"SYMBOLIC SHAMANISM"
By: J. Gregory Lynch, Curator
Zelda Albarracin Gallery, New York City
Through his twenty-four canvases depicting Symbolic Shamanism, Terranova introduces us to the life of the ancient indigenous communities of the fabled land of El Dorado. In that world the Shaman – priest, healer, sage – occupies a pivotal role as messenger between his people and those who occupy other dimensions. Only the anointed Shaman may enter that world and decipher its secrets. It is a world entered through hallucinatory portals, containing the keys of both the physical and spiritual destiny of a rich and half-forgotten culture. Terranova sets out the sometimes ominous, sometimes fanciful images which populate the Shaman’s journey. Birds and beasts, reptiles and amphibians. All are interpreters of the transcendent will or, perhaps, the diverse faces of a universal life force. In the trajectory of the experience, the Shaman is both guided by these creatures and assumes their diverse identities. The Shaman explores the voice and pulse of the natural world. In turn, there emerges an ultimate harmony among all inhabitants. For the ancients, this symbolism, so sacrosanct, could only be expressed through the most magical and precious of the earth’s bounty. So the symbols that were passed down were no less than representations honed in the purest of gold. In this way, gold became the medium of record of shamanic dreaming.
Terranova has a gift for deeply personal and instinctive interpretations of these dream creatures. This was an instinct awakened by the lore of his family with its deep roots in the past and at the knee of a “gifted” grandfather. In his richly hewn canvases, he has set out a series of shamanic “flights”. These are depictions of Shamans and their dreams. Some are dark and complex, some vivid and humorous. A favorite image appears in the canvas “Corn Wisker”. There a young girl with braided stalks of corn is simply depicted, belying what most certainly is a Shaman in exaltation. For the people of that world golden corn symbolized gold, the sun and the high arts of the spirit world. So it is with each canvas. Each symbol, each figure speaks of transformation and ecstasy.
DEPICTED PAINTINGS / GOLD WORK AND SHAMANISM:
22" x 18" Mixed Media on Canvas
2010-2011
By: J. Gregory Lynch, Curator
Zelda Albarracin Gallery, New York City
Through his twenty-four canvases depicting Symbolic Shamanism, Terranova introduces us to the life of the ancient indigenous communities of the fabled land of El Dorado. In that world the Shaman – priest, healer, sage – occupies a pivotal role as messenger between his people and those who occupy other dimensions. Only the anointed Shaman may enter that world and decipher its secrets. It is a world entered through hallucinatory portals, containing the keys of both the physical and spiritual destiny of a rich and half-forgotten culture. Terranova sets out the sometimes ominous, sometimes fanciful images which populate the Shaman’s journey. Birds and beasts, reptiles and amphibians. All are interpreters of the transcendent will or, perhaps, the diverse faces of a universal life force. In the trajectory of the experience, the Shaman is both guided by these creatures and assumes their diverse identities. The Shaman explores the voice and pulse of the natural world. In turn, there emerges an ultimate harmony among all inhabitants. For the ancients, this symbolism, so sacrosanct, could only be expressed through the most magical and precious of the earth’s bounty. So the symbols that were passed down were no less than representations honed in the purest of gold. In this way, gold became the medium of record of shamanic dreaming.
Terranova has a gift for deeply personal and instinctive interpretations of these dream creatures. This was an instinct awakened by the lore of his family with its deep roots in the past and at the knee of a “gifted” grandfather. In his richly hewn canvases, he has set out a series of shamanic “flights”. These are depictions of Shamans and their dreams. Some are dark and complex, some vivid and humorous. A favorite image appears in the canvas “Corn Wisker”. There a young girl with braided stalks of corn is simply depicted, belying what most certainly is a Shaman in exaltation. For the people of that world golden corn symbolized gold, the sun and the high arts of the spirit world. So it is with each canvas. Each symbol, each figure speaks of transformation and ecstasy.
DEPICTED PAINTINGS / GOLD WORK AND SHAMANISM:
22" x 18" Mixed Media on Canvas
2010-2011
 SHAMAN 1  SHAMAN 3  SHAMAN 5  SHAMAN 7  SHAMAN 9  SHAMAN 11  SHAMAN 13  SHAMAN 15  SHAMAN 17  SHAMAN 19  SHAMAN 21  SHAMAN 23 - CORN WISKER |
 SHAMAN 2  SHAMAN 4  SHAMAN 6  SHAMAN 8  SHAMAN 10  SHAMAN 12  SHAMAN 14  SHAMAN 16  SHAMAN 18  SHAMAN 20  SHAMAN 22  SHAMAN 24 |