"Conduits of the Unseen: Women Artists Imagine Other Worlds" brings together 17 women artists at Andrew Edlin Gallery in Tribeca. The exhibition explores art shaped by spiritual communication and considers how these practices can challenge established social hierarchies.
Artist Paulina Peavey connected her work to Lacamo, a nonbinary spirit she said had communicated with her since the 1930s. The ideas attributed to Lacamo included a vision of humanity evolving toward "one-gender perfection."
Curator Susan Aberth says the artists' spirit-inspired messages often focus on improving the world, including questioning patriarchy. The exhibition also traces the roots of "psychic automatism"--creating without conscious control--to spiritualist mediums. Aberth argues that André Breton later recast the practice as an expression of the individual psyche, leaving aside its metaphysical meaning.
By revisiting these artists' ideas and influence, the exhibition may broaden future conversations about creative authorship, gender and the histories of modern art.
