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Shrine is an artist-run gallery on Henry Street, near Two Bridges. It hosts surrealist art, mostly, and sells custom skateboard decks.
From now through September 3rd, Shrine is hosting an eerie exhibition called “Another Place.” It is a collection of very loosely figurative work by a dozen painters and multimedia sculptors. All of the works are small in scale, and they’re united by a faint sense of body horror and a brown-gray-purple palate.
“This exhibition celebrates artists who bend and reshape reality into new forms,” a description from the Shrine website reads. “Their work pushes deep into subconscious psychological terrain and explores a surreal, visionary twist on the world around them. Figures are discernible yet have an abstract, mystical air; unconscious dreams and thoughts are unleashed to create narratives that are highly personal but somehow still universal in scope; and through their minds’ eyes we are offered a glimpse into previously unknown realms dedicated to both the light and dark aspects of humanity.“
Notable among the artists is Hawkins Bolden. The sculptor, who passed in 2005, was blinded as a child, and said that he found his blindness gave him a unique sense of textures in his found-object art. He has two untitled works in the installation, both small disturbing figures made of found doll parts, wire, and soot.
Also worth mentioning is Sandra Osip, who builds complicated surrealist landscapes, tangled neighborhoods of half-destroyed houses evoking warzones and abandoned cities. Her sculptures are heavily informed by Aleppo, which she visited recently.
Other art pieces include shadowy glass figures by Bryan McGovern Wilson, earthenware venuses by Alice Mackler, and oil dreamscapes by Austin English. Kyle Breitenbach, Inka Essenhigh, Kristy Luck, Kevin McNamee-Tweed, Charlie Roberts, Nick Payne, and Joe Roberts also contributed.
For the rest of the summer, this exhibit is a place to go to be slightly disturbed, to see a glimpse into a slightly darker, weirder world. It might be best to bring a friend.