Hanna Hur believes in art’s power to generate supernatural experiences. By repetitively drawing geometric forms and fashioning chain mail sculptures link by link, she places herself in meditative states of mind receptive to subconscious thoughts; the resulting artworks are later employed in mysterious private rituals influenced by shamanisms from various cultures. Although the exact nature of Hur’s personal ceremonies and revelations remains ambiguous, her paintings, drawings and sculptures convey the impression that long contemplation of them might induce some psychic vision. Her visual lexicon of circles, grids and stylized figures recalls numerous spiritualistic abstract painting antecedents including Eastern mandalas, Agnes Martin, Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint. Most of the work in this exhibition, “Signal at the Wheel, Hover at the Gate,” was inspired by her recent trip to visit shamans in Seoul. Ethereal for its translucence in colored pencil on silk, The Wheel (2019) portrays an ancient Korean ritual in which Hur partook to appease her troubled ancestors. In more abstract paintings such as Signal ii (2017-2019), circular motifs seem to glow and whirl like pinwheels as you stare. Completing the esoteric atmosphere, copper chains hung in gallery corners ostensibly represent the eight legs of a supernatural spider; while in the center of the floor lies The Gate (2014-2019), a mat composed of chain mail grids appearing imbued with ritualistic function as a portal through which spirits may pass.

Bel Ami
709 N. Hill St.
inside Asian Center
upstairs suite # 105
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Show runs through Jul. 20