Sister Jeana Visel is one of four artists whose icons will be on display at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey Library Gallery, St. Meinrad, Indiana, May 2 through June 3.
The other artists participating in the exhibit are Sister Glynis Mary McManamon, RGS, Louisville, Kentucky; Mary Bird-Lowry, Huntingburg, Indiana; and Sharon Gill Kolasinski, South Bend, Indiana.
Icons in the exhibit represent a diversity of styles, ranging from traditional egg tempera and gold leaf on wood panel to the contemporary medium of acrylic on canvas. Sister Jeana works in acrylic and gold leaf on canvas. Her icons in the exhibit include images of Jesus Christ Savior, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Vladimir Mother of God, and the Holy Family.
Icons were originally painted by artists in monasteries in the Eastern Church, where they are an integral part of church architecture and worship. Appropriate subjects for representation in icons include saints, the Virgin Mary, and depictions of narratives from the Bible. Icons are considered to be windows into the realm of the spirit, inviting the viewer to contemplation and prayer.
A reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, May 17, at 7 p.m. CDT (8 p.m. EDT) in the archabbey library. The artists will discuss the spirituality of the icon tradition and how it relates to their work.
The library exhibit is free and open to the public. Library hours (listed as Central time) are Monday, 8 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 8 a.m.–noon, 1–5 p.m., and 7:30–9 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m.; Saturday, 9–11 a.m. and 1–5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1–5 p.m. The library will be closed May 10 for graduation and May 26 for Memorial Day. Those wishing to view the exhibit may want to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time.
A northern Illinois native, Sister Jeana says that she “grew up loving art” and was particularly drawn to portraiture. She attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, with a major in religious studies and courses in art history, and spent a junior semester researching pilgrimage and studying art history in Rome. She entered Monastery Immaculate Conception in 2003 and made her first profession in 2006. She currently teaches theology at Providence Junior–Senior High School in Clarksville, Indiana.
When Sister Jeana began painting icons several years ago, she discovered that iconography built on her love of portraiture. Since then, she has been studying the history, technique, and spirituality of creating and praying with icons. She believes that painting icons is part of a lifelong calling.
Sister Jeana Visel is one of four artists whose icons will be on display at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey Library Gallery, St. Meinrad, Indiana, May 2 through June 3. 