Contemporary Art Embraces Mystical Revival Through Feminist, Indigenous, and Technological Lenses
In the last ten years, contemporary art has increasingly embraced themes of mysticism, spirituality, and the occult, significantly influenced by feminist viewpoints. Artists such as the late Chiara Fumai and Tai Shani delve into spellcraft and witch folklore, respectively. Diaspora creators like Tabita Rezaire and Zadie Xa blend indigenous wisdom and precolonial traditions with contemporary culture. Notable exhibitions include the 2013 Venice Biennale, which featured Aleister Crowley and Hilma af Klint, and Tate Modern's 'Surrealism Beyond Borders,' focusing on female Surrealists. The 2009 exhibition 'The Dark Monarch' examined esoteric influences, while 'Not Without My Ghosts' in 2020 highlighted spiritualist artists, mirroring broader cultural transformations, including the mainstream acceptance of yoga and critiques of rationalism in late capitalism.
Key facts
- Mystical and occult themes have shifted from art's fringes to mainstream over the past decade.
- Feminist artists like Tai Shani and Chiara Fumai incorporate witchcraft and spellcraft into their work.
- Diaspora artists such as Zadie Xa explore precolonial traditions like Korean shamanism.
- The 2013 Venice Biennale featured occultist Aleister Crowley and spiritualist painter Hilma af Klint.
- Tate Modern's 'Surrealism Beyond Borders' highlights mysticism in women Surrealists Leonora Carrington and Ithell Colquhoun.
- The 2009 exhibition 'The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art' traced esoteric influences in British art.
- Artist Gala Porras-Kim advocates for museums to respect spiritual aspects of artefacts like Egyptian sarcophagi.
- The 'New Mystics' group, including Ian Cheng and Haroon Mirza, fuses technology with mystical perspectives.
Entities
Artists
- Maya Deren
- Johannes Itten
- John Cage
- Allen Ginsberg
- Joseph Beuys
- Hermann Nitsch
- Sol LeWitt
- Tai Shani
- Chiara Fumai
- Zadie Xa
- Tabita Rezaire
- Hilma af Klint
- Leonora Carrington
- Ithell Colquhoun
- Austin Osman Spare
- Derek Jarman
- Penny Slinger
- William Blake
- Susan Hiller
- Gala Porras-Kim
- Ian Cheng
- Haroon Mirza
- Alice Bucknell
- Erik Davis
- Mark Dery
- Theodor Adorno
Institutions
- Venice Biennale
- Tate Modern
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- British Museum
- University of Auckland
- Mousse magazine
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Sweden
- London
- United Kingdom
- Mexico
- British
- Egypt
- Auckland
- New Zealand
- Manhattan
- United States
- America
- French Guyana
- Korea
- Canada