There's a hallucinogenic sheen to Alvarez's imagery, which is often so vibrant that it threatens to dance off the canvas. The same can be said for Fred Tomaselli's big mixed-media collages, which sometimes incorporate the literal trappings of psychedelia — pills, marijuana leaves, magic mushrooms — into forms that resemble gigantic mandalas or massive strands of DNA. And then there's Leo Villareal's trippy ceiling installation of intricately programmed flashing lights, best seen when you're lying on your back.
In terms of ideas, we're talking cosmic here, as in the expanding universe and spirituality and the portals of perception. These three American artists seek not so much to re-create drug-induced experiences as to tap into higher visionary realms. Their visual extravagance is balanced by the presence of Yayoi Kusama, an octogenarian Japanese woman who takes a more austere but no less contemplative approach. Together they make up a quartet whose work delights the eye and stimulates the mind and spirit — not a bad combination at all.
