Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of

awareness Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some in ...

including spiritual or

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

themes, or is based in such experiences.What is Visionary Art? by Alex Grey
/ref> Alex Grey - COSM 4

History

The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, first established in 1946, is considered to be an important technical and philosophical catalyst in its strong influence upon contemporary visionary art. Its artists included Ernst Fuchs,

Rudolf Hausner Rudolf Hausner (4 December 1914, Vienna – 25 February 1995, Mödling) was an Austrian painter, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. Hausner has been described as a "psychic realist" and "the first psychoanalytical painter" (Gunter Engelhardt). ...

Arik Brauer Arik Brauer ( he, אריק בראואר; 4 January 1929 – 24 January 2021) was an Austrian painter, printmaker, poet, dancer, singer-songwriter, stage designer, architect, and academic teacher. Brauer, from a family of Jewish emigrants, grew ...

Wolfgang Hutter Wolfgang Hutter (December 13, 1928 – September 26, 2014) was a painter, draughtsman, printmaker and stage designer. Hutter's imagery is characterised by an artificial paradise of gardens and fantastical fairytale-like scenes. His work is said to ...

and

Anton Lehmden Anton Lehmden (2 January 1929 – 7 August 2018) was an Austrian painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Lehmden was a co-founder, together with Ernst Fuchs, Maître Leherb (Helmut Leherb), Rudolf Hausner, Arik Brauer, Fritz Janschka and Wo ...

among others. Several artists who would later work in visionary art trained under Fuchs, including Mati Klarwein, Robert Venosa,Robert Venosa biography
/ref> Philip Rubinov Jacobson and De Es Schwertberger.

Definition

Visionary art often carries themes of spiritual, mystical or inner awareness. Despite this broad definition, there does seem to be emerging some definition to what constitutes the contemporary visionary art 'scene' and which artists can be considered especially influential. Symbolism,

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

and

Psychedelic art Psychedelic art (also known as psychedelia) is art, graphics or visual displays related to or inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. The word ...

are also direct precursors to contemporary visionary art. Notable visionary artists count

Hilma af Klint Hilma af Klint (; 26 October 1862 – 21 October 1944) was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings are considered among the first abstract works known in Western art history. A considerable body of her work predates the first purely abstra ...

Hieronymous Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

, Morris Graves (of the Pacific Northwest School of Visionary Art), Emil Bisttram, and

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism.'' ...

amongst their antecedents.

Schools and organizations

The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, which includes Ernst Fuchs and

, is also a strong influence on visionary culture. It may also be considered the European version, with the names being interchangeable. The

Society for the Art of Imagination The Society for Art of Imagination (AOI) is an international artists' society whose stated mission is to promote art of vision and craftsmanship. It has branches all over the world, and the American branch is a registered charity. AOI is affiliat ...

, founded by

Brigid Marlin Brigid Marlin (born 16 January 1936, Washington, D.C.) is an American artist based in Hertfordshire, UK. She studied in Dublin, Montreal, New York City, New York, Paris and Vienna where, under the guidance of the Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs (art ...

serves as an important portal for visionary art events. More recently, a new wave of visionary artists collaborate to function as modern

cooperatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

involved in self-publishing and promotion of visionary artists through the internet and via festivals such as

Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...

and Boom Festival, and exhibition/ritual spaces such as Temple of Visions and the Interdimensional Art Movement.

Gallery

File:Alex Grey Painting 4 cropped.jpg, A painting by

Alex Grey Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953) is an American visual artist, author, teacher, and Vajrayana practitioner known for creating spiritual and psychedelic paintings. He works in multiple forms including performance art, process art, installation ...

File:Templi dell'Umanità Damanhur.jpg, Hall of Mirrors,
Temples of Humankind,

Federation of Damanhur The Federation of Damanhur, often called simply Damanhur, is a commune, ecovillage, and spiritual community situated in the Piedmont region of northern Italy about north of the city of Turin. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the ...

References

Sources

* ''Cosmic Art'' Ramond & Lila Piper (Hawthorne Books) , 1975 * ''Celestial Visitations The Art of Gilbert Williams'' (Pomegranate Artbooks) , 1979 * ''Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of

", Carlo McCormick, Inner Traditions International, 1990 * ''Raw Creation: Outsider Art and Beyond'' John Maizels,, 1996 * ''The Art of

Adolf Wolfli Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

'' Elka Spoerri, Daniel Baumann and E. M. Gomez, , 2003 * ''Nothing Is True - Everything Is Permitted: The Life of

Brion Gysin Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices. He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the ...

'' John Geiger, (The Disinformation Company), 130. , 2005 * ''Fantastic Art'' (

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Taschen Comics, ...

) ( Schurian, Prof. Dr. Walter) (English edition), 2005 * ''True Visions'' ( Erik Davis and Pablo Echaurren) (Betty Books) , 2006 * ''Metamorphosis: 50 Contemporary Surreal, Fantastic and Visionary Artists'' (beinArt) , 2007

Bibliography

* 1975 - ''Cosmic Art'' Ramond & Lila Piper (Hawthorne Books) * 1979 - ''Celestial Visitations The Art of Gilbert Williams'' (Pomegranate Artbooks) * 2005 - ''Fantastic Art'' (Taschen) ( Schurian, Prof. Dr. Walter) (English edition) * 2006 - ''True Visions'' ( Erik Davis and Pablo Echaurren) (Betty Books) * 2007 - ''Metamorphosis'' (beinArt) * 2011 - "Positive Creations" (Schiffer Publications) * 2016 - ''El Canto de Abraxas'' de Álvaro Robles G. (Editorial Salón Arcano)

External links

Collection: "Folk, Self-Taught, Amateur, and Visionary Art"
at the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...

{{Commons category, Visionary art Visual arts genres Modern art Prophecy