Transfigurations (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...not merely symbolic or imaginary...a direct invitation to recognize and realize a deeper dimension of our very own being." -- Ken Wilber, author of Integral Psychology and The Eye of Spirit

A beautiful, unusual work. -- The Midwest Book Review, May 2002

Alex Grey is making some of the most beautifully refined imagist work in the country today. -- Walter Hopps, senior curator, Guggenheim Museum and Menil Collection

Grey brings us an ever-deepening visual contemplation on the nature of personal and transpersonal identity. -- Bodhi Tree Bookstore, Winter 2002/Spring 2003

Grey's vision...[is] an antidote to the cynicism and spiritual malaise prevalent in much contemporary art." -- New York Times

Review

"Grey's work, like all great transcendental art, is not merely symbolic or imaginary: it is a direct invitation to recognize and realize a deeper dimension of our very own being."
(Ken Wilber, author of Integral Psychology and The Eye of Spirit )

"Grey's vision of a flawed but perfectible mankind stands as an antidote to the cynicism and spiritual malaise prevalent in much contemporary art."
(New York Times )

"Alex Grey is making some of the most beautifully refined imagist work in the country today."
(Walter Hopps, senior curator, Guggenheim Museum and Menil Collection )

"Grey brings us an ever-deepening visual contemplation on the nature of personal and transpersonal identity."
(Bodhi Tree Bookstore, Winter 2002/Spring 2003 )

"Grey's portrayals of human beings blend scientific exactitude with visionary depictions of universal life energy....a rare artist embraced by critics, spiritual leaders, and the general public during his lifetime. Grey's art leads us on a transformative journey through the darkness of the material world to the divinely illumined core....an ever-deepening visual contemplation on the nature of personal and transpersonal identity."
(

SirReadaLot.org, Oct. 1, 2004

)

"As much about the mysteries of the life as it is about the creative process, Transfigurations displays the mind, spirit, and soul of the artist in a way that defies traditions of dryly worded art books or demure coffee table decorations. . . . I am treasuring this book, keeping it on my shelf and opening its pages when I need inspiration."
(Diana Rajchel, The Beltane Papers, Mar 2006 )

"A beautiful, unusual work."
(The Midwest Book Review, May 2002 )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions; 1st Edition. edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892818514
• ISBN-13: 978-0892818518
• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 10.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,223 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grey grows up, November 25, 2002

By	Brooke Pennington "Renaissance girl" (Pocatello, ID USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have possessed a slightly beaten-up copy of Alex Grey's first book, Sacred Mirrors, since it was released, and I waited anxiously for Transfigurations to come out. Let me warn everyone: it is a book with a different message and focus than Mirrors. However, it is a message than many of us need to hear. This book focuses more on Grey's development as an artist, with an informative opening section on Grey's artwork through the years. It really gives meaning to his art to see the fruits of his confrontations with his "dark side" early on, and to see what those insights have contributed to the art he produces today. These pieces seem more personal than those in Mirrors, with Grey depicting families, birth, and his young daughter in his trademark hyper-realistic, transparent-skin style. He also includes some of his poems, which accompany a multi-part piece on the journey of the soul. Grey's earlier pieces tended to depict kisses, sex, or deities--universal themes we can all relate to. This book finds him paiting "headaches" or "despair" with the same insight he devotes to more upbeat subjects. Overall this is a great book, illustrating how Grey has grown as an artist over the years. If you are searching for just another "trip-book" on the order of his first publication, this may not be what you're looking for. But for me, it was an enriching view of what Grey's art is becoming as he, like many of us, tries to reconcile a transcendental and psychedelic worldview with a comforting and stable family life.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Gift From one of America's Great Artists, December 11, 2001

By	Robert Kall "Rob Kall of Opednews.com" (Newtown, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a treat a new collection of images from Alex Grey is.
This new book, following his original Sacred Mirrors, is an eyeful of wonder, magic, luminosity, and to borrow from Mircea Eliade, the spiritual philosopher, NUMINOSITY-- visions of the sacred, mystical and, paradoxically, of the unknowable.

In this beautifully rendered book, Alex Grey takes you to his newest visions and also to his fascinating roots. There are very few people who have followed his path. It is no wonder that he has such an amazing group of people (Albert Hoffman, Ken Wilber, Stephen Larsen) contributing to his book.

This is not your typical beautiful art book. It will fill you up, as many an art book can, but it will also lift you, and offer you a kaleidoscope of visions, or more precisely, ways of looking at the world.

the book also includes some images of Alex's dream project, the creation of a sacred space where his sacred mirrors series can be properly displayed. I have a feeling that when it completed, it will evoke feelings similar to those one experiences when entering Notre Dame, the Blue Mosque, (been to them) or the Pyramids.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art and Spirit for all of Mankind., November 17, 2001

By	gully foyle (San Diego, California.) - See all my reviews

This well printed, well bound, book contains stunningly beautiful and provocative spiritual imagery that resonates with the truth within us. But anyone who has seen Mr. Grey's work before has come to expect this from him.

The real treat is that the pages contain an incredible amount of intensely interesting background information (and tons of photos!) on Alex's early works, as well as insightful commentaries by Albert Hoffmann, Stephen Larsen, Donald Kuspit, and Ken Wilber.

I have to say... I bought my copy at a higher price directly from Alex Grey's website (...). It showed up a few days after ordering, smelling of freshly printed ink, nicely wrapped and (best of all!) signed by Alex Grey.

While it is true that Alex Grey's most recent book celebrates the Journey within all of us, it also offers the reader the opportunity to be subtly transformed by the power of the imagery and lyrical writing contained within - something that we can all benefit from during these disturbing days and into the uncertain ones to come.

For this reader, the most exciting aspect of this book is the announcement of Alex Grey's plan to build a Chapel to house the Sacred Mirrors.

I have no doubt that this Chapel will be one of the wonders of our age.

May God Bless Alex, Allyson, and Zena Grey and give them all the strength, luck, and power to support each other into the distant years to come.

- G.F.