Scent-Based Art Exhibition Signals Shift from Visual Spectacle to Embodied Experience

The exhibition 'Ether: Aromatic Mythologies' at Craft Contemporary in Los Angeles in 2025 marked the museum's first scent-focused show, curated by Saskia Wilson-Brown of the Institute for Art and Olfaction. Featuring artists including Emily Endo, Se Young Au, Sarana Mehra, Maki Ueda, Sean Raspet, and Karola Braga, the exhibition presented olfactory works that create atmospheric environments. This reflects a broader movement in contemporary art away from large-scale digital immersive installations toward sensory experiences that engage memory and bodily awareness through scent. Artists are using olfaction as a time-based medium to explore themes like grief, memory, and ecological connection, positioning scent as resistant to image-based economies and social media sharing.