Last Chance to see “Heaven on Earth” at Turley Gallery in Hudson
The work of Davina Hsu at Turley Gallery through November 2.
Earth is our material home in the universe, while heaven is a fluctuating state of bliss-mind, and we are all searching for interconnectedness within these realms. When I received the recent Turley Gallery newsletter announcing Davina Hsu’s solo exhibition “Heaven on Earth” (on view through November 2), I felt an instantaneous link between physical and metaphysical worlds. The highly original and wholly healing vision of her art—even in electronic format—won me over immediately.
Entering Hsu’s show at Turley’s upstairs gallery space on Warren Street in Hudson was indeed like getting into spaceship of Hsu’s design and blasting off into a futuristic dimension of incalculable joy. She brings us aboard with her fantastic repositioning of felt, and her engagement with this ancient textile reveals its enduring eloquence and charm.
The earliest usage of felt traces back to Mongolia, Siberia, and other parts of East Asia. The original felt makers employed it to create clothing, wall hangings, and elaborate horse blankets, and their use of this malleable medium allowed for great illustrative and decorative possibilities. Tapping into her ancestral past and the naturally cuddly aspect of this material, Hsu’s felted artworks vibrate with a mystical energy that is equally playful and futuristic. Positioning fuzzy felted wool on various soft foam shapes to create a sublime suite of cheerful formations, her orchestration of felt is utterly luscious.
Among the most esoteric of the group is Heart Coherence (2025), a vertical pink-hued piece that reveals a quasi-mathematical balance of sinuous shapes within its borders while simultaneously communicating an enigmatic language. Adored (2025) oozes with psychedelic charm while Inner Temple (2025) shines like the crowning jewel of the show with its bold lingam-yoni pattern, the neon-green lingam pushing upward while a pulsating pink yoni reverberates with an orgasmic throb that unfolds across the universe.
There is a conscious vibration in every inch of Hsu’s work—her art swirls, expands and explodes with wonder and warmth. One can metaphorically dive in and feast on the deliciousness of her felty harvest. I walked through the show repeatedly, drinking up the flowing fountain of Hsu’s bountiful scene.
Just as I was about to leave, Bekka Vitarelle, the gallery manager, handed me a flashlight and insisted that I go back and see the marvelous UV effect, an unexpected next-level encounter with the work (enraptured swoons on repeat). While Earth provides the backdrop for fleeting encounters with heaven, Hsu’s transmission of “Heaven on Earth” is a spiritual lift to the highest dimension, where her celestial felty-fiber cosmos shines brightly for eternity.
