Corpus Sanctum
A solo retrospective of Michael Roque Collins’s most impactful works from 1990 to 2000, with a later work in progress. Expressionistic, symbolist landscapes hold the physical body as a temple for the unseen.
LOS/NR is thrilled to present a solo retrospective show of accomplished artist Michael Roque Collins and his most impactful works created between 1990 to 2000. This period was pivotal in the evolution of his art practice from a photorealistic water media-based practice to large scale expressionistic, symbolist works in impasto oil paint, imbuing ominous, apocalyptic and other-worldly scenes of imaginary landscapes, reflecting a tumultuous time of his own personal growth and change. Collins’ work perfectly displays the idea that the body is the temple of the spirit, the being as a whole doesn’t deny but embraces and develops the unseen aspects of existence.
In philosophy, religion and spiritual practice, spirit is the vital principle or animating essence within humans and all sentient beings that gives life and consciousness. It can be seen as that which involves the immaterial, subtle, and non-physical, In Plato's theory of the soul, thymos (spiritedness) is the part of the soul that is associated with emotions like anger and courage. Hegel's concept of "Absolute Spirit" refers to the highest form of spirit, which is characterized by self-consciousness and the ability to understand the world and its place in it. Even Nietzsche acknowledged and used the term "free spirit" to describe individuals who are independent thinkers and creators of new values.
In deeper understanding of our own lives and each its own purpose, it is important to acknowledge and cultivate the spiritual in art, addressing themes of the unseen realm, pursue deep meanings, and explore transcendence. In alignment with a long tradition reflecting the spiritual in art, from ancient worship objects to the modern expressionists such as Kandinsky’s Blaue Reiter, Collins is exploring this idea of the wholistic, the intensity and terrible beauty of the unseen and seen together.
“Corpus Sanctum” explores realities beyond the physical, our perceptions, emotions, psychological states and that inner essence of the spirit as way a to move toward a deeper understanding of life. Collins’ work profoundly and brilliantly explores this concept, corpus sanctum, the body (physical) is the temple of the spirit (unseen). His mystic landscapes incorporate memories, ideas, connections that reflect a deep cogitation of life and its meaning. These works speak difficult truths, and portray a type of calming but erratic terrible beauty, the calm before or after the storm.