Sometimes we wake from slumber, drenched in sweat, swearing that the visions in our minds were playing out in reality. What if they are? In her new exhibition, A Comforting Invisible at Hashimoto Contemporary Los Angeles, Paris-based artist Lou Benesch considers the existence of a second, invisible realm accessed only through the portal of dreams. This new series of rich, intricate watercolor paintings on paper reveals an alternate reality where strange mythological creatures roam across surreal landscapes, waiting to be witnessed after nightfall.
Just as they would appear in a dream, Benesch’s creatures are based on beings from our world, but slightly warped, like a child’s imagining of an animal. The Shepherd shows a two-headed sheep with a large, fluffy gray body, sheep-like hooves in the front, and eagle-like talons in the back. Holding round bells in each mouth, the beast hovers above a sea or a sky, emerging from beyond an off-white curtain. The creatures depicted in these worlds, the artist describes, are “not on the pages but in the folds, waiting for us to discover them.” There is more to our reality than meets the eye.
Benesch also includes references to the aesthetics and materiality of deep, relaxing slumber, as “sheets, nightgowns” make up the ceremonial attire to “access this universe of contemplation, a maze with an invisible hand guiding us along the paths that we forget to see.” The artist incorporates soft folds into curtains, animal fur, and fluffy clouds, creating moments of comfort in this uncanny other world. Below several peculiar animal amalgamations, beds with downy pillows and ruffled sheets invite the viewer to wrap themselves in this twin reality—where this strange invisible is transformed into a comforting wonder.
