Visual-O

Haleh Mashian, MASH Gallery founder, has curated the highlight of the Los Angeles summer exhibitions, VISUAL O. VISUAL O stands for “Visual Orgasm,” a state of being Mashian defines as the moment “the artist becomes one with the piece and stops the process of creating and lets the painting take over.” Mashian connects the release of orgasms as the space between thought and physicality. “There is no ‘mind’ in an orgasm. That is one of the reasons it’s pleasurable,” Mashian enlightens. “It starts with the physical and becomes an expression of the divine.”

VISUAL O features the works of ANDY MOSES, CHASE LANGFORD, KENNY NGUYEN, LISA BETH OLDER, LISA SCHULTE, ROBERT STANDISH, MICHELLE BENOIT, JOHN MONN, and HALEH MASHIAN. Shown together in juxtaposition, VISUAL O is an orgasmic attack on the visual sense. Each artist works with the vibrancy of acrylics with startling results. Venice artist, Andy Moses, harnesses the viscosity of the acrylic paint itself as a way of painting. His circular works represent abstract landscapes in globe form: a world in marble. Los Angeles-based artist, Chase Langford, invented Geographic Expressionism, the next iteration of abstract expressionism, which uses a cartographic language of the natural world as inspiration.
Mixed media sculptor, Kenny Nguyen hand weaves silk and other materials creating rippling surfaces and textures. Lisa Beth Older’s perspective of dense abstraction reveals a controlled abandonment. Well-known neon artist, Lisa Schulte’s newest work plays with geometric dimension and fluid rigidity. Michigan’s work from the Rose Series, re-interprets the singular beauty of the rose to the point of abstraction. What is at first a familiar flora is depicted as a strange landscape—both new and alluring.

With an interest in metaphysics, Robert Standish uses basic elements like line, color, and texture, to represent the dynamism, constancy, and transcendent flow of the universe. When asked about the inspiration behind his pieces he replied, “Spirituality, beauty, and the enjoyment I get from doing what feels authentic, unrestrained, uplifting, and well executed.

“In each work, we see that the artist uses their mind, their craft, their experiences and happens—that is similar to the orgasmic experience,” explores Mashian. “Perhaps that is the joy of painting after all—to get lost in the process while staying fully conscious, which is the basis for Tantric sex.”