Gebetsliga Sponsors Juried Catholic Arts Exhibition
The Emperor Karl League of Prayer U.S.A. and Canada is proud to sponsor the Seventh Juried Catholic Arts Exhibition at The Saint Vincent Gallery on view from October 28 through December 2, 2018.
The Biennial Juried Catholic Arts Competition and Exhibition was established at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, in 2001 by the late Br. Nathan Cochran, O.S.B., who served as Delegate for the Emperor Karl League of Prayer U.S.A. and Canada for over a decade. His untiring pursuit to cultivate and revive the Sacred Arts was the catalyst for the creation of this Competition and Exhibition. Br. Nathan wanted to give artists who engage Catholic subject matter an opportunity to dialogue with the Church, pastors, and lay faithful in the hope of creating new and original artworks for churches, liturgical spaces, and private spaces. For the third Competition and Exhibition, famed British art historian Sister Wendy Beckett served as judge. She praised Br. Nathan's endeavors, noting that, “Artists often come to understand their faith by the actual creation of artworks. We need these artworks, these attempts by artists known or unknown, to share with us their understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Would that there were hundreds of Brother Nathans in all countries!”
The 2018 Exhibition Manager is Jordan Hainsey, Webmaster and Graphic Designer for the Emperor Karl League of Prayer U.S.A. and Canada. Hainsey worked closely with Br. Nathan on previous Catholic Arts Exhibitions, and this year marks Hainsey’s fifth Catholic Arts Competition and Exhibition. Hainsey has been responsible for the call-for-artists, competition and exhibition communications, management of print materials and design, and overall promotion.
“Beauty may be the path through which a confused world rediscovers truth and goodness. The Saint Vincent Catholic Arts Exhibition suggests that there is a renaissance underway in Catholic art. And that can help revitalize the Church for its evangelical mission.”
Juror for this competition is Elizabeth Lev, Ph.D., an American-born art historian who specializes in Christian art and architecture, Baroque painting and sculpture and High Renaissance art. She is a professor of art and architecture for the Italian campuses of Christendom College and Duquesne University, and a licensed guide for the city of Rome and the Vatican Museums. Lev holds a bachelor of arts degree in art history from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Bologna.
She has served as a Vatican Analyst for NBC and has appeared on The Today Show, Nightline and 60 Minutes. Lev has taught and lectured in numerous international venues including an address at the United Nations in New York entitled, “An Evening with Raphael: Raphael’s Art and Human Dignity,” and a TED talk representing the Vatican Museums entitled, “The Unheard Story of the Sistine Chapel.”
She has been featured in History television’s Museum Secrets, Brad Meltzer’s Decoded and the host of Catholic Canvas, a 10-part series on the art of the Vatican Museums, which aired on EWTN. Lev serves as a consultant on art and faith for the Vatican Museums and has authored the documentary “Vatican Treasures: Art and Faith” along with an accompanying course on the history of the museums for Vatican guides. She has served as a keynote speaker for Notre Dame University’s Center for Ethics where she is a permanent research fellow.
Lev is the author of numerous articles on art that have appeared in First Things, Sacerdos, Inside the Vatican, the College Art Association, The Sacred Art Journal, Magnificat and Zenit. Her most recent series of articles have appeared online on Aleteia. She is the author of three books: The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy’s Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici (Mariner Books, 2012), Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches with George Weigel (Basic Books, 2013), A Body for Glory: Theology of the Body in the Papal Collections with Fr. Jose Granados (Musei Vaticani Publications, 2017), and How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art (Sophia Institute Press, 2018).
Since its inception, the competition and exhibition has received global attention, spurring submissions and artworks for exhibition from South America to across Europe. The competition and exhibition fosters a relationship between artists working in the Catholic arts. It has been featured in the Washington Post, EWTN, CNS, Sirius Radio Catholic Channel, Huff Post, and the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.
Three hundred eleven artworks from 127 artists working in 30 states and five countries were submitted for the competition; 44 were selected for exhibition including two international submissions from Malta and Italy. “The remarkable submissions to the Catholic Arts Competition testify to that fact that sacred art is very much alive, but it needs the support of the faithful to flourish,” Lev commented.
World-renowned and acclaimed jurors working in the areas of Sacred Art and Art History have brought their expertise to the Competition and Exhibition. Past jurors include: Dr. Frima Fox Hofrichter, an art historian specializing in Baroque and Rococo; Duncan G. Stroik, an architect and professor working in classical and sacred architecture; Sr. Wendy Beckett, an art historian and BBC personality; Dr. John T. Spike, an expert in Renaissance and Baroque art who directs and curates the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary and past director of the Florence Biennial; Janet McKenzie, an artist working in sacred art; and Dr. Denis R. McNamara, an architectural historian specializing in the theology of liturgical art at the Liturgical Institute at the University of Saint Mary on the Lake, Mundelein.
For more information, visit the gallery website.
Email: catholic.arts@stvincent.edu
The Saint Vincent Gallery invites you to two special events on Sunday, October 28.
Catholic Art of the Modern Age: New Images for An Ancient Story
Lecture by Dr. Elizabeth Lev, 2018 Catholic Arts Juror
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018, 2 p.m.
Fred. M. Rogers Center, Saint Vincent College
Lecture free and open to the public, but reservations required: 724-805-2177
Seventh Catholic Arts Exhibition
Opening Reception for the 7th Juried Catholic Arts Exhibition and Prize Award Ceremony with Dr. Elizabeth Lev
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018, 3:30 - 6 p.m.
The exhibition will continue from Sunday, October 28, through Sunday, December 2, in the Saint Vincent Gallery located on the third floor of the Robert S. Carey Student Center, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650
Gallery hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and by special appointment. The Gallery is closed on Mondays and Nov. 21-26 for Thanksgiving.