Dimensions of Experience

“Dimensions of Experience” is the title of a new exhibit in the Elaine Jacob Foyer at Gualala Arts. Opening February 11, 2022, the exhibit will feature the work of Micah Sanger.

Sanger tells us that these paintings are part of his Traveling Museum Exhibit. They arise out of heightened levels of perception obtained by long periods of focus and stillness. Next to the paintings, there are quotes by the world’s more intuitive theoretical physicists, their illuminating words describing the essence of the reality he paints. 

“The theme of the exhibit is consciousness,” writes Sanger, “and its deep, personal significance to us; its sublime subtleness; its unity, mystery, and power. In fact, there is no greater power in the universe. My goal for the exhibit is to inspire people to think about the insightful, creative potential of consciousness and to invite an exploration into its mysteries on deeper levels.”

Sanger’s exhibit will include 7 large paintings of mixed media on canvas ranging in width from 64”; to 106”; along with 8 smaller pieces ranging from 33”; wide to 9” wide. The smaller pieces are mixed media or oil on canvas or panel. 

Sanger added, ”I am always doing a dance in my paintings between the energy of forms and the energetic formless. That is why my exhibit contains abstracts, as well as landscapes and still lifes. It is all energy. I start all my realistic paintings with an abstract base, depicting the changeless Reality I feel in the moment that holds and permeates the forms of this dimension. Then over that, I begin to depict the forms, and sometimes transparently.”

As a special element of the exhibit, Sanger will display augmented versions of 6 of his paintings. For those who are unfamiliar with Augmented Reality (AR), these pieces portray holographic elements animated and projected out into space, which can be seen/viewed through personal devices such as portable tablets like iPad, or Smart Glasses, iPhones or androids, or mobile-enabled 3d goggles such as Occulus. With these devices, one can seemingly walk around and through these different holographic elements. To look and enjoy the AR images, follow this link.

Sanger has been an active artist producing paintings since 1970 when he changed his major at Clemson University from engineering to art studio. “That was when I discovered my true passion for art. I have been dedicated to my calling as an artist ever since.”

In 1996, after studying art at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Chico State University, he went into an in-depth study of perception and its relationship to the creative process, taking notes, making sketches, and developing paintings about what he was observing. “Out of this exploration into perception and awareness, a rich new way of looking at my world and a new approach to painting arose. Besides objects becoming more alive and energetic in my perception, a sense of this world existing in a dimension arose, along with what I call a ‘unified field.’”

Visit Micah Sanger on his educational art website www.perception4u.com. The exhibit continues through Sunday, March 6, 2022.”