WAPPINGERS FALLS, New York — In 1974, Alex and Allyson Grey met at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, now part of Tufts University. They were both in an art class they described to me as “performance, conceptual art, and mixed media.” Over 50 years later, the couple’s remarkable creative visions can be experienced at Entheon, the museum located on the grounds of their nonprofit organization Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM), a hidden gem nestled in the hamlet of Wappingers Falls in Upstate New York.
Featuring Allyson’s sacred geometric artworks and Alex’s visionary paintings as well as temporary exhibitions, Entheon at CoSM is an otherworldly experience. A place of artistic worship, education, and personal exploration through art, the space welcomes visitors to experience the power of the divine within us through expansive visions of our place in the universe — part of a global movement called Visionary Art. Known among fans of New Age and occult forms of art, Visionary Art explores themes of inner awareness and universal consciousness, sometimes through the use of psychedelics, resulting in work that expresses various mystical and spiritual themes through imaginative realms and esoteric symbolism. Grounded in Vajrayana and the visualization practices associated with Tibetan Buddhism, as well as symbols from other religions and spiritualities, Alex and Allyson’s art aims to offer an encounter with cosmic energies and the divine.
I visited CoSM on a misty September afternoon, when the grounds were humming with preparations for a full moon gathering and evening program. Alex and Allyson began their full moon ceremonies in 2003 at their Brooklyn loft as an invitation to pray “for a creative spiritual life of love,” they told me in an email. To encounter Entheon is to be transported by the Grey’s art as well as the work of other Visionary artists.
The apex is the Great Hall upstairs, a temple-like space that houses Alex’s Sacred Mirrors series (1979–88) depicting the progression of our lives. Across the 21 paintings, a stoic skeleton becomes a living figure before eventually dissolving into the universe in a fountain of light.
The artists conceived of the idea for the space in 1985, when they envisioned the round, domed chapel to display the Sacred Mirrors series. Now, CoSM serves as a hub for spiritual reflection, workshops, and other monthly programs, including celestial celebrations where artists can enjoy conversations about the nature of consciousness. “Visitors feel free to share visionary and psychedelic experiences, especially related to creative outcomes,” Alex and Allyson said.
Alex, who has also designed album covers and digital art displays at concerts for the rock band Tool, and Allyson, known for her highly geometrically graphic works that she says are composed of “chaos, order, and secret writing,” want the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors to reflect the power of Visionary Art as a portal for personal expansion. “CoSM is an Art Church, a welcoming refuge celebrating life as a creative spiritual journey,” Alex and Allyson said.
“When two people collaborate devotionally to a greater calling, a ‘third force’ can emerge that is more powerful than the capability of either individual alone,” they added, commenting on the force of their decades-long artistic partnership.
The first-floor gallery at Entheon currently features Inner Sanctums, a group show including works by Judy Chicago, Bo Bartlett, Joe Coleman, and Kelsey Brooks, among others.
Lauren Holland, Entheon coordinator, said that multiple benefactors “have helped bring this project to life” over the years, notably the late art collector and Chicago businessman Marshall Frankel and his daughter, the artist Bex Frankel Wilkinson. The organization is currently working on the exterior design of the Entheon building, which will include dragons, murals, and other sculptural elements.
I asked Alex and Allyson about the core of CoSM’s mission: to offer healing through art.
“Psychedelic science and consciousness research has proven in repeated trials that the greatest healing occurs through the mystical experience,” they replied. “Visionary Art enshrines the essence of the mystical experience. Art, music, dance, and performance can be a healing force.”
