Carlos Vega's exhibition "Anima Mundi" is on view at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York through April 18. The show features Vega's large-scale paintings on lead substrate, which depict a psychedelic, Edenic universe filled with nymphs, extraterrestrial flora, galaxies, and portals. Vega, who is also the husband of gallerist Jack Shainman, draws on ancient Greek philosophy and his own biography—including his upbringing in Melilla, Morocco, and his grandfather's assassination during the Spanish Civil War—to explore themes of consciousness, death, and the interconnectedness of all things. The works incorporate Renaissance antique frames, nodding to his classical training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Spain.
This exhibition matters because it represents a mature artist's shift from questions of identity to deeper metaphysical inquiries about the soul and what happens after death. Vega's approach challenges the contemporary art world's emphasis on rationality and measurable expression, advocating instead for art as a vehicle for the invisible and the intuitive. The show's spiritual and philosophical focus, combined with Vega's labor-intensive process (each piece taking hundreds of hours over years), offers a counterpoint to market-driven or identity-focused art, reasserting art's historical role in addressing universal human concerns.