Furnace of the Elixir (2018) Painting by Charles Riley

Oil on Canvas, 31x25 in
$2,308
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One of a kind
Artwork signed by the artist
Certificate of Authenticity included
Ready to hang
Mounted on Wood Stretcher frame
This artwork appears in 5 collections
  • Original Artwork (One Of A Kind) Painting, Oil on Canvas
  • Dimensions Height 31in, Width 25in
  • Framing This artwork is not framed
  • Categories Paintings under $5,000 Abstract
This is an expressionistic artwork that reflects on Taoist ideas of purification. Purification is often referred to as a firing process in which the artificial mind is purified of learned conditioning or filtered awareness that can stand in the way of an open awareness of reality or balanced psychological state. However, the purification process[...]
This is an expressionistic artwork that reflects on Taoist ideas of purification. Purification is often referred to as a firing process in which the artificial mind is purified of learned conditioning or filtered awareness that can stand in the way of an open awareness of reality or balanced psychological state. However, the purification process cannot be taught as it depends on the individual realizing their own awareness or relationship to the total reality of their situation in the universe. Instead of preaching, symbols are used to suggest a way to open up intuitive awareness. Symbols involve such things as true lead (grounded in the reality that is not perceived in parts but what joins the parts and exists despite the parts), purified gold (the balancing of psychological states so that any obsession does not blind us to the greater reality), the north star (a steady focus on a calm balancing point), mountains (seeing obstacles as also a part of the process), the colors gold and purple, fire, water, solid and broken lines arranged in hexagrams, and so on. In this vein, I created symbols in an intuitive fashion to help in my process of open awareness and the processes of viewers.

Some more words to deepen the viewers reflection:

The engine of passion is purified on the Western Mountains.
Mountains are obstacles but also a means to reach light.
The light is turned round on the climb to attentive clarity.
With purified mind, the gold releases white essence.
Who may we find ourselves along the way to be?
Having plucked the root of the original instrument,
The tangled thread of purple cloak rises in silence
To entangle and weave the portrait of life backside-out.
The furnace of the elixir illuminates the reversed.
No matter thousands of years, a the star is steady
And shadows disperse to reveal the unnamed story.

Related themes

ExpressionisticExpressiveConceptual

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At an early age I learned about art from an aunt who was an established artist. My father taught me a love of literature. My B.A. was in English Lit. My graduate degrees from Columbia University were in studio[...]

At an early age I learned about art from an aunt who was an established artist. My father taught me a love of literature. My B.A. was in English Lit. My graduate degrees from Columbia University were in studio art and teaching of college studio art. I had exhibitions in New York City during and after my grad work at Columbia. These included: The Macy Gallery at Columbia; Hudson Valley '85 National Exhibition Juried by Barbara Haskell, Curator of the Whitney Museum; Ariel Gallery in NYC; The Emerging Collector in NYC; Eighth Annual Exhibition of Emerging Artists at the Bronx Museum of the Arts; and In Search of the American Experience by The Museum of the National Arts Foundation. There were also reviews in The New York Times, ArtSpeak (a Gallery Review), and the Bronx News.

More recently, I show my work online at charlesrileyart, exhibit in shows at the Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts in Fredericksburg, VA. From 2012 through 2013 I displayed my artwork at Art First in Fredericksburg VA. Fredericksburg and Art First are very magical places if you ever get a chance to visit.

My artwork includes painting, mixed media, photography, and computer art, as well as a synthesis of the media. The work is expressionistic and it reflects what it is to be human. My writing, which I combine with the artwork, also reflects the human condition. The artwork is also a means to balance mundane conditioning that distracts us from the unconditioned creativity of the universe. My artwork is fed by relationships and other pursuits and studies such as Tai Chi, Taoism, Literature, Music, Media, and Art.

I studied Tai Chi with Master Da Liu in the 80's at Columbia University and I've been practicing and teaching since. I'm now teaching at two community centers in the Fredericksburg, VA area.

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