Lava Thomas’ art with mirrors helps viewers reflect
“I’m very interested in the idea of transcendence and the question of where we go to experience healing and wonder, and yet I don’t think contemplation has had a comfortable place in the world of contemporary art,” says multimedia artist Lava Thomas, whose absorbing site-specific installation “Looking Back and Seeing Now” is on display at the Berkeley Art Center.
“I wanted to create a site expressly to encourage reflection and let the viewer see, when they sit still with the work, where their mind takes them.”
The word “reflection,” used in its various meanings, comes up repeatedly in conversation with Thomas, 56, who splits her time between homes in Menlo Park and Berkeley.