Artist Lenox Green presents a joyful collection of abstract paintings from his Trifinity Tetragram project. Visit his website to see more of his art.
Each of us lives our lives rooted in the real world. We use tools, read meaningful words, eat food to keep our bodies moving and spend time with people to fulfill our social needs. From the moment we wake to the moment we fall asleep at night, we are all surrounded by actual, identifiable things that we have to pay attention to in order to live. That’s a lot of details to process day in and day out, but we don’t think much of it because it is so ingrained in our routines.
But it can get exhausting. Even without realizing it, our brains become tired of the real world. We seek something less literal to give us a break from all of this materialism.
If you’re the kind of person who experiences this, there’s a good chance you’re also a fan of abstract art.
Where realistic paintings seek to depict the world as it is, abstract paintings express all the equally important intangible parts of being alive—emotions, spirituality and concepts. Abstract art gives you a moment of respite from the intensity of the real world and helps you access your inner peace.
In fact, it has been scientifically proven that looking at art releases dopamine and endorphins, which are the brain chemicals that make you feel happy.
On top of that, art museums and galleries are calm places. People talk quietly and spend a moment in stillness with their own thoughts. In this fast paced society, it is a welcome lull.
Abstract art is particularly good at producing these happy chemicals. The human brain is really good at recognizing patterns. Abstract art activates that pattern recognition skill, and that’s why it feels so good. It’s like giving your brain a chance to stretch its muscles after a long nap. Since there aren’t any obvious real-life images in abstract art, your brain has to work much harder to find patterns. But it doesn’t feel like work to your brain, it feels like passion and focus.
This experience feeds your soul just as much as it feeds the brain. When you look at an abstract painting, your brain is asking, “What do those colors mean to me? How do they make me feel?” It may be entirely different from what the artist intended and it will certainly be different for each person. It is communing with that deep part of your mind that you don’t use every day.
I seek to spread joy with my art, because everyone deserves a little extra joy in their lives. My abstract art brings me joy, too, even if creating it isn’t always an easy or relaxing process.
My hope is that you will get a little bit of peace just by looking at my completely abstract art collection. Lucky for me, science shows that this is entirely possible.
Artist Lenox Green invites you to follow him on Facebook.
I like the colors, but the swirling lines remind me of LA freeway traffic.