Meet Three Artists from the Divine Paradigm Exhibit

November 19, 2021

Through mystical and spiritual themes, Visionary Art transcends our physical realm and vividly conceptualizes a sublime state of consciousness.

 The current exhibition at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, brings together fifteen national and international Visionary artists, who use a variety of mediums and subject matter to capture their own journey toward a deeper understanding and awareness.

 From sculpted mushroom embellished deities to dreamlike mandala paintings to metaphysical nods to nature through calligraphic writing, these forms of creative expression encompass a broad range of perspectives and provide new lenses for seeing a higher reality.

 Here is a little bit about three of the featured artists that are part of the Divine Paradigm Exhibit. 

Kelsey Brookes 

Kelsey Brookes, uses his background in biological and empirical methodology to create a new genre of art. His practice takes ideas and forms found in logic and natural systems and creates art that blurs the boundaries. Looking at the balance of scientific empiricism and subjective art making in each moment.
Kelsey Brookes was born and raised in Colorado and currently lives in California with his partner and their two daughters. “I am a professional scientist that now makes art” said Kelsey Brookes, Artist.

 “This simple equation F{n}=F{n-1}+F{n-2} that creates the Fibonacci numbers,” said Brookes.

 His art is currently part of the Divine Paradigm: Contemporary Visionary Art exhibit at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum at Mesa Arts Center.

 “These pieces where created by expressing the Fibonacci numbers first in a linear fashion, then rotating that linear expression into a circle and then using those circles to fill a square plane. Finally, I painted in-between those circles using lots and lots of concentric circles. Complexity and variety of form from such a simple beginning, kind of like everything,” said Brookes.

 When he is not making art, you can find Brookes surfing, climbing rocks of all sizes and studying meditation.

 “Making art feels amazing, looking at art is inspiring. It’s a virtuous cycle! But the cycle needs many people to be complete. I hope to continue to create even more of the same of what I have been making. Every day I am allowed to paint is a gift! I know this might seem overly gushy, but the longer I paint the more I believe it,” said Brookes.

Left: Kelsey Brookes (San Diego, CA), 1.618 (Golden Ratio) Orange, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches.

Right: Kelsey Brookes (San Diego, CA), 1.618 (Golden Ratio) Red, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches.

Kyllan Maney 

Watch Kyllan Maney's interview here.

Kyllan Maney has always been an artist. “My grandmother like to create paintings in her kitchen. She always had a special box of oil pastels for me to color with. She definitely was a big inspiration for me becoming an artist,” said Kyllan Maney, Artist.

Maney, went to high school in Scottsdale and upon graduation got an internship at the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution before heading to Arizona State University, graduating with a BFA with a specialization in Painting.

As an artist she is inspired by nature. The foundation of Kyllan’s work is rooted in scientific illustrations, religious icons, human relationships and inspiration from past and current artists. 

“These works are personal meditational drawings. I find when I work on these pieces that it is a practice for me to feel more centered and calmer. My hope is the viewers will feel the same when they look at my work,” said Maney.

Maney has two large scale drawings as part of the Divine Paradigm: Contemporary Visionary Art exhibit at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum at Mesa Arts Center.

“I created these works using repurposed maps in shapes that were collaged together like a quilt. I love maps and I feel they are the fingerprints of the earth. When I watch someone look at my work they see it at a distance, but then the maps draw them in to look closer in the drawing. One drawing is a mediation of nature's growth patterns and represents our spiritual connects to nature. The other drawing is of a compass shape that is a meditation of life's spiritual and meditation journeys,” said Maney.

Maney has just finished creating a large-scale mural in Tucson and has a couple of other mural projects along with a public art park project in the works.

Kyllan Maney (Phoenix, AZ), Meditation II, Intuition Navigation (detail), 2021, Graphite on repurposed maps on panel, 68 x 68 inches

Marco Albarran

Watch Marco Albarran's interview here.

Marco Albarran is originally from Mexico.

“I grew up in a small border town called San Luis Rio Colorado within the state of Sonora, which is near the Yuma area. For me crossing between Mexico and the U.S. was something I did since I was a kid, and it felt as it was part of me. My dad worked very hard as a farmworker and that is something he did throughout his life. He and my mom raised us with the right human temperament and provided us with the right tools to overcome any challenge” said Marco Albarran, Multi-Media Artist.

As a first-generation immigrant to the U.S. Albarran studied Architecture and Engineering at Arizona State University but always had a passion for the arts.

“The arts have been something that intrigued me, and it was something that I felt doing for the rest of my life. I call myself a conceptual-multimedia artist, which means that I can create or design ideas or concepts into pieces of art. It also means, that I can work with various materials or methods in exploratory ways and processes to take the ideas and make it real. It is important to remember that art is an expression that sometimes it is not easily understandable or interpretable, but that is why it is important in keeping all cultural spaces,” said Albarran.

His current piece on exhibit at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum titled “Mayahuel” is a conceptual representation of an ancient female deity related to Mesoamerica and specific to the wider central area of Mexico.

“Mayahuel is what we might call the lady of the maguey, which for many it has been seen as a sacred plant, providing resources and culture. Now of course, the maguey plant is widely known more for the liquid it is extracted from it, as it is the “tequila”. For me this piece was a direct inspiration of the natural ways we sometimes forget to associate or to recognize,” said Albarran.

Albarran encourages everyone to visit the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum and experience all it has to offer.

“You will be surprised on the energy you may feel by the architecture, art, studios, performances, music, and much more. As an artist and as individual, I am always looking forward for new ways to create and to continue telling the stories that will make us think beyond what is familiar. I am really looking forward in experimenting with new materials and techniques and to solidify the quality of what I create” said Albarran.

Marco Albarran (Mesa, AZ), Mayahuel, 2021, Mixed media, site specific installation, Courtesy of the artist.

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