PSYCHONAUT NOIR
Artist Timothy Uriah Steele immerses the viewer in his unique blend of altered states of consciousness and shadowy introspection. His compositions offer a dreamlike world where the boundaries of perception blur into a supernatural twilight. Steele’s paintings and installations are psychonaut noir. They intertwine surreal, mind-altering explorations with the darker, noir-inspired sensibility of the mind’s deeper, often unsettling, corners.
Inspired by the Impressionists, who sought to capture the essence of a moment through light and color, Steele emphasizes mood over realism. His thick, gestural strokes and blurred forms evoke an atmosphere viewers feel before they fully perceive. This technique mirrors the fluidity of altered states, where reality shifts and boundaries dissolve, immersing the viewer in an otherworldly rhythm.
The colors in his work evoke a sunbaked sunset palette, rich with ochres, oranges, and deep purples, creating a sensual warmth reminiscent of desert landscapes or far-off alien worlds. These tones often serve to ground the viewer in the familiar, but with a haunting quality which suggests that something unearthly is at play, perhaps a reference to the inner and outer worlds that the psychonaut traverses. This juxtaposition of comforting colors with the eerie or uncanny adds to the noir atmosphere, where beauty is shadowed by underlying danger or uncertainty.
Most striking, however, are the uncanny supernatural light displays that often punctuate Steele’s work. These bursts of light, at once hypnotic and unsettling, can be seen as metaphors for moments of transcendence or revelation in the psychonaut’s journey. Much like the shimmering, inexplicable glow seen in classic film noir, Steele’s light sources seem to emanate from unknown origins, pulling the viewer deeper into the mystery of the scene. These lights may represent epiphanies, divine energies, or even the void staring back at the psychonaut as they venture into the unknown. The eerie brilliance of these light displays contrasts with the warmer tones of the rest of the paintings, creating a tension between serenity and supernatural awe.
Timothy Uriah Steele’s psychonaut noir unites the visual chaos of altered consciousness with the introspective darkness of noir. Through Impressionist-inspired compositions and sun-soaked hues, Steele leads viewers into worlds where beauty is fleeting, light reveals as much as it hides, and the unknown beckons from just beyond the horizon.
About Timothy Uriah Steele
Timothy Uriah Steele graduated with an MFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a BFA in Painting from Cal Poly Humboldt. Oregon born and Southern California raised; Steele now lives and works in New York City. He has had solo shows at The Red House (Bailey Island, ME), The Surf Lodge (Montauk, NY), SPRING/BREAK Art Show (New York, NY), Bombay Beach Biennale (Salton Sea, CA) and Maitland Foley (Los Angeles, CA). His work has been included in group shows at The Bunker Artspace (Palm Beach, FL), Karma, The Hole, Joshua Liner Gallery, SPRING/BREAK Art Show (Los Angeles. CA), Desert Center Los Angeles and artist run Eastside International (ESXLA). Steele has been profiled in Cultured Magazine, New York Magazine, W Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, GQ, Interview, Cool Hunting, Juxtapoz, Out and more.