In her new exhibition, A Comforting Invisible at Hashimoto Contemporary Los Angeles, Paris-based artist Lou Benesch considers the existence of a second, invisible realm accessed only through the portal of dreams. This new series of rich, intricate watercolor paintings on paper reveals an alternate reality where strange mythological creatures roam across surreal landscapes, waiting to be witnessed after nightfall.
Just as they would appear in a dream, Benesch's creatures are based on beings from our world, but slightly warped, like a child's imagining of an animal. The Shepherd shows a two-headed sheep with a large, fluffy gray body, sheep-like hooves in the front, and eagle-like talons in the back.
The creatures depicted in these worlds, the artist describes, are 'not on the pages but in the folds, waiting for us to discover them.' There is more to our reality than meets the eye.
Benesch also includes references to the aesthetics and materiality of deep, relaxing slumber, as 'sheets, nightgowns' make up the ceremonial attire to 'access this universe of contemplation, a maze with an invisible hand guiding us along the paths that we forget to see.'
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