NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Four local icon painters, Chantal Heinegg, Ofelia Manero, Barbara Vartenigian and Marek Czarnecki will have their work exhibited at the Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery at Iona College, New Rochelle, NY. Opening reception September 7th, 1-3 p.m., until October 9th.
An icon, in its most fundamental meaning, is an image of Jesus, Mary, the saints, or some event from Christian history. Tracing its origins back to the catacombs, iconography has tenaciously survived as a traditional art despite the turbulent iconoclastic movements of the 8th century and recent Soviet era. It perseveres into the present time, now experiencing an international re-kindling.
The four painters in the exhibition are “place-keepers”. They work in gratitude to the prototypes, spirituality and techniques of historical Eastern Orthodox iconography. Yet as Catholics, they are also answering an ecumenical call expressed at the Second Vatican Council to return to the apostolic simplicity of an early undivided church. Through a respectful adherence to the traditions of iconography, they are re-experiencing the foundations of all Christian art.
Icons open up a window that show the intersection between a human and divine world, enabling instruction, prayer and meditation. Once known as the “bible of the poor” in a time when so few had the privilege of literacy, this form of transmission touches the heart and feeling of the viewer with more immediacy than a written text. The icon expresses a deep and vibrant silence, their timeless quality as relevant today as it was so many centuries ago.
The gallery is open M-TH, noon-5:00pm; TH, 6:30-8:00 pm; SUN, 2:00-5:00 pm. For further information, please call (914) 637-7796 or visit http://www.iona.edu/artscouncil
