A smiling Ignatius -- how nice.

Adsum: Contemporary Paintings on Ignatian Spirituality
May 16, 2010 - June 18, 2010
The Xavier University Art Gallery
Located at the A.B. Cohen Center
1658 Herald Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45207

Watch Holly's interview about Adsum with Xavier University by clicking here.

Did you see Holly's article in Company Magazine? You can download the article in pdf form by clicking here.

You can visit their website by clicking here.

Below are some paintings from Holly's new show. If you are interested in purchasing your own book of Adsum, please click here.

"These paintings represent my interpretation of the mission of St. Ignatius Loyola. They incorporate all I know and feel about my life as a Catholic and as an artist. The process of creating this body of work has taken me almost three years in which I have been continuously supported by the Xavier University Community. My research for the exhibition included completing the Spiritual Exercises with Darrell Burns, S.J. and attending the 2008 Ignatian Pilgrimage led by Tom Landy, Director of the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture at Holy Cross University."

Adsum
Contemporary paintings on Ignatian spirituality As an alumna of a Jesuit school, artist Holly Schapker of Cincinnati, Ohio, already had a familiarity and an understanding of who St. Ignatius Loyola was and of Ignatian spirituality. After she graduated from Xavier University with a major in Art, Schapker continued her painting education with a strong focus on painting outdoor scenes. It was only after she completed the Spiritual Exercises with Fr. Darrell Burns, SJ, and attended an Ignatian pilgrimage led by Tom Landy, Director of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at College of the Holy Cross, that Schapker knew she wanted to create a series of paintings based on the life of St. Ignatius.

“These paintings represent my interpretation of the mission of St. Ignatius. They incorporate all I know and all I feel about my life as a Catholic and an alumna of a Jesuit university,” said Schapker. “The process of creating this body of work based on Ignatius Loyola has taken me almost three years to complete and is derived from my interpretation as a contemporary American woman of Ignatius Loyola’s life, mission, and Spiritual Exercises.” Large oils on canvas—the Montserrat Landscape, the largest, is 6 by 4 ft.—they include unique textures created by actual maps, leaves, or twigs.

The exhibition is titled Adsum, Latin for “Here I am.” The expression is gleaned from Mary’s response to the annunciation event, when the angel Gabriel asked her consent to become the mother of God’s son. Mary’s yes is understood in her open and faith-filled response, “[Here] I am, the Lord’s handmaid. Let it be done to me as you say.” “Not a word that is well translated in the English language, “Adsum” means being in astate of mind where the person is completely available and willing to serve God,” said Schapker. “St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises allowed me to approach this state in my painting studio and outside of it.”

Schapker’s work will be on display at the Sixth Heartland-Delta Triennial Conference from May 25–28 at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Hundreds of faculty, staff, and administrators from the network of the 12 Jesuit colleges and universities within the Midwest and Delta provinces will be in attendance. Held since 1994, the conference aims to engage higher education professionals in animating the Jesuit mission in today’s world. This year’s theme, “The World is Our House: Looking Within and Beyond Our Walls,” focuses on the globalization of society and its ever-changing realities on Jesuit campuses.