Much like Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST), a dynamic lifeform in its own right, the process of one artist, Damini Celebre, is a spiritual journey. Her work speaks to the present moment, healing, and listening to the land that speaks back to her. She holds a BFA in Painting and Photography, a Master’s in Acupuncture, and is a Certified Expressive Art Facilitator and Shamanic practitioner. Damini integrates this richly textured background through a range of 2D works and site-specific installations.
Her works are in conversation with the natural world; many are bright and bold, playful and spontaneous. The marks she makes―those wild ribbons of color, scrawls of flora and fauna, starbursts of light and shadow—reveal intricate layers of nuance (bones, skin, energy), or that tumbling-inward sensation as if the senses have been rearranged to show long-buried truths.
“When I am open-hearted I am met with open-hearted energy, in Nature and with people,” Damini says. “I don’t separate the person (artist) and the work. I look at every opportunity as one for self-reflection, including the artwork I create.”
POST is a chance to join the multitudes seeking creative sojourn from the day-to-day hustle, high-tech drain, and endless parade of headlines endemic to our contemporary lives. Individuals peel away the layers of social and physical distance and perceived norms toward a more intimate core experience of artists—a rare look distilled beautifully. The challenge may be in daring to escape your daily grind and navigate the city’s four corners, breaking from logistical patterns. A problem easily remedied, really, when one considers the collective richness of the rewards. You will see things you’ve never seen before, talk to people you’ve never met, and maybe—just maybe—gain a new mindfulness along the way.
POST returns October 7 and 8, 14 and 15.
Jackie Cassidy, M.A., is a fine artist living and working in the Philadelphia area.
