Inner Vision: Abstraction and Cognition

Image of a colorful oil painting by artist Vian Sora.
Vian Sora, Lapped, 2023, Oil and mixed media on canvas, 80 x 72 inches, Courtesy of Luis De Jesus and Jay Wingate, Los Angeles, © Vian Sora, Image courtesy of Luis De Jesus Los Angeles 

Main Gallery, February 13 – May 8, 2025 

Inner Vision: Abstraction and Cognition considers the use of abstraction to investigate the nature of thought, experience, and the senses. Exploring abstraction as a language that spans lived experience, scientific inquiry, and diverse epistemological frameworks, Inner Vision examines a range of abstract representations of cognition and sensation including emotional states, dreams, hallucinations, mystical experience, and neurological phenomena. While their visual dialects vary, each artist investigates the complexities of inner perception and sensation. Some works offer critical perspectives on cultural signifiers to convey belief systems. Others examine altered states of consciousness through abstracted scientific models. Still others investigate the ways color and form activate personal and collective memory. Many of the works explore and engage perceptual awareness. Together, they demonstrate the potential of abstraction to understand and communicate the full spectrum of lived experience. 

Featured artists: Bhakti Baxter, Terri Friedman, Rema Ghuloum, Dennis Koch, Robin Mitchell, Bridget Mullen, Angeline Rivas, Adee Roberson, Barbara Rossi, and Vian Sora