Close Readings: Spotlight on Cathedral Arts

The mission of Close Reading is to foster appreciation for and understanding of cathedral arts, in general, and, specifically, the distinctive art and architecture of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The program realizes its mission through exhibitions and talks designed to focus on cathedral art and also to broadly explore the artistic expression of systems of religion, thought, and culture from around the world in relation to cathedral art.

 

Current Exhibition

The Value of Water

 

Past Exhibitions

 

 

Gregory Botts: Stations

                   Painting #6

                   Please click the image to learn more about the artist and The Stations Project

 

 

 

                            The Crossing: Untitled (Boy in Field), Enrique Martinez Celaya

The Crossing, a series of four monumental paintings by Enrique Martinez Celaya, were made especially for and in response to the nave of the Cathedral. Intended to participate in the rich liturgical and sacramental life of the church, these paintings evoke the passage of time and the recurrence of the seasons through the motif of the figure and landscape: a young boy on crutches; a muddy, snow-covered road; a figure embracing a horse; and an empty boat. This simple yet resonant imagery affirms the necessity and responsibility of individual human action to bring healing and embody love in the world, thus pushing art's metaphysical and ethical potential to its limits. Daniel A. Siedell, Curator.  The Crossing will be on view at the Cathedral through November 28.

The Cathedral is grateful to the Alchemy Foundation for making this exhibition possible. Enrique Martinez Celaya would like to extend his appreciation to the Alchemy Foundation and to June and Paul Schorr III for their support.

 

 

        In Other People’s Skins, by Terry Flaxton

In Other People's Skins by artist Terry Flaxton celebrates the culture of the meal, and transcends religious and ethnic divides in order to unite the participants. Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper, the piece consists of a table covered in a white tablecloth and surrounded by 12 chairs set inside a light-proof tent.

For more than a century, through the daily act of entering and being in the Cathedral with others, individuals have created new communities, some of which are fleeting, others lasting. Encouraging community and connection is at the heart of the Cathedral’s purpose. In Other People’s Skins is particularly resonant to the mission of the Cathedral and to its current exploration of the concept of kinship.

 

 

                      The Key to the City, by Paul Ramirez Jonas

             

The Key to the City, by artist Paul Ramírez Jonas, with Creative Time, invites New Yorkers and visitors to our City to recognize each other with a key that will lead them on a citywide scavenger hunt of backdoors, front gates, community gardens, and cemeteries, and more. This Key to the City gives us an opportunity to reflect on common space and makes us aware that the city consists of a series of spaces that are locked or unlocked.

The Key, which will unlock the Gate to the Baptistry, a gift to the Cathedral by the direct descendents of Peter Stuyvesant, is a particularly apt choice, since Peter Stuyvesant was the last, and most influential, Director-General of the colony of New Amsterdam (New York) and as such, controlled most of the literal and metaphorical keys to the city.