Visionaries: Christianity and the Visual Arts

Christianity and the Visual Arts

Journey to Christmas: Barbara Niczynski

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“Unravelling”, acrylic on canvas, 60cm x 90cm

Artist: Barbara Niczynski

Artist Statement:

The artist thinks about God as engaged in a journey towards the incarnation and so pictures an unravelling. “When I consider the wild, untameable nature of God, the enormity of creation, what effort the unravelling of the Godhead it must have been! God reduced beginning redemption as one cell in a human being. We think of Jesus suffering on the cross, but I think his suffering started at that point of laying aside his power for us”.

Journey to Christmas: Geraldine Wheeler

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“O come, O come, Emmanuel”, Gouache stencil painting on black paper, 78cm x 72cm

Artist: Geraldine Wheeler

Artist Statement:

This was a response for Advent 2013 to the Brookfield Centre for Spirituality’s request for works of visual art on themes relating to John the Baptist’s call “Prepare the way of the Lord.” The work emerged for me as the counterpoint to “Jesus Falls” which I did for a Visionaries “Contemporary Stations of the Cross” exhibition in St.John’s Cathedral, 2008. In that, I placed the figure of the fallen Christ in the Queen Street Mall (Albert Street junction), the view looking up the mall. Most of the surrounding people took no notice of the fallen figure, just going their own ways. “O come, O come…” is set looking down the mallfrom the spot where I placed the fallen Christ figure, as I saw the mall in December 2012, with a choir singing Christmas carols. Such a song is a prayer for the place where it is sung and the wider world, “O come, O come, Emmanuel.” (See together in Song 265.)

“A Chi-rho page: flannel flowers”, gouache stencil painting on black paper, 47.5cm x 40.5cm

“A Chi-rho page: jacaranda and poinciana”, gouache stencil painting on black paper, 47.5cm x 40.5cm

“A Chi-rho page: jacaranda and poinciana”, gouache stencil painting on black paper, 47.5cm x 40.5cm

“A Chi page: Christmas”, gouache stencil painting on black paper, 47.5cm x 40.5cm

Journey to Christmas Exhibition, Nov 21- Jan 6, 2016- 17

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Journey to Christmas

A Visionaries Exhibition

 

Geraldine Wheeler: "A Chi-rho page: jacaranda and poinciana"

Geraldine Wheeler: “A Chi-rho page: jacaranda and poinciana”

 November 21 – January 6

Open 11am – 2pm weekdays (except public holidays)

Opening Event: 7-9pm on Friday, November 25

VERA WADE GALLERY

Corner of Creek & Ann Streets, Brisbane

Artists: Jennifer Gould, Marcelien Hunt, Marion McConaghy, Graham Moss, Barbara Niczynski, Sue Oliver, Cees Sliedrecht, Gabriella Veidt-Wiedmer, Geraldine Wheeler

The Journey: Geraldine Wheeler

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Geraldine Wheeler: "Flight from the dictator: with reference to Picasso and Fairweather, Gouache stencil painting on paper, 40 x 51cm

Geraldine Wheeler: “Flight from the dictator: with reference to Picasso and Fairweather, Gouache stencil painting on paper, 40 x 51cm

Geraldine Wheeler

Artist Statement

The central reference of this painting is the story in Matthew 2:1-18 of the journey of the Holy Family fleeing King Herod after the visit of the Magi. The reference to Picasso is the use of figures expressing great grief similar to those in his large painting, Guernica, which critiques the Nazi bombing of that Basque town in Spain in 1937 and the reference to Fairweather relates to his depiction of the massacre of the infants in Epiphany (QAG Collection). The story of the refugee Holy Family on the journey to Egypt can be seen to have parallels in what still happens in the world today and the plight of the refugees fleeing war and cruelty.