A Mid-Career Retrospective of Prolific Artist Kehinde Wiley Opens at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

ARTDAILY

"St. Gregory Palamas" Collection of Edward Tyler Nahem, New York / "Houdon Paul-Louis" Brooklyn Museum / "Saint Remi" Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

VIRGINIA---An exhibition featuring portraits by one of the country’s leading contemporary artists is on view June 11 through September 5 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Composed of more than 50 monumental paintings and sculptures, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic raises intriguing questions about race, identity, and the politics of representation. Recognized for his portrayal of contemporary African American men using conventions of traditional European portraiture, Wiley has expanded his vision to include women and cultures from around the globe. In addition to lesser-known early works, this exhibition also explores new developments, which include bronze busts, “paintings” in stained glass, and works from his World Stage series. [link]

Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art's "Hi-Fructose" Exhibit Travels Through 2018

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Martin Wittfooth. Incantation. Oil on canvas, 2014. Courtesy of the artist. Featured in Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose.

VIRGINIA---The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is featuring some of the foremost contemporary artists through a ten year retrospective of the art magazine, Hi-Fructose. "Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose" is a collaborative initiative by two like-minded organizations – MOCA in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Hi-Fructose The New Contemporary Art Magazine in San Francisco, California. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to bring a broad spectrum of religious and non-religious themed artwork by over 50 artists from the pages of magazines and computer screens to the walls of a contemporary art museum dedicated to educating on the significant art of today.

Catholic League Targets Museum over Mark Ryden's 'Anti-Christian' Art

ARTNET NEWS
By Ben Davis

Mark Ryden, "Rosie's Tea Party" (2003). Photo courtesy Mark Ryden.

VIRGINIA---It's a tempest in a tea party. Specifically, it's a crusade over a painting of a tea party, and one that involves threats to revoke a museum's public funding, in the latest battle in the decades-long American culture wars. The outrage this time around is inspired by Rosie's Tea Party, a 2003 painting by the self-professed "pop surrealist" artist Mark Ryden, included in a show opening Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach. Local media has gotten in on the story, and the kerfuffle has now attracted the attention of hard-right Catholic League head Bill Donohue, who issued a letter targeting museum director Debi Gray. [link]

Op-Ed: High school’s misguided Islamic Art assignment shows ignorance on all sides

LONG ISLAND PRESS
By Mark Grabowski

A rural Virginia school district cancelled classes and a holiday concert after being flooded with angry messages over a school calligraphy lesson that involved copying a Muslim statement of faith in Arabic.

A Virginia high school geography teacher’s controversial Arabic calligraphy writing assignment last month is the latest unfortunate example of ignorance in America. Ignorance of history and the law, that is. Located in rural Shenandoah Valley, the Augusta County public school district made national headlines on Dec. 18 when it closed all of its facilities after outraged parents voiced concerns over a homework assignment asking students to write Islamic religious statements by copying Arabic calligraphy. [link]

Virginia county closes schools as Islam assignment prompts parents’ backlash

RUETERS
By Reuters Staff

The shahada, the Muslim profession of faith, in a ceramic tile from Iznik, Turkey

VIRGINIA---Schools in a Virginia county closed on Friday as a safety precaution after a class assignment asking students to practice Arabic calligraphy using a Muslim statement of faith sparked an angry outcry from parents and threats against school officials. Augusta County Public Schools officials said no specific threat had been made against students, but some calls and emails received by the district posed a risk of harm to school officials. [link]

Sorry, Pilgrims: Jamestown’s spiritual life is suddenly much more fascinating.

CHRISTIANITY TODAY
By Thomas S. Kidd

Image: Susan Walsh / AP Catholics and Protestants Together?: Capt. Gabriel Archer’s reliquary with replicas of its contents.

VIRGINIA---When the English settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, sailed into Chesapeake Bay in 1607, the first thing they did was plant a cross on the shore. As typical English people, the Virginia colonists were stridently Protestant. They were products of the warring worlds of the Reformation. Roman Catholics were the great imperial and religious enemy to most English Protestants. But the recent discovery of a Catholic reliquary (devotional box) in the grave of an early Virginia leader suggests that the colony’s religious story may have been more complicated than we knew. [link]

Artist Jerry A. Williams crafts religious works of art in Virginia churches

WASHINGTON TIMES
By Leah Small

Chief Apostle Mary P. Bonner poses for a portrait as sunlight illuminates the stained glass windows of Harvest International Full Gospel Church crafted by stained glass artist Jerry A. Williams in Petersburg, Va. (Scott P. Yates/Progress-Index via AP)

VIRGINIA---or nearly four decades, churchgoers have worshipped under the bright streams of light, patterns and religious figures in stained glass handcrafted by local artist Jerry A. Williams. Williams has mostly designed windows for small rural churches across the state, and has a studio in his Halifax Street home. One of his largest jobs locally is Harvest International Full Gospel Baptist Church on West Washington Street. Williams crafted and installed the stained glass for the 117,307 square foot church about 20 years ago. [link]

Richmond synagogue to host art talk examining Marc Chagall’s relationship to Judaism

RICHMOND-STANDARD
By Mike Aldax

March Chagall created these stained-glass windows at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

VIRGINIA---Richmond synagogue Temple Beth Hillel will host an art talk about famed 20th century painter Marc Chagall on April 12 as part of the Sunday Morning Bagel Brunch series. Chagall, one of the greatest internationally-recognized modern artists, has been described as a poetic painter who is known for creating 12 stained-glass windows at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. [link]

Alyse Radenovic's Art Sparks a Blessing for Lighting Shabbat Candles

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Blessing for Kindling Shabbos Lights"

VIRGINIA---There is an energy to the work of Virginia artist Alyse Radenovic that sparks a desire to look deeper. Radenovic is an American fine artist living in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and daughter. "This painting is an abstracted depiction of the text of the Hebrew prayer," she told Chabad.org. It is "for kindling lights for Shabbat painted in the colors of the sunset." Radenovic's subject matter is varied but A&O readers will especially be interested in the works she has exhibited in The Creative Soul in Brooklyn, New York.

Iconic Canvases by Thomas Cole’s on View at the Chrysler Museum of Art

ARTDAILY 

Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848), The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1833–34.

VIRGINIA---It’s the story of Everyman, beautifully told by one of the founding fathers of American art. The Chrysler Museum of Art presents Thomas Cole’s Voyage of Life, a special exhibition of some of the finest—and largest—works by our country’s greatest landscape painter. This show will be on view from October 21, 2014 through January 18, 2015. Admission is free. The centerpiece of this exhibition is the iconic series The Voyage of Life (1839–40), the most famous and beloved work of landscape master Thomas Cole (1801–1848). Spanning four monumental canvases, The Voyage of Life takes viewers on a journey through Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age, presenting each stage as the progress of an everyday voyager along a grand but treacherous river. [link]

In One Conservative Town, Celebration and Fears of 'End Times' After Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Danielle Paquette

VIRGINIA---The Christian preschool teacher heard the news on her car radio: Same-sex marriage is now legal in Virginia. This is it, she thought. The end times. “It could happen today,” Pam Rives said on Tuesday, tidying her lemon-yellow classroom at the Ironbridge Baptist Church. “This is just another step in that direction. As society changes, it takes God out of it.” Rives will never support same-sex marriage. She fears, however, that society will continue to change beyond what she deems acceptable. [link]

U.S. Supreme Court Clears Way for Gay Marriage in 5 States

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Adam Liptak

WASHINGTON, DC---The Supreme Court on Monday denied review in all five pending same-sex marriage cases, clearing the way for such marriages to proceed in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. The move was a major surprise and suggests that the justices are not going to intercede in the wave of decisions in favor of same-sex marriage at least until a federal appeals court upholds a state ban. [link]

CNU Prof. Schweig Talks Religion and Spirituality

THE CAVALIER DAILY

VIRGINIA---Christopher Newport Religion Prof. Graham Schweig gave a lecture in Newcomb Friday titled “Spiritual but Not Religious.” Schweig, who earned a doctorate degree in comparative religion from Harvard, is an author, scholar and yogi. “In the West, there is God, and in the East, transience,” he said. “The West prays, the East meditates. The West believes in Heaven and Hell, the East believes in transmigration. The West honors saints, the East honors sages. The West fears nature’s fury, the East considers nature sacred.” Between these two lands, he said, lies the subcontinent of India, an amalgamation of both value systems. He likened religion to art in a picture in a frame or silence surrounding music, saying religion helps people put their world in context. “God is too big to fit into one religion,” he said. [link]

Supreme Court Adds Gay Marriage to Sept. 29 Agenda

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Mike Chappell

WASHINGTON, DC---The Supreme Court has scheduled same-sex marriage cases from five states for consideration at its Sept. 29 private conference, indicating no hesitation to dive right into the national debate. The justices placed cases from Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin on the list for their first conference of the 2014 term. By scheduling all for consideration simultaneously, the justices gave equal footing to the Indiana and Wisconsin cases just decided last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The 10th and 4th Circuits previously ruled in the other cases. The court could agree to hear one or more cases this winter; deny them all, or delay its decision for a while. [link]

Non-Jewish Couple Donates Holocaust Torah to Virginia University

JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY

VIRGINIA---A non-Jewish couple from Arizona donated a 250-year-old Torah scroll recovered from the Nazis to Virginia Commonwealth University. The couple, Martin L. Johnson and Olinda Young of Phoenix, are collectors of antiques and art; an interest in old Bibles led to them to acquire eight Torah scrolls. In recent years, the two have donated Torahs to the University of Pennsylvania, Loyola University in Chicago, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the University of Arizona and Arizona State. The Torah will be kept at the VCU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives, in Richmond, Va. Jack Spiro, who teaches Judaic Culture at VCU, said the scroll will be a great benefit to the university. [link]

Irene Leache Memorial Gifts to Chrysler Museum Strengthen Collection

ARTDAILY

"Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and Angels" (16th century) by Cornelis van Cleve, .

VIRGINIA---The Irene Leache Memorial Foundation has donated its entire collection of European Old Master paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts to the Chrysler Museum of Art. At its March meeting, the museum’s board of trustees voted unanimously to accession the Irene Leache Memorial art collection. On long-term loan to the Museum since within a year of its 1933 opening, the Irene Leache Memorial collection comprises 27 works of art dating from the 14th through 19th centuries. Accompanying the gifts of art is another substantial bequest—an endowed curatorship. [link]

Moroccan Artwork in Virginia Highlights Traditions of Eastern Women

THE BREEZE
By Rachel Kenney | Contributing writer

Les Femmes du Maroc #45, 2006, printed 2008, C-Print

VIRGINIA---Prepare for the East to be brought to West Campus: Lalla Essaydi, the world-renowned Moroccan multimedia artist is coming to Sawhill Gallery. Essaydi’s work subverts misconceptions of Islamic traditionalism by applying calligraphy and henna to women’s bodies. In the Western world there exists a particular preoccupation with women of the East and the traditions they adhere to, most specifically the adornment of the hijab, or veil. However, Essaydi, whose works will be exhibited this year in 17 different locations worldwide, including JMU’s own Sawhill Gallery, uses her paintings and photographs of veiled Arab women to shatter these stereotypes of Muslim women and their traditions.  [link]

Priceless: Small Museum With Big Heart Returns Plundered Korean Art

OP-ED NEWS

Detail of painting by Courtesy of the OKCHF

VIRGINIA---Norfolk's Hermitage Museum & Gardens has just given a rare 18th century Buddhist painting on fabric from its collection to the National Museum of Korea. The Korean Sakyamuni Triad Painting's century-long, circuitous journey was finally completed when it was returned to Korea with the assistance of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF). The focus of the OKCHF is to preserve and protect Korean art, and to reclaim some of the art which was plundered during the Japanese occupation. The 10-foot by 10-foot painting depicts Buddha delivering a sermon to his followers. [link]

Happy Valentine's Day: Sad Week For Same-Sex Marriage Foes

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Buddhist Monk "Kukai" by Ryan Grant Long. Courtesy of Jesus In Love Blog

INDIANA---Buddhists, Christians, Jews and other people of faith are celebrating marriage this week because of major victories against the opponents of same-sex marriage. Residents in Indiana, Virginia and Kentucky are all celebrating after major legislative or judicial victories leading to the national Freedom to Marry. Howe Chin, a gay Buddhist activist in Indiana credited the mobilization of people of faith who "deployed special rituals of the body, speech, and mind, including the use of symbolic gestures, mystical prayers, and spiritually centered concentration" reminiscent of the gay monk Kukai (774–835). The monk, also known as Kōbō-Daishi, founded Shingon Buddhism in Japan and credited with everything from inventing the kana alphabet to introducing homosexuality to Japan. [See IndyStar]

Caravaggio Exhibition Now at Muscarelle Museum of Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Saint Francis in Prayer" (1606) by Caravaggio

VIRGINIA---This winter visitors to the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary have a rare opportunity to view three famous paintings by, or attributed to, Caravaggio and take sides in an intense debate among the world’s leading authorities on Italian paintings. Two nearly identical versions of Caravaggio’s "Saint Francis in Meditation" that have left experts divided. Despite years of debate, the experts are divided as to which one of these two beautiful paintings was created first… and by whom? Which one is the original? Could they both be by the great Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio? [link]

Muscarelle Museum of Art: "Caravaggio Connoisseurship: Saint Francis in Meditation and the Capitoline Fortune Teller" (February 8-April 6, 2014); 603 Jamestown Road on the campus of William & Mary College; Williamsburg, Va; 757-221-2700; wm.edu/muscarelle