Organiverse#3 of 100 Mandalas
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ArtMeditationEcology100 Mandala Organiverse by artist Henri van BentumAtom by Atom - Dot by DotA Lasting Gift of Quality and Distinction
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Purchase
the Organiverse Set
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ArtCreated in Morocco and the island of Madeira by Netherlands born international artist Henri van Bentum. His work is in over 225 public & private collections around the world. All 100 mandalas are done in pointillism, dot by dot. "The work of Henri van Bentum reminds us of organic processes on the cosmic and microcosmic levels. His work helps me understand the vastness, complexity and beauty of the cosmos. van Bentum's work is executed with a fine sense of colour and other elements. I see his work as a paradigm for enduring works of art in the future." Former Professor Leslie Mezei, Computer Sciences, U of T. MeditationOrganiverse is a meditational aid or 21st century kasina device. It is used to enhance meditation practice. It works by simply placing the cards face-out in the display module and, after allowing for some time to pass, move the front facing card to the back of the holder. In this way you will rotate through the Organiverse mandalas in sequence. The idea is to go through the whole series of 100 spheres. EcologyHenri van Bentum was one of the first eco-artists beginning in the 1950’s. He has always advocated ‘Small is Beautiful’ and works on a small scale, using a minimum of resources for maximum results. The Organiverse rotation handset comes in a unique wood display holder made from recovered wood from Vancouver Island, as part of the Woodworkers Guild “Wood Recovery Project”.
This box is made from recovered Garry Oak.
“Organiverse is a glimpse into the multilayered beauty of all that is Life. These mandalas offer an immense opportunity for healing and for a heart-based understanding of who we are physically, emotionally and spiritually. A dance of colour, form and contemplation.” Dr. Mark Sherman, MDCM, CCFP |
What the Critics Say about the Work of Henri van Bentum
“His microscopic attention to detail comes out most strongly in evocations of coral seen through the luminous waters of tropical seas, and in the textures of rock and ice caught in the suffused light of underground caverns.” TIME Magazine
“The best one-man show of abstract art I have seen in a long time is that of watercolours by Henri van Bentum. While too many artists seem to torture watercolour for expression, van Bentum exploits the natural delight of the medium so that it serves his most exacting thought.” GLOBE & MAIL
“Ideas such as space and the emotions it gives, movement, love of light, mysteries of the dark - these are beautifully painted and in a kind of honour to sanity that is rare enough.” GLOBE & MAIL
“Henri van Bentums most recent series of work, Spatial Rhythms, reflects his development into a controlled, simple interpretation of inner feelings this series of paintings interprets the elements of music such as volume, mood and rhythm and are translated into tonality, colour and composition.” PETER WHYTE MUSEUM
“When he marshals his colour into circles, then places them like waterdrops on the white canvas, van Bentum gets a rich intricacy of light and depth. Some have jewel facets, while others contain the subtleties of earth, leaves and bark.” GLOBE & MAIL
“Viewing a painting by Henri van Bentum is a stimulus to the imagination. Perhaps his background as a diamond-facetters son is responsible for the almost crystalline aspect of his work. The single most extraordinary quality in all his paintings is an incredible luminosity, a radiance that emanates from within. Completely introspective in his work, van Bentum is probably a born abstract painter. Jock Macdonald, with whom he studied, was one of the first to encourage van Bentum to develop his individuality, and it is certainly under Macdonalds influence that he achieved his present independence. van Bentum uses blank space as a positive. The missing element is essential to the whole. While none of his current work depicts any recognizable object, it immediately conjures up a mental word picture of a time, space, melody or situation.” CANADIAN INTERIORS
Notes On the Original Organiverse Portfolio
A Major Opus by artist & colourist Henri van Bentum
Quote from the former Curator, National Gallery of Canada, Prints and Drawings:
“The technique of the [Organiverse] drawings is comprised of finely-tuned transparent and opaque layers of colour. This play of contrasts gives the work a three-dimensional quality enhanced by a delicate luminosity. The colours are complicated and would require a sensitive use of colour separation. In order to maintain the integrity of the original drawing imagery and effect, the most articulate reproductive methods would have to be utilized.” Rosemary L. Tovell, Curator, Canadian Prints and Drawings National Gallery of Canada, 1979
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This unique series of pointillism mandalas was started in Morocco in 1972. van Bentum was living in the former Phoenician fishing village of Essaouira, and afterwards moved to the island of Madeira where the work was completed.
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The portfolio consists of twenty-five pages, each with four spherical drawings 8 cm in diameter. The work was made into a 35mm colour and sound short film by filmmaker Julius Kohanyi in 1973. He was commissioned for this project by the Ontario Arts Council. Since that time, the film has represented Canada in major international film festivals around the world.
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The artists motivation when he created the series was to have it reproduced in a limited edition and made available to libraries, art schools, universities, museums and a selected few private collectors. Although pleased with the films success, van Bentums purpose had not been realized. The contemplative nature of the work, with its refined visual sensibility and meditative characters, was lost on the huge 35mm theatre screens.
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Over the years, van Bentum tried to get the Organiverse Portfolio printed. However an accurate rendering of the colour was impossible owing to the pointillist technique (using traditional printing technology). Now, through a unique partnership between the artist and Hewlett Packard (HP), the portfolio has been scanned and reproduced using the latest HP imaging technology in a limited edition of twenty-five sets.
- These scans were further used to create the new Organiverse: Art Meditation Ecology set, featuring each mandala on a separate card.
- Creation of the new "STARRY NIGHT" Edition of ORGANIVERSE
Following a successful experiment with HP by van Bentum, the artist had a reverse edition of the original ORGANIVERSE set created, called “Starry Night”. (Click for a video). van Bentum would like to thank Joe Carr, Brian W. Johnson and Garry Sedun for their technical assistance.
Statement by the Artist
While we are occupied with our daily existence, a great mystery takes place: Life,
evolving in every form, from micro to the macro cosmos. We on our plant Earth
finally begin to realize there may be other life in the Universe.
With this project, we share insights into this enigma called life, embracing art, science and ecology a timeless universalism of growth, evolution or genesis --- we have the microscope and telescope within, and an unknown destiny. This work also embraces the interplay and relationship of Colour. It is further a study in organic development. The invisible is made visible, through dots.
We are biologically no more nor less than dots --- atoms. The planets and even the Sun are only a spot in space, depending from where you look. We have seen, when astronauts go further and further away from Earth, our receding planet then quickly disappears into what one astronaut simply called a dot.
We leave our own world behind, and find a new and alien world, until eventually we leave even that, continuing further to another dot, only to discover that it is again an unknown giant in space.
All life has a beginning, be it the birth of plankton, a whale, lichen, an oak tree, a mouse, and elephant or human being. All comes out of darkness the womb, the cosmic egg. Beyond darkness and ignorance there awaits Light.