A SPACE FOR EVERYONE: THE VISION SANCTUARY IS MORE THAN A GALLERY, IT’S A COMMUNITY
A SPACE FOR EVERYONE
THE VISION SANCTUARY IS MORE THAN A GALLERY, IT’S A COMMUNITY
BY MAT WEIR
Vision. As a noun it means “the faculty or state of being able to see” but it can also be used as a verb meaning “to imagine.”
Sanctuary - noun. “A place of refuge or safety.”
Combine the two and the result is a warm, comforting space of creativity, wholeness and equanimity. So it’s no wonder artist Rachel Corvese decided to name her Downtown Santa Cruz art gallery and working studio the Vision Sanctuary.
“Santa Cruz has some of the most prolific, psychedelic art around,” Corvese says. “It’s so fun to have a space to encourage emerging artists, especially people with this kind of style.”
When walking into the Vision Sanctuary at 313 Cedar Street, one is initially greeted by a beautiful walkway. Plants and hedges on its borders make it seem as if it’s a portal to a secret garden. A hidden, off-the-beaten-path refuge for rest, healing and art. Inside, explosions of color, theme, and style adorn canvases throughout the three rooms. Animals, goddesses and nature are all present, usually displayed in psychedelic ways representing deeper, spiritual or esoteric meaning.
It’s a style known as Visionary Art.
“Visionary Art is painting a vision of what our future is going to look like,” Corvese says while steeping a cup of tea. “And we have the power to make that vision, you know?”
Think of the mind boggling detailed work of Alex Grey exposing what’s underneath the skin of his human subjects with the sacred geometry and fractals he paints throughout. Or take the intricate, multidimensional paintings of Amanda Sage with her web of light beams emanating from suns and consciousness loops pulsing from third eyes. Simply put, Visionary Art is like peeking behind the curtain of reality on acid while looking through a kaleidoscope.
It is eye-poppingly beautiful and asks the viewer to dive deeper with intent. It originated from the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, a group of Austrian artists in 1946 who wanted to explore the connection between life, consciousness and nature in a ravaged, post-World War II Europe.
Though Corvese grew up in a mostly musical family, she discovered her love for painting visionary art after–what else?–doing psychedelics in college at California State University of Monterey Bay in 2016.
She also had plenty of support from her chosen tribe.
“A friend of mine looked at a painting and said ‘You should do this forever!’” she remembers “And I was like ‘Yeah, I should.’”
So when Corvese wanted to further her studies and understanding of the style, she went straight to the source and enrolled in the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art (VAVA). The school closed in 2020 during the Covid Lockdowns but has since reopened and evolved into the Academy of Visionary Art.
“I was there as Covid was hitting in March [2020] so really my trimester was cut short,” Corvese remises.
After leaving Austria she moved back to the Bay, this time settling in Santa Cruz, where she spent a lot of time while attending CSUMB. She was drawn here for the area’s art and culture, particularly the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and Bass scene. When she moved back, Corvese dreamed about opening some kind of community art space. This October, Vision Sanctuary celebrates two years of being just that.
“It only took six of us to start and rent a spot,” she recalls. “Then we started hosting little parties, First Fridays and community events.”
The Vision Sanctuary is currently home to eight local artists who utilize the cozy space as their work studio. From the bright and bold impressionist oil paintings of Santa Cruz’s iconic cliffs and beaches by Jason Cohen to the “dark femininity” explored by Caroline Kirincic’s charcoal and oil paint works, the Sanctuary contains a full spectrum of color and depth.
Continuing in the spirit in which it was created, the Vision Sanctuary frequently opens its doors to the community as a gallery. Along with highlighting the resident artists they also host separate events for First Friday featuring local djs, dancers and more.
But beyond a gallery or studio the Vision Sanctuary is also a classroom.
On Wednesdays local artist Victoria Miessler offers drop-in painting sessions to anyone and everyone interested. It costs $50 for one class–or $175 for five– and classes are anywhere from two to three hours. The best part? The classes are offered anytime between 2pm and 8pm so no matter what someone’s schedule is like, they have six hours to drop-in and paint.
“We’ve also had a block printing workshop with Andy Pankakes,” Corvese states, referring to local artist and self-described musician of “the most reputable online purveyor of The Pure Maple Essence and Breakfast Music.”
“He teaches and then makes pancakes in our kitchen for everyone,” she smiles. “Gluten-free pancakes no less!”
Along with inviting the community into the space, the Vision Sanctuary is also represented externally throughout town. Last December, Corvese painted the psychedelic pink alligator mural in Mariposa Cafe’s bathroom in Downtown Santa Cruz. The Sanctuary is currently raising funds to paint a different mural at another Downtown business–the framing store turned fellow gallery, Picture Appeal. Once they raise enough they hope to obtain a matching grant from the city set aside specifically for beautification murals.
“Every painting is a lesson,” Corvese explains of her art.
She says she first paints whatever pops in her head and then allows the painting to reveal itself much like automatic writing in literature.
“The more I accept what’s happening in the picture and develop it,” she says. “The more it becomes a full scene or message.”
For those that see art as a rich person’s game, the Vision Sanctuary prides itself as a gallery for the people. Most of the art on display for sale is affordable but they also offer installation payment plans. So anyone can support a working Santa Cruz artist without feeling they have to save up before. They even offer various clothing–like hoodies, tights, shorts, socks and more–printed with resident Vision Sanctuary artists’ work, creating their own mobile gallery with each purchase.
It all comes back to the Vision Sanctuary’s mission of giving the Santa Cruz community an accessible, safe space for creativity to flourish.
“I want anyone to feel like they can use this space,” Corvese says. “Anyone can come teach a workshop here or create here. It just takes one person to say, ‘Let’s go!’”
