Artworks left to right
all by Mélanie Matranga and dated 2019
Passive Aggressive Astrology (Saggitarius)
Passive Aggressive Astrology (Aquarius)
Passive Aggressive Astrology (Scorpio)

Something in the stars? Art world goes spiritual

With artists and galleries embracing the new age, is there a commercial pull, too?

Spirituality is on trend. Tarot, the occult, astrology, meditation apps, crystals—as political turmoil surrounds us, interest in “new age spiritualism” is booming. And this week, the esoteric is in the ascendant at Frieze and in numerous exhibitions around London.

Damien Hirst
Radiance, 2018
White Cube

“I think today people realise that science doesn’t have the answers, religion doesn’t have the answers, art doesn’t have the answers…we need a hybrid that takes a bit of everything in order to find something to believe in,” says Damien Hirst, whose exhibition of mandalas, ritual geometric patterns used for meditation, at White Cube (until 2 November) had visitors queueing around the block when it opened last month. While Hirst—who has dwelt upon spiritualism and religion his whole career—says such works do not reflect any beliefs he may have, he observes: “Everybody’s on the lookout for something that can get them through the darkness.”

SHANA MOULTON, The Waterfall of Grief, 2019, exhibition view Zabludowicz Collection, London. Courtesy the artist and Zabludowicz Collection. Photo: Tim Bowditc

see full article @ The Art Newspaper