Meg Hitchcock, Dorothy Robinson, Kurt Steger: Axis Mundi

Les Yeux du Monde is pleased to present Axis Mundi, an exhibition of new work by New York-based artists Dorothy Robinson, Kurt Steger, and Meg Hitchcock. The exhibition will run from Saturday, May 13th to Sunday, June 25th, with an opening reception taking place on Saturday, May 13th from 4-6pm.

Axis Mundi, a Latin term referring to the cosmological axis of the Earth between the celestial poles, is a recurring and important trope in the history of art representing the conceptual connection between the higher and lower realms. As a symbolic link between Heaven and Earth, it is often understood as a reference to the sacred. This notion finds relevance in each of the exhibiting artists’ work: Robinson’s paintings, Steger’s sculpture, and Hitchcock’s text-based mixed-media pieces.

Dorothy Robinson’s imaginative oil landscape paintings invite viewers to see and appreciate the natural world in new ways. Her mesmerizing compositions suggest a world coming into being. Characterized by swirling brushwork, rich texture, and vibrant colors, some of them made from powdered pigments of earth and rocks themselves, Robinson’s works invoke the organizing role of the Axis Mundi, the means by which cosmic order is imposed upon primordial chaos. Her approach to painting is intuitive and open-ended, resulting in fantastical imagery that echoes, in her words, the “larger, invisible forces constantly at work in the world.” Dorothy Robinson holds an M.F.A. from UC Berkeley, has exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the US, and has won many awards for her art, including one from the Pollock Krasner Foundation.

Kurt Steger’s striking sculpture represents a fusion of his interests in shamanism, Western psychology, and environmental issues. In his Environmental Structures, Steger juxtaposes organic materials like found rock with geometric man-made forms, inviting viewers to reflect on humanity’s relationship with the natural world. If these pieces lead viewers to consider the ground below, his Outdoor Sculptures encourage us to consider what’s above. In the latter, compositions of angular forms reach heavenward, connecting earth with sky. As part of this exploration of the link between the above and the below, Steger has hosted noteworthy interactive sculpture and healing ceremonies, including one at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. honoring the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. Steger has had work commissioned for public spaces in California and New York, has been the recipient of awards including a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and has work in significant museum and private collections nationally and internationally.

Meg Hitchcock is known for text-based work that explores spirituality, language, and faith systems, and invites us to consider how these structures shape our experience of the world. Methodically cutting letters from one sacred text to create intricate compositions that form the writings of another, Hitchcock creates space for the consideration of multiple religious traditions at once, and asks whether their essential meanings might be the same. In her latest work, Hitchcock combines sacred texts with painting, sewing, and burning, incorporating visual elements and shadows that represent a diversity of perspectives and light sources in dialogue with the text in her pieces. Per Hitchcock, “In the process of deconstructing and reconstructing sacred texts, I found a way to express my deep reverence for the word of God.” Hitchcock received her B.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute and studied classical painting in Florence, Italy. She has been awarded prestigious residencies throughout the US, most recently at the Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, where she was the artist-in-residence in fall of 2022. Her work can be found in important public and private collections in the US and abroad.