Contemporary Women Artists at Markel Gallery

Markel Fine Arts and HLK Art Group will present “Lux Interna: An Invitation” featuring six contemporary women artists who articulate new and ancient healing pathways through their respective artistic practices. The show will be on view at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts in Bridgehampton, and opens with a reception on Saturday, February 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. It will remain on view until March 18.

Ranging from painting to sculpture, the exhibition explores notions of transcendence, ritual, and meditation. The artists who live or work on the East End include: Stephanie Joyce, Mary Boochever, Sylvia Hommert, Pipi Deer, Anna Cléjan and Beata Pankiewicz. In addition, the artists have collaborated to present interactive healing experiences for visitors in an effort to normalize art as a catalyst to aid mental health and wellness.

“Lux Interna” aims to provide ataraxy and respite during the winter months to the community at large and serve as a space to process feelings of reflection, restoration and renewal. Curated by Heidi Lee Komaromi, the concept was a result of thinking about creative ways to address the mental health crisis brought on by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So many of us are in need of finding an inner peace these days and the artists presented in Lux Interna emphasize a slow meditative artistic practice that encourages a communal healing,” said Kathryn Markel. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring their talents to the community.”

On the ground level, mystical minimalist paintings by Mary Boochever will be on view alongside ephemeral assemblages and watercolors by Stephanie Joyce who will also erect a reading nook with her poetry for visitors to pause and reflect. Also on the ground floor, an array of golden “sunburst” resin paintings by Sylvia Hommert and a thoughtful selection of Anna Cléjan’s clay ceramics often used in her ceremonial blessings will be on view.

In the upstairs left room is Boochever’s Chromolume Room, a recreation of a 19th century chromotherapy invention by American physician and early pioneer of the technique, Dr. Edwin Babbitt. Visitors are welcome to sit and relax in a bath of primary colors and natural light. A meditation-based painting by Beata Pankiewicz completes the room. In the adjacent room, Pipi Deer’s Sri Yantra cosmogenesis painting alongside a self-portrait based on the artist’s work in ancestral journeys will be on view.

As a special gift, Pipi Deer and Anna Cléjan will each contribute experiences devoted to healing. Deer will host hands-on sessions in a womb-like room upstairs paired with Tibetan music. Cléjan will close the opening ceremony by conducting an interactive blessing outdoors in the garden. In addition, a mandala-making circle event led by Joyce and Hommert will be held later in the month.

The exhibition will commence in the early afternoon with a “slow opening” to allow for longer, more intimate conversations around art. Curator Heidi Lee-Komaromi remarks, “Lux Interna is an invitation to experience art in a new way–slowly.” She further stated, “When presented in a certain way art can lead to a healing experience through meditation and transcendence.”

According to Lee-Komaromi, “Slow Art” should be seen as an accessible experience that is more participatory than passive. The title “Lux Interna” was inspired by Mary Boochever’s painting of the same name rooted in her studies of Kabbalah. The title refers to the light, or power that lies within us.

A portion of all proceeds from the show will be donated to the nonprofit Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) founded by Audrey Gruss. Its mission is to raise funds to aid cutting-edge, scientific research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of depression and its related mood and other emotional disorders — bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety disorder and suicide.

Kathryn Markel Fine Arts is at 2418 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton. For more information, visit markelfinearts.com.