A European abstractionist's elusive search for spiritual themes on view in North Carolina

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Alfred Manessier ~ Les Cantiques Spirituels de St Jean de la Croix (The Spiritual Canticles

CHARLOTTE, NC---Now through July 8, 2018 the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art presents Alfred Manessier, an exhibition of paintings and prints by an artist who sought to create contemplative images where the natural and spiritual realms would converge, offering spaces for both respite and resistance. In addition to landscape-inspired paintings, the show includes Manessier’s illustrations for St. John of the Cross’ Spiritual Canticles, Eugène Guillevic’s Cymbalum, and the elephantine portfolio Presentation of the Beauce at Notre-Dame of Chartres. Manessier chose religious subjects because they seemed as elusive and vast as the natural world. Towards the end of his life, he reflected on his 40 years of painting spiritual themes, saying they “were at my fingertips and at the same time, infinite.”

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art: "Alfred Manessier" (Through July 8, 2018); 420 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC; (704)353-9200; bechtler.org