Transfigurations

Rating:
Summary: Grey is Great!
Review: Alex Grey is the eternally gentle soul. You can get some of this too simply by buing this book! Alex has been able to synthesise, using his extraordianary scholarly abilites and superhuman broadness of mind, vast and seemingly disparate aspects of reality. He then renders these visions in oil paints, bronzes and performance art in such a way as to make the deepest aspects of the wisdom traditions apparent to the "least here and now" person. Believe me, he paints what Ken Wilber can only talk about.

Rating:
Summary: Transormative Art
Review: Grey's art touches one deeply. Approach it with an open mind and it will change you. A transfiguration is a change that glorifies. This metamorphasis of the artist can be seen in the marked difference of his disturbing early work to his later edifying depictions of omnipresent spirit. The beautiful intricacy of Grey's paintings pull you in, transform you, and leaving you contemplating the complexities of the self and the universe.

Rating:
Summary: Grey grows up
Review: I have possessed a slightly beaten-up copy of Alex Grey's first book, Sacred Mirrors, since it was released, and I waited anxiously for Transfigurations to come out. Let me warn everyone: it is a book with a different message and focus than Mirrors. However, it is a message than many of us need to hear. This book focuses more on Grey's development as an artist, with an informative opening section on Grey's artwork through the years. It really gives meaning to his art to see the fruits of his confrontations with his "dark side" early on, and to see what those insights have contributed to the art he produces today. These pieces seem more personal than those in Mirrors, with Grey depicting families, birth, and his young daughter in his trademark hyper-realistic, transparent-skin style. He also includes some of his poems, which accompany a multi-part piece on the journey of the soul. Grey's earlier pieces tended to depict kisses, sex, or deities--universal themes we can all relate to. This book finds him paiting "headaches" or "despair" with the same insight he devotes to more upbeat subjects. Overall this is a great book, illustrating how Grey has grown as an artist over the years. If you are searching for just another "trip-book" on the order of his first publication, this may not be what you're looking for. But for me, it was an enriching view of what Grey's art is becoming as he, like many of us, tries to reconcile a transcendental and psychedelic worldview with a comforting and stable family life.

Rating:
Summary: Spiritual Happiness
Review: If you liked sacred mirrors this book is the next step up. Opening to the first part of the book shows Alexs' earlier works and performances which seem strange compared to recent works. However it takes you through his lifes works and shows a very logical progression for the artist. His art progresses from a dark macabre form to a magnificant, spirtual art with bright exuberant colors. With the turn of every page I felt myself slowly filling with spiritual happiness until the end of the book when I felt overcome with spiritual energy and immediately upon closing the book I went into a meditative state and had the most wonderful experience. A must have for any Alex Grey fan or any believer in the sacred purposes of art.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: this guy blows my mind. As soon as you start flipping the pages you know you're in for a ride. I literally opened the Amazon.com box in which it came and found myself unintentionally going through this book on my living room carpet for about 40 minutes, just astounded at the sheer beauty and magnificent presence Mr. Grey's artwork has.
I highly recommend you buy Sacred Mirrors as well. Both definitely belong in your book collection.

Rating:
Summary: Art and Spirit for all of Mankind.
Review: This well printed, well bound, book contains stunningly beautiful and provocative spiritual imagery that resonates with the truth within us. But anyone who has seen Mr. Grey's work before has come to expect this from him.

The real treat is that the pages contain an incredible amount of intensely interesting background information (and tons of photos!) on Alex's early works, as well as insightful commentaries by Albert Hoffmann, Stephen Larsen, Donald Kuspit, and Ken Wilber.

I have to say... I bought my copy at a higher price directly from Alex Grey's website (...). It showed up a few days after ordering, smelling of freshly printed ink, nicely wrapped and (best of all!) signed by Alex Grey.

While it is true that Alex Grey's most recent book celebrates the Journey within all of us, it also offers the reader the opportunity to be subtly transformed by the power of the imagery and lyrical writing contained within - something that we can all benefit from during these disturbing days and into the uncertain ones to come.

For this reader, the most exciting aspect of this book is the announcement of Alex Grey's plan to build a Chapel to house the Sacred Mirrors.

I have no doubt that this Chapel will be one of the wonders of our age.

May God Bless Alex, Allyson, and Zena Grey and give them all the strength, luck, and power to support each other into the distant years to come.

- G.F.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, unusual work
Review: Transfigurations continues the exploration begun in Alex Grey's first book Sacred Mirrors, revealing an ongoing dialogue between body and soul as depicted in his art. The nature of personal identity is revealed in a series of full-page color reproductions and some black and white images providing paintings blending science and mysticism. A beautiful, unusual work.

Rating:
Summary: Progression of an Artist
Review: Transfigurations is the pictorial history of the artist and how he finds his way towards his own personal excellence.

Alex Gray is a remarkable artist who has survived the different phases artists move through in their lifetimes, and has found himself a style and expression that is both moving and beautiful to experience. From his early works as a teenager, to his performance art of the 70's and 80's, Mr. Grey has translated many of his emotional experiences to various artistic mediums. The pictures and history provide you with the background you need to understand the spiritual inspiration Mr. Grey has finally found in his work and presented in this book.

I found this book to be very inspirational. The artwork is a personal and moving experience of the artist and I was very much taken by the meanings and visual ideals conveyed by them.

Bravo for a well produced effort on the part of the publisher, Inner Traditions, to be able to produce a book worthy of the works of this artist.

Spiritually inspired, expertly rendered and well produced, this book is worthy of a place on any serious collectors shelf.

Rating:
Summary: A Full Tour...
Review: Transfigurations was rather different from what I was expecting. I guess it just goes to show you that you are usually better off approaching this sort of thing with a mind that's free of preconceptions.

This lovely volume presents a rich tour of Grey's work. Unlike Sacred Mirrors, it gives several pages to involved discussion of Grey's mixed media and sculpture work. Unlike Sacred Mirrors (which I still treasure!), this one provides some very nice details of these non-paintings.

Nonetheless, Mr. Grey's paintings are well represented in this volume - as intense and spiritually challenging as ever.

I'd also recommend checking out his book "The Mission of Art" for some really cool insights into his artistic philosophy that really enriched my enjoyment of Transfigurations.

Rating:
Summary: Psychedelic art
Review: Truly edifying, powerfully enlightening art of the nervous system (peeled open) and all its glory.

The universe is marvelous, indeed. Grey is a shining star.