Gold is a grand metal, long lasting, luminous, profoundly durable. It is a precious substance. It is mined and treasured, and used to create valuable jewelry and works of art. Emblematic of something even more precious, the resilliance of the human spirit, artist Amrta takes an event that was a negative cataclysm in her life, and reshapes it as a tribute to her own power, her own gold. In disIntegrated at Shockboxx Gallery in Hermosa Beach, Amrta offers a moving and utterly beautiful series of work.
As artwork, the show simply dazzles. Rooted in the expression and expulsion of the darkest heart of trauma, its depth is as rich as its visual surface. Along with the individual paintings, Amrta offers a swirling, galvanizing video dance performance; evocative poetry accompanying each work; and a visceral, heart-hurting series of exhibits in the backroom that explore the traumatic event that led to the creation of this work. The expression “spinning gold from dross” has never been more true.
The work is multi-layered and complex, with the bottom, virtually unseen layer adding textures and a swirl of emotions, with the occasional brief excavatory revelation to the careful viewer. It is dark, that layer, indicative of all the stress and trauma Amrta overcame to reach the point of creating this evocative series of artworks. The final layer is the astonishing gold, each piece of art an individual, some more bronze in color, some light; some with delicate floral drawings on them; some with thick markings beneath the gold that remind the viewer of a geographic map, or emotional Braille.
If we do indeed negotiate our deepest fears, darkest emotions and situations in the midnight of our souls and hearts, then, forged by these experiences, it is our choice whether to blacken with them or become purer, more golden, like a stormy riven sky after the sunset. It is enormously clear the path Amrta has taken, and it is a glowing one.
It is also a valuable one to peruse. Treasure yourself, viewers, heart and soul, and revel in this stunningly original artistic reminder that what glitters here is indeed pure gold.
While closed in-person at Shockboxx Gallery in Hermosa Beach, the exhibition is up on Artsy and you should mine t’s lush and passionate images now.
- Genie Davis ; photos Genie Davis and also provided by the gallery