PAST EXHIBITION

Masters of Sacred Art

October 7, 2006—October 31, 2006

It is generally believed that the paintings found in a cave in Lascaux, France, were created some 14,000 years ago; that the time of Christ on earth dates back 2,000 years; and that St. Bede the Venerable, a Benedictine monk, lived in 8^th century England.

Using this historical data like a guidepost along the continuum of human artistic expression, JHS Gallery in Taos, New Mexico, presents Masters of Sacred Art, an exhibition of paintings that feature the work of Russell Lawson, Maria Angelica Gonzalez Davila and David Hewson.

"Each artist in the exhibition presents an in-depth view of a different aspect of sacred art, says Jodi Simmons, co-founder of JHS Gallery. In Russell Lawson''s ''Synthesis'', an iconographic Byzantine mosaic of Christ is surrounded by historical examples of the world''s great paintings. Ma. Angelica''s nine contemporary paintings of The Crucifixion'' are intense explorations of an historical event and its cosmic implications. The ''St. Bede Studies'' of David Hewson provide an in-depth look at the life of one manfrom the most elementary sketches to the challenging work of water gilding, all done using the techniques and processes of the Old Masters."

The center piece of the exhibition is Russell Lawsons From Lascaux to Picasso: A Synthesis. The seven-foot by nine-foot canvas in oil begins chronologically with the Lascaux cave paintings and weaves together the next 14,000 years with the work of 56 artists including Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Goya, Rembrandt, Cezanne, Dali, Chagall and Picasso. Two years in the making, Synthesis points to man''s innate dialogue with the sacred throughout history.

The shows next stop along the spiritual continuum comes through the work of Angelica Gonzalez Davila. A native of Mexico City, Ma. Angelica Gonzales Davilas work has a singular focusthe image of Christoften in a dazzling, layer-upon-layer contemporary style. Her paintings are in the collection of numerous churches and museums, including Plaza de las Ventas Museum in Madrid, Spain, and Parrish of La Esperanza de Maria, VI Vicaria Episcopal, Archidioceses of Mexico. Ms. Gonzalez Davila has recently been invited to show at the 2007 Florence Biennial International Contemporary Art Exhibition.

Original color sketches and drawings from David Hewsons masterwork the Life of St. Bede (which hangs in St. Bedes Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia) will complete the JHS show. Working in the style of the Old Masters, Mr. Hewson, who studied in Italy for several years, made hundreds of drawings for his seven-foot by nine-foot work and shows them here in a rare exhibition. Mr. Hewson will also deliver a gallery talk while in Taos.

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