Curiot’s Transcendental and Transformative Exhibit ‘Act 1: Warped Passage’ Comes to Thinkspace

Rachael McDonald

This spring, Thinkspace brought us an exhibition delving into the magnificent mixed media and digitally illustrative works of California and Mexico-based artist Curiot. Featuring paintings, two new digital works, an installation that Thinkspace has described as “adventurous” and an off-sight mural, “Act 1: Warped Passage” vibrantly and boldly explores themes of exploration, loss, creation and transformation.

Curiot’s works seem to lie somewhere between the abstract metaphysical and something that the internet has come to define as simply “aesthetic.” This distinct definition of aesthetic can seem a little difficult to pinpoint for those unfamiliar but to those of us who have spent a generous amount of our time on Tumblr, Instagram, or Twitter, it holds a very specific connotation. Simply put, “aesthetic” means what it always has – something pleasing to behold – but furthermore, it seems to capture and effortlessly describe a transcendental level of culture and imagination; aesthetic describes a wavelength that is simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic.

The explicitly aesthetic and transcendental elements of Curiot’s works come alive within his elegant balance of the ancient and the contemporary. The ancient elements of Curiot’s art emerge as totemic and ancestral, deeply rooted in the artist’s personal cultural history: inspiration and imagery intimately entrenched in Mexican folklore, handcrafted traditions, textiles, and patterns. While the modern elements of his art emerge within his professedly far-reaching reflections of a potential future for mankind the quasi-future of Curiot projects a personal mythology transforming through stages of cultural and iconic evolution within this future’s cultural context.

Simultaneously reflecting a primal coexistence and conflict between our human and natural worlds, Curiot’s works seem to tug at the strings of a dream that is woven deeply within us all. The transcendental themes of “Act 1: Warped Passage” possess an almost eerie mood, presenting us with a strangely occult sensation serving as something of a conduit to powers that perhaps lie dormant within us all.

“Act 1: Warped Passage” will be on view through June 18 at Thinkspace. You can find information about visiting the gallery here.