Another World: The Transcendental Painting Group, 1938–1945

In 1938 in New Mexico, a loose configuration of artists came together to form the Transcendental Painting Group. Led by New Mexico painters Raymond Jonson and Emil Bisttram, and joined by painters such as Agnes Pelton and Lawren Harris, the members of the group sought to explore spiritually heightened abstraction by employing free-wheeling symbols and imagery drawn from the collective unconscious. According to their manifesto they strove "to carry painting beyond the appearance of the physical world, through new concepts of space, color, light and design to imaginative realms that are idealistic and spiritual.” Due to the onset of World War II the group was short-lived. However, their paintings continue to emphasize how abstraction can be used in service of the spiritual. Another World is the first comprehensive traveling museum exhibition devoted to the group.