Alchemical Process

In many of my paintings, I will present 3-dimensional cubes in succession which can be perceived in two ways and changes how one perceives the composition of the forms to some extent. The perceptive function of the brain “switches” from on to the other. But they cannot both be perceived at the same time. The “Necker Cube” is a well known example of this “ambiguous illusion” phenomenon.

I also like to think of some of my paintings as something akin to Yantras, which are visual devices used in meditation and healing (in Ayurveda for example). These Yantras are employed to fix the gaze on a central point (called the bindu), and practice seeing and engaging with a field emanating around that point. It’s a way also to practice a kind of “seeing” which is expansive, receiving, and tends to be free from “attachment” to what is seen.

I like to think of this series of paintings called Alchemical Process Abstract in a similar way, as a kind of meditation device. They are also meant to depict a dynamic process of alchemical transformation, starting with the material prima (the chaotic swirl of colors compressed in the upper chamber) and arriving at the philosopher’s stone, or the “gold". And as the Alchemists warned, "Aurum Nostrum Non Est Aurum Vulgi" (Our Gold is not common Gold).

Carlo