Louis Buhl & Co. is pleased to present a new exhibition with DABSMYLA, titled ESP Magic and opening May 31, 2025. Richly sensory, the exhibition explores the fluid boundaries between the physical and the metaphysical, featuring an array of mediums from the artists’ signature sleek paintings to hand-crafted ceramics and intricate drawings set against a backdrop of two encompassing, hand-painted murals by DABSMYLA.
With ESP Magic, the artist duo—partners in life and work for nearly two decades—delve into the enigmatic realism of shared consciousness and the transformative power of nonverbal communication. The featured body of work is rooted in the practice of Telepathic Raja Yoga Meditation and explores the deep connection that the artists share. Through an experimental drawing practice, they attempt—and, in some cases, succeed—to transmit images telepathically. Sitting back to back, one artist would create a drawing while focusing intently on the image, while the other would attempt to visualize it in their own mind. Some of the successfully transferred images that appear in the paintings include Mickey Mouse, a deer face, an apple with a bite taken out of it, and a red pencil writing “hey baby.”
Ceramics, which have been part of the artists’ practice since 2018, also take a central role in ESP Magic. These hand-crafted sculptures are integrated throughout the exhibition as extensions of the paintings themselves, adding a tangible presence to recurring motifs from their two-dimensional works. Sculptures, ranging from ceramic words and charms that frame the paintings to nearly 30 mushrooms installed throughout the space, offer a new physical dimension to familiar subjects. “It wasn’t about just adding objects to the side of a painting, but making them part of the composition itself. The idea of combining these elements, whether it's a ceramic word or a string of beads, feels like it completes the narrative we’ve been developing,” DABSMYLA expressed.
Rounding out the exhibition is a series of drawings interspersed throughout the gallery; intimate and instinctual, their colored pencil medium references adolescent memories of art making. The textured surfaces reveal the artists’ hands, contrasting with the smooth finish of their paintings and mirroring the tactile and “wonderfully imperfect” spirit of their ceramic work.
“We wanted this show to be an experience, not just a display,” says the artists. “It’s about feeling the presence of each piece in the space and understanding how they interact. The integration of ceramics, drawings, and paintings creates a dynamic energy that shifts as you move through the exhibition.” Framed by two encompassing murals, ESP Magic invites visitors into a shifting, dynamic environment where the artists’ recurring forms and ideas can be experienced from multiple perspectives. Moving through the installation, viewers are encouraged to reflect on the layered interplay of texture, color, and form—and on the quiet, often invisible ways that we connect to one another.
DABSMYLA: ESP Magic is on view from May 31–July 30, 2025 at Louis Buhl & Co.