Out of the primordial darkness, consciousness would manifest one of the greatest artist and spiritual activist of our generation. Born on November 29, 1953, Alex Grey was the child of a graphic designer who encouraged his creative side from an early age. Alex was fascinated by the themes of death and transcendence, these ideals comprised a lot of his earlier paintings and performances. After high school, Grey attended The Columbus College of Art and Design where he studied for 2 years, from 1971 to 1973. Perhaps feeling like going to Columbus wasn’t the right path for himself, Alex dropped out and made a living painting billboards in Ohio. Then in 1974, Grey had discovered another destination, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There he studied with Jay Jaroslav who was an experienced conceptual artist at the time. Moving to Boston proved to be a wise decision because there Alex would meet his future wife, Allyson Rymland Grey. The couple would undergo several pivotal spiritual experiences together, Alex and Allyson explored their consciousness through the psychoactive compound LSD. These trips would provide a massive inspiration for Grey, because it took his agnostic outlook on existence and transformed it into dynamic transcendentalism. At some point after these journeys, Alex had a career working at the Harvard Medical School where he prepared human cadavers for dissection. This was another giant stepping stone for Grey as he would carefully analyze the anatomy of the human body, which is a central focal point of the majority of his paintings.

Armed with precise knowledge of human architecture, Alex would begin working on two of his most legendary bodies of art, The Scared Mirrors and Progress of The Soul. The Sacred Mirrors are a series of 21 extraordinary life-sized paintings that reflect on different systems of the human body, mind, and soul. Each separate facet of the series is meant to guide the viewer through a journey of oneself in terms of our transcendental nature. The paintings present the human body with an aura of energetic cosmic aesthetics, all the while defying our perception of it with multiple dimensions and layers. Having started the series in 1979, the entirety of The Scared Mirrors took ten years to complete and now the installation stands in Grey’s Chapel of Scared Mirrors in New York.

Transitioning from one body of work to another, Progress of The Soul expanded on the depth of dimensions and intertwined them with iconic human experiences such as kissing, praying, meditation, birth, and death. The figures in this series have ascended beyond mere human anatomy and are composed of energy networks, galactic grids, and vibrant bodies. Perhaps the most powerful connection that the viewer can make is the relativity of the setting in these works.

 

 

 

Having accomplished so much in the art realm, Alex Grey took his presence and continues to inspire people from all over the world. He publishes books, speaks at spiritual conferences, collaborates with artists and musicians, and is on the forefront of the psychedelic community in many aspects. According to wikipedia, “his work has been used on bands such as Tool, Nirvana, and The Beastie Boys. Spiritual teachers and authors such as Deepak Choprah and Olga Worral use Grey’s art in their lessons and publications. In 2011 and 2012 the Watkins Review affiliated Alex with some of the most influential spiritual masters of our day including the Dalai Lama, and Eckhardt Tolle.” Grey is truly one of the greatest artists in history, reaching out to millions across the globe, and has established himself as an icon in the realm of expanded consciousness and self expression. 

 

 

Sources: Alex Grey-Wikipedia page | Alex Grey Main website