Christopher Henry Gallery proudly presents Karin Schaefer: Mind’s Eye. Schaefer, a Brooklyn based artist, was previously featured in the gallery’s acclaimed “Map As Art” ‘09 Exhibition, in association with the renowned book publication. Mind’s Eye marks the artist’s first solo show with the gallery, culled from her latest ongoing series. Four years ago Schaefer started a daily meditation practice which prompted these drawings, which are intended to represent the light and forms witnessed during her meditations.

Rooted in concrete perceptual experience, they simultaneously inhabit the world of abstraction. The concept originated as a contemplative practice with an interest in the metaphysical, and has subsequently awakened a deeper investigation into the aesthetics of abstraction. The results of Schaefer’s creative process are characterized by intricate linear networks, and a multitude of small dots and marks that collectively register shifting thought forms that radiate outward or wind inward, fall or ascend in an indeterminate space. From initial logs Schaefer creates secondary drawings and paintings based on the original source material from a specific meditation date. Mind’s Eye consists of a rich vocabulary, embodying a wide range of art genres: there are bold angular geometric shapes, subtle luminous grids, and radial, pattern based images evocative of Buddhist mandalas, and Aboriginal art.

Mind’s Eye is a diary of an ontological investigation that accomplishes the unique phenomenon of documenting inner space and developing levels of consciousness. The individual illustrated microcosms are assembled to create a larger whole, creating a broadened visual contemplation, thus transcending the personal human perspective to discover and connect with the universal.