiritual renaissance is upon us and its influences are being reflected in a lot of the art we are seeing today. “Concerning the Spiritual in Art," a podcast hosted by artist Martin Benson, explores spirituality, consciousness and the creative process. This podcast highlights innovative artists working across a variety of genres and mediums. The hope is that these conversations inspire, perplex, and ultimately emphasize the importance of the creative process and how it can be a vehicle for both individual and collective transformation.

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