Art Exhibition, "The Psychonaut," by Chilean artist Víctor Mahana

Art Exhibition, "The Psychonaut," by Chilean artist Víctor Mahana

The Psychonaut: An Expanded Artistic Experience That Invites You to Journey Through Consciousness

The exhibition by artist Víctor Mahana will open on July 23rd at Sala Gasco and combines pictorial language with contemporary tools such as augmented reality.

More than an art exhibition, "The Psychonaut," by Chilean artist Víctor Mahana, is an immersive experience that brings together more than twenty-five paintings created over four years following the principles of Latin American visionary art. The exhibition invites viewers on a journey through the mind, spirituality, and imagination, combining pictorial language with contemporary tools such as augmented reality, which includes the use of artificial intelligence, audio guides, and a soundtrack. It will open on July 23rd at Sala Gasco.

Each work features a QR code that allows access to an expanded digital universe: original soundtracks composed by Chilean musicians such as Leo Quinteros, María Perlita, Yadak (Andrea Gana, Delight Lab), Felipe Jiménez, Miguel Conejeros (F600), among others, as well as animations of the paintings created with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and audio guides narrated by the artist himself, which are part of the exhibition narrative.

With a renowned career, including more than seventy-four exhibitions in Chile and abroad, including at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Toronto fair (Canada), Víctor Mahana combines language with symbolism, surrealism, and spirituality, exploring the border between the visible and the invisible. Regarding this exhibition, he explains that "these works don't speak of the past; they are a look into the future, into the unseen, into the unknown," detailing that he conceives this exhibition as a metaphor for the creative process, in which the psychonaut, the traveler of the mind, becomes a channel that connects with the collective unconscious and transforms visions into reality.

Thus, Latin American visionary art, to which this exhibition belongs, is rooted in the spiritual and shamanic tradition of Latin America, with references such as the Peruvian artist Pablo Amaringo and the painters of the Tigua culture in Ecuador. Unlike European surrealism, this approach is based on universal consciousness as a source of inspiration and connection with the world around it.

In times marked by uncertainty and war, "The Psychonaut" also offers a hopeful reflection on the role of the observer in creating their own reality: "We live in a dystopian world. This exhibition invites us to reconnect with humanity, resilience, and the ability to build a kinder world based on our collective consciousness," Mahana concludes.

About the exhibition:

Artist: Víctor Mahana
Dates: July 23 - September 12
Location: Sala Gasco Contemporáneo - Santo Domingo #1061 - Santiago.
Admission: Free.

About Sala Gasco:
Sala Gasco Arte Contemporáneo is a free art space in the heart of Santiago. It is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at Santo Domingo 1061, Plaza de Armas Metro Station.

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