Http://www.microcosmgallery.com
Contact: manager@microcosmgallery.com
Telephone: 212 594 8841

PRESS RELEASE:

"Net of Being": New works by Alex Grey ,  November 10 Ð December 31
Opening November 10, 6 Ð 9 pm  


On exhibit at MicroCoSM Gallery are Grey's major new paintings including ÒHoly Family,Ó and "Net of Being," a fifteen-foot long oil painting introduced to millions by the rock band TOOL.  After years of labor, this epic work is on view along with drawings that led to its creation.  Related to Grey's series of painted and sculpted "universal beings," begun in 1999, the "Net of Being" portrays an endless perspective of column-like four-faced Godheads.  Each head is composed of a fiery grid of eyes and galaxies linked with similar heads in an endless mesh, implying a realm of boundless interconnectedness.  A new topology of Being and infinite awareness is mapped by this omni-directional web.  Grey states that this visionary realm was visited during an entheogenic (psychedelic) ayahuasca journey he experienced in 2002.  Small sculptural details of the Net of Being are also on view.  ÒNet of BeingÓ was featured on the cover of TOOLÕs recent Ò10,000 DaysÓ album, and the CD package won a 2007 Grammy Award.

Also on exhibit are models of the future Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, architecture designed by Alex Grey.  The entryway pavilion on the ground level is a wheel of 12 Godhead columns similar to those portrayed in the painting "Net of Being."  In the space between the heads nestle smaller replicas of the large domed Chapel. Smaller Godheads and Chapel shapes repeat fractally, reaching tiny proportions that harmonically relate to the overall pattern of the building.  From every point of view on the grounds of this domed circular structure, observers witness two profiles mirroring each other, created by the outline of the building and implying two giant celestial faces.  The message encoded in the building is, ÒWhen beings come together in Oneness, they create sacred space.Ó  The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, being designed to house a permanent collection of Grey's paintings and sculpture, is itself a profoundly inspiring sculpture for a timeless body of artwork. 

Best known for his paintings which ÒX-rayÓ multiple dimensions of reality, Alex Grey's visual meditations on the nature of life and consciousness, have led to a world renowned career of exhibitions from the New Museum in NYC, to Tokyo, to Sao Paulo, a retrospective at Museum of Contemporary Arts San Diego, features on Discovery Channel, Newsweek, Time, and album art for multi-platinum and Grammy award winning rock bands such as Tool, Beastie Boys, and Nirvana.  Because of his underground cult status in the psychedelic world, his artwork is some of the most reproduced on sheets of blotter acid.  Alex Grey's art illuminates worlds of subtle energy and proposes new icons of trans-denominational spirituality.  Along with his wife, artist Allyson Grey, Alex co-founded the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, CoSM, located in Chelsea, open for three years, as a testing ground for the alliance of divinity, creativity, and community.