Magic in Contemporary Art, Ep. 3 – Lecture & Discussion Dr. Amy Hale speaks with artists Jesse Bransford and Barry William Hale about the influence of Hermetic magic on their work.
EPISODE 3: REFRAMING CONTEMPORARY HERMETIC ART
Some of the most striking esoteric modern artists – such as Hilma af Klint, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, Austin Osman Spare and Ithell Colquhoun – were deeply influenced by Hermetic philosophies and symbols. They engaged with magical systems like Kabbalah, alchemy and Rosicrucianism, drawing inspiration from the principle 'As Above, So Below'. Contemporary artists Barry William Hale and Jesse Bransford also incorporate these systems and principles in their work, though with distinct styles and approaches. In this episode, Amy speaks with Barry and Jesse about the role of Hermetic traditions and magical practice in their art.
Episode 3 of a 10-part series about magic and contemporary art.
SPEAKER BIOS
Jesse Bransford is a New York-based artist whose work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, UCLA Hammer Museum, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, and CCA Wattis Museum. He holds degrees from the New School for Social Research (BA), Parsons School of Design (BFA), and Columbia University (MFA). A professor of art at NYU, Bransford has explored belief and its visual systems since the 1990s. His work has been featured in publications by Fulgur Press, including A Book of Staves (Galdrastafabók) and The Fourth and Fifth Pyramids. He lectures widely on these themes and co-organises the biennial Occult Humanities Conference.
Barry William Hale is an artist whose work is deeply rooted in esoteric and occult practice and research. He uses a variety of media including performance, video, sound, VR, painting and paper, depending on the demands of the work. A graduate of SCA and the Sydney punk squatter scene, Hale is recognised as a leading occult artist of his generation. His work has been exhibited globally, including at Equinox Festival London (2009), Adelaide Fringe Festival (2011), the 17th Australian Art Biennale Sydney (2010), Dark MOFO (2018), Raymond Buckland’s Museum of Witchcraft and Magic Cleveland (2019–2020), and multiple exhibitions with Stephen Romano in New York (2015–present). He was also featured in NYU’s Language of the Birds (2016) and Windows to the Sacred (2013) in Australia. His publications include the monograph Codex 231 (2014) and Legion 49 (2009), a deconstructivist take on the medieval grimoire. Hale lives and works in Melbourne, Australia.
Amy Hale is an Atlanta-based writer and critic with a PhD in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA. Her research interests include contemporary magical practice and history, art, culture, women and Cornwall. She has written widely on artist and occultist Ithell Colquhoun, and been an academic advisor to the 2025 Colquhoun retrospective at Tate St. Ives and Tate Britain. She wrote the first scholarly biography of Colquhoun, Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully (Strange Attractor, 2020), followed by the collection Sex Magic: Diagrams of Love, (Tate Publishing, 2024). She is also the editor of the groundbreaking collection Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave 2022). She has written extensively on magic and contemporary art, and has written for Tate, Burlington Contemporary, Art UK, The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Correspondences Journal and other institutions. She is an Honorary Research Fellow with Falmouth University in Cornwall, a trustee of the UK Charity Rediscovering Art by Women (RAW) and a member of the British Art Network. Beyond the Supernatural: Magic in Contemporary Art is due to be published with Tate Publishing in 2026.
Original Event Date: 15 June 2025
