The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
“The final words of the Tibetan Book of the Dead are: “Let virtue and goodness be perfected in every way,” and examining Kristin Schattenfield-Rein’s new exhibit at Metropolitan Gallery 250, you can’t help but find the meaning in those words, even though what she depicts is what happens after death.
In Kristin Schattenfield-Rein’s latest and third solo show in Philadelphia, she explores the six stages of the Tibetan “bardo”—collectively called “The Liminal State”—by mixing natural elements (glass and sand) with unnatural and manmade mediums (paint and epoxy resin) to create a visceral and textural journey through life, mediation, dreams, dying, rebirth and, ultimately, pure consciousness.” – Metropolitan Gallery 250
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
“Kristin Schattenfield-Rein grew up the youngest of seven children in the suburbs of Washington D.C. As a teenager, she was immersed in the subculture of D.C.’s underground punk rock scene, as well as studying at the Corcoran Museum of Art. In school at Bard College, Kristin studied fine art with Judy Pfaff, Amy Sillman and William Tucker. In 2000, Kristin moved to New York City, where she went on to work as Matthew Barney’s production manager on his Cremaster Cycle. Schattenfield-Rein is forever pushing her work further by experimenting and creating new techniques, while honoring the techniques of the past. She currently lives and works in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.”
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
The Liminal State: Six States of Existence between Death and Rebirth
- The Bardo of This Life (raw)
- The Bardo of Meditation (blue)
- The Bardo of the Dream (silver)
- The Bardo of Dying (white)
- The Bardo of Dharmata (gold)
- The Bardo of Existence (black)
“Used loosely, the term “bardo” refers to the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one’s next birth, when one’s consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena. These usually follow a particular sequence of degeneration from, just after death, the clearest experiences of reality of which one is spiritually capable, and then proceeding to terrifying hallucinations that arise from the impulses of one’s previous unskillful actions. For the prepared and appropriately trained individuals the bardo offers a state of great opportunity for liberation, since transcendental insight may arise with the direct experience of reality, while for others it can become a place of danger as the karmically created hallucinations can impel one into a less than desirable rebirth._ – Wikipedia
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
Kristin Schattenfield-Rein began a new direction in her art after the loss of her dad. Using paint, resin, crushed glass, glitter glass, and sand, the cosmic energy of the simple elements fractal into energetic states of being. We were really happy to see each other at the artist reception, and she tried to explain to me how the work was so affected by the death of her father. But each time we were interrupted by happy moments, first long lost friends showed up, then her daughter cried because she didn’t want to go home from the party. For me it was lovely moments of interruption that changed the mood from sadness to joy.
In her grief the artist explored new processes and materials to discover a new voice. Through energetic forms and color, the spirit of liveness, consciousness, thought and prayer emanate from the panels directly to the chakras. The experience is cosmic.
“…in art one must kill one’s father” – Picasso
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
Liminal means to cross a threshold, to determine a position and progress into a state of transition. Change has brought a new direction to Kristin’s artwork even though the basic materials, the parents, are still there with the gooey drips of paint and gold dust and super flatness, the galactic element of glass brings a universe of communications regarding the meaning of materiality.
“Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline) solid which is often transparent and has widespread practical, technological, and decorative usage in things like window panes, tableware, and optoelectronics.”
“In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a “solid or highly viscous substance, usually containing prepolymers with reactive groups.” Such viscous substances can be plant derived or synthetic.” – Wikipedia
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
The Liminal State, Kristin Schattenfield-Rein, Metropolitan Gallery 250
The Liminal State runs through September 27, 2015 at Metropolitan Gallery 250 in Philadelphia, a non-profit gallery run by Metropolitan Bakery.
Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.
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