Concerning The Spiritual In Art Martin Benson

In this episode I am joined by Nashville based artist David Onri Anderson.  This conversation went to a lot of amazing places. We began by talking about David’s spirituality and its connection to his past and his ancestors. He tells a harrowing story of a near death experience that impacted him greatly.  We also discuss the influence the natural world has on his art making as well as his own personal spirituality.  We discuss the nature of spiritual art and the importance it plays in the past and the importance we both believe it will play in our future.  We talk about the art world and the nature of commerce and how we may create new paradigms for artists to exist in, paradigms that allow for a lot more artists to find true sustainability. 

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David Onri Anderson is a French-American Tennessee-born artist, musician and curator of French-Algerian Jewish ancestry. He graduated from Watkins College of Art in Nashville with

the Anny Gowa Purchase Award in 2016. He has had solo exhibitions at Patrick Painter Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, Blaa Galleri in Copenhagen, DK, Harpy Gallery in Rutherford, NJ, David Lusk Gallery in Nashville, TN, Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center, and Institute 193 in Lexington, KY amongst others. He has shown at the LA Art Fair 2019 and the Hamptons Art Fair 2020. He has shown at the Atlanta Contemporary Museum and the Alabama Contemporary Museum. His work has been reviewed, exhibited and collected internationally with works in permanent collections including the Soho House in Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN, The Joseph Hotel, and the Metro Arts Library in Nashville, TN, amongst others. In 2020 he published a book of drawings with Zürich-based artist book company, Nieves. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, Artnet, BURNAWAY, DailyLazy, Art & Antiques and more. Anderson is founder and curator of an artist-run space called Electric Shed Gallery in Nashville, TN (2018-present) and was guest curator for a section of the permanent collection of Soho House Nashville.



https://davidonrianderson.com/home.html



https://www.instagram.com/davidonri



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In this episode Theresa and I talk about the power of perception, sensation, and the way that abstract painting is the perfect way to express these intangible experiences.  We explore the relationship with the outer world and the patterns we find in nature and how they can help us bridge the gap between our inner lives. We talk about  sacred geometry in historical painting and how that relates to what we do today, along with the power meditation and yoga practice have over the way we connect with a deeper sense of self.  Theresa also talks about her painting practice and her intuitive approach to crafting these dynamic works of art.  



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Bio:


Theresa Daddezio is an artist and curator based in Brooklyn, NY. She received an MFA from
Hunter College in Visual Art and BFA at Purchase College in Painting and Drawing. Her
selected exhibitions include: “Reworlding” at DC Moore Gallery, “Altum Corpus” at DC Moore
Gallery (NY,NY); “Carbona Sunrise,” Transmitter (Brooklyn, NY); “A Mind of Their Own,”
Pentimenti (Philadelphia, PA); “Three,” DC Moore (NYC); “Known: Unknown,” New York Studio
School (NYC), “Abstraction in the 21st Century,” the University of Hawai’i at Manoa: “Rhythms,
Rhymes, Repetitions,” Studio Kura (Itoshima, Japan). Her work will be featured in issue #152 of
New American Paintings, and has been featured in Art Maze, Hyperallergic, The Queens
Ledger, Bushwick Daily, and The L Magazine. Her paintings were recently included in Phong
Bui’s Curator’s Pick at Artfare, as well as featured in MAAKE Mag and Coastal Post. She
participated in the Wassaic Residency Project in upstate NY.



@theresadaddeziowww.tmdaddezio.com

https://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/theresa-daddezio

https://cah.ucf.edu/flyinghorse/


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In this episode I dive deep with visual artist Jared Freschman about his personal spiritual journey. We talk about the importance of finding new modes of spiritual identity. We talk about how organized religion typically doesn’t create space for Queer people and how that drove him to find his own way of connecting to the mystical and magical components of life.  We talk about the influence Tarot and Astrology has had on him, as well as his own Jewish background.  We discuss the power of art to carve out these new kinds of spiritual spaces for people like himself.  We also dive into his own personal color theory and his approach to creating these powerful, personal expressions of his own spiritual identity.  

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Jared Freschman (b. 1996) is a Jewish-American artist based in NYC. Originally from Hockessin, Delaware. He received his BFA from Pratt Institute in 2018. Freschman also studied abroad in Jerusalem, Israel/ Palestine at Bezalel School of Art and Design. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn.Jared Freschman’s fluid compositions conjure the hidden spiritual practices of today’s queer youth. Ombré fades and jewel-tone color palettes open a door to nostalgic, dream-like memories. Freschman illustrates allegories that combine vivid flashbacks, mysticism, and hyper-feminine archetypes that own the composition. He builds a liminal space where control lies in the hands of queer individuals. Perspectives shift from first to third person, and the artist’s lived experiences mingle with those of a broader queer collective.Freschman has exhibited his work internationally at Field Projects (NYC), Eve Leibe Gallery (London), PRIOR Art Space (Barcelona), The National Arts Club (NYC), The Untitled Space (NYC), Project Gallery V (NYC), GIFC (Norway), The Museum of American Illustration (NYC), Cooler Gallery (Brooklyn), The Delaware Contemporary (Wilmington, DE), Israel Illustration Week (Tel Aviv), Gallery 102 (Washington DC), The Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE). His work has been featured in Marie Claire Taiwan, Dirtybarn, Artforum, ARTpublika Magazine, AIGA Eye on Design, Working Not Working, The Drawing Stall, FORGE Art Magazine, and more. Freschman has also received awards from American Illustration & Society of Illustrators.

Website: jfresch.com

Instagram:@JaredFresch https://www.instagram.com/jaredfresch/

TikTok:@JaredFresch https://www.tiktok.com/@jaredfresch 

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In this episode I am joined by visual artist Hazel Florez, where we get deep into the esoteric tradition of the west.  We begin by discussing her dramatic shift in interest toward the occult and esoteric and how that discovery slowly began to guide her toward her creative work.  We discuss the importance of reclaiming our spiritual identity in these modern times of distraction and hyper-materialism.  We dive into her work as an artist and how she explores new ways of expressing ideas from tarot, alchemy, and the pagan sensibilities of pre-christian and European spirituality.  

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Hazel Florez is an artist, researcher and writer. Hazel is multidisciplinary artist making paintings, drawings, costumes, photography and mixed media collage. Her work draws on a range of mystical influences for inspiration, including the rich symbolic traditions of Jungian archetypal psychology, tarot, astrology, alchemy, mythology, and folklore. Florez’s paintings are made with the intention of drawing the viewer into a slower and meditative state of mind, where prolonged viewing is rewarded with intricate detail. Her paintings act like portals inviting the viewer to enter mythopoetic Otherworlds. Esoteric and surreal Hazel's images weave new stories of their own, often mixing reverence with playful irreverence.

She has an MFA from Edinburgh and taught at Queen Mary University London before becoming an artist. She has participated in many solo and group shows in London. She has participated and given talks at a range of venues and events including the Jung Club, the Magical Women’s Conference and Occulture Conference Berlin and The Last Tuesday Society. She was shortlisted for the London College of Psychic Studies annual art competition 2022. She is currently writing articles for World of Interiors magazine. Her work is due to be published in a book by Taschen called 'Sacred Sites' released with The Library of Esoterica February 2024.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/hazel_florez

Website: https://www.hazelflorez.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hazel_florez/

World of Interiors https://www.worldofinteriors.com/story/the-tarot-influence-art-surrealism



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In this episode, with visual artist Fuchsia, we discuss her powerful paintings and how she explores the duality of the angelic and the earthly.  We talk about her background growing up abroad in places like Hong Kong and India and how that influenced her world view. We dig into spirituality and spiritual practice and how that informs her work .  Together, we also dive deep, discussing the importance of the ecological crisis and how the elevation of consciousness is crucial for humanity to move forward and heal our collective wounds.  

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I just finished a one-year residency at Sarabande (Alexander McQueen Foundation) in east London. Since September, 2022 I have had the opportunity to have four solo shows (one in Paris, one at the Sixi Museum in Nanjing, one at Roman Road Gallery in London and one at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery in Hong Kong) as well as take part in three group shows (including one at Christie's Lates). 

A few words on my practice to give you an idea... 



I am a mixed-media artist (under the name of fuchsia), working primarily with watercolour and oils and am interested in exploring environmental subjects through harmonious colour palettes and spiritual iconography. I create dream-like landscapes inspired by the renaissance period, Chinese landscape painting, and a few incredible 20th-century surrealist painters (Georgia O'Keeffe, Agnes Pelton...). 

There are a few recurring core symbols within my 'ethereal landscapes' (heavily influenced by dreams and the subconscious), including angels and pearls. Angels, having been represented for hundreds of years throughout art history, are, to me, universal symbols representing the deepest state of our core as humans - love, vulnerability and innocence - all things we regrettably and gradually let go of when entering adulthood. My paintings aim to highlight certain conflicting moral forces we face in today’s complex world, namely issues on climate change and 'spiritual famine' which seem to often preoccupy the minds of the angels. 



https://www.alafuchsia.com/about



https://www.instagram.com/alafuchsia



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Last Episode of 2023! 

In this episode, Kelsey and I discuss the origins of his art , stemming from his time working as a scientist, and how his interests and passions for art took him on a winding unexpected journey to where he is today. We discuss the intersection of science and art, sacred geometry, and the mystery of consciousness. We talk about his approach to his work and its relationship with meditation, along with the importance of gratitude and the experience of awe in everyday life.  It was such a fun and rich discussion that you all are going to love!



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KELSEY BROOKES is a former scientist who uses his background in biological and empirical methodology to develop a new genre of art. In his practice, Brookes adopts ideas found in logic and natural systems, such as molecular and atomic structures or number sequences, to build compositions that blur boundaries between the analytic and the creative. This approach drives the foundation of lively and colorful work that is both meticulously crafted and conceptually rigorous. His intricate paintings and sculptures find a unique balance within the juxtaposition of subjectivity and objectivity, as well as theory and aesthetic. Brookes dives into the discoveries of physicians, mathematicians, and chemists as only a scientist is capable, and, through the use of color and form, expresses this knowledge to the world in an abstract and luminous manner as only an artist is capable. Embodying an experimental nature that is mutual of science and art, Brookes is constantly growing his practice, whether it be through the exploration of unfamiliar media, or the employment of a new technique to further his study and anomalous presentation of biochemical substances.Brookes has had solo exhibitions in La Jolla, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, London and Berlin. His work was featured as the cover art for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2012 “I’m With You” record and The Flaming Lips’ 2013 “Stone Roses” LP. KELSEY BROOKES: Psychedelic Space is the artist’s first monograph and examines three years of work and four solo exhibitions. His work belongs in esteemed private collections, as well as the public permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation.Links:Website: https://www.kelseybrookes.comIG: @kelseybrookes



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