These kaleidoscopic arrangements explore ideas of visual pleasure through a hypnotizing array of colors and textures that spiral towards a central point. Created by New York-based artist Amy Cheng, the complex oil (and sometimes wax) on paper compositions are loosely based off of the concept of the mandala (Sanskrit for “circle”), which is a tool that holds spiritual symbolism in Hindu and Buddhist religions and is generally used to aid meditation.
In each painting, Cheng layered geometric patterns together to create a visually captivating blend of textures and beautifully translucent colors that radiate with light that is similar to that of a stained glass window. She used rich hues and a strong flowing series of shapes to produce the symmetrical compositions that almost move with life across the paper.
The depth created by strong lights and shadows produces a sensation of an infinite, seemingly unending path towards the unknown. “I used the circle within a square as a formal device to make centered, iconic images. Eventually I came to see that, although not strictly speaking devotional, the paintings do speak to the sacred, to the largeness of life, to being one with the universe,” explains Cheng, “In retrospect I have come to see that I am creating what my friend, the artist Thomas Lyon Mills describes as worlds within worlds with the aim of revealing profound, contemplative, slow, truths.”
Cheng’s work is currently part of an all-female collective exhibit at Elisa Contemporary Art in New York, through April 12, 2014.
