This exhibit brings together contemporary artists who explore the mandala form as artistic expression and as a tool for transformation and balance in our complex world. This exploration takes many forms: from redrafting traditional visual depictions to the use of new materials, to the performance body participating in the mandala form. The exhibit is lanned in consultation with Jacquelynn Baas, author of “Smile of the Buddha: Eastern Philosophy and Western Art from Monet to Today.”
A mandala by New York artist and Morehouse College alumnus Sanford Biggers forms the centerpiece of the gallery, providing a dynamic space for music and dance. Surrounding this performance space are the works of artists Don Cooper, Faith McClure, Christopher McNulty, Andra Samelson, King Thackston, and Marcia Vaitsman. From transcendent abstracts to repetitive patterns, the multimedia works by these artists use the mandala and its residual power to address today’s physical, cultural, environmental, and cosmological issues.
Coinciding with this exhibition are two other major Atlanta exhibits which focus on the mandala. Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum presents “Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism,” Jan. 21-April 15, with over 100 objects that explore the various manifestations of Tibetan mandalas. And, beginning Feb. 5, Oglethorpe University Museum of Art will exhibit original mandalas created by Carl Jung’s patients during the course of their treatment between 1926 and 1945. Together, the three simultaneous exhibitions will provide a comprehensive view of the mandala symbol, and its ongoing use in religious, artistic and cultural practices.