News Release from Pyx Sutherland

We would like to share this news release written by Roberta Pyx Sutherland. We hope you will be enriched by experiencing her contemplative Lenten works.

News Release 

The upcoming exhibition AS ABOVE SO BELOW ll will exhibit the work of artist Roberta Pyx Sutherland at the Chapel Gallery, St. Matthias Church. 

This exhibition will mark the season of Lent and is a departure from more familiar Good Friday traditions. Here the artist’s references to the Christian story are distilled and contemporary.  The installation draws inspiration from Buddhism as well as mystical Christianity. The pieces are monochromatic and focus on the circle as potent symbol. The work is not decorative but invites contemplation. Sutherland evokes the numinous through meditative ink drawings.

It was a bold move for the church and Rev. Meagan Crosby-Shearer to renovate the chapel into a gallery but from the community response of more than a hundred people attending the artist talks at Gallery openings it’s a welcome addition to  Victoria’s exhibition venues. Overt Christian themes are not requested but instead the work of artists who rely on some aspect of their spiritual practice for inspiration.

This criteria completely applies to Pyx Sutherland’s work. Her years of Zen study led to the practice of spontaneously painted ink circles which have now come to include Christian symbology. In this installation, ‘As Above So Below’, she walks the line where symbolism and abstraction intersect. The result is a unique vision. It offers a re-boot, if you will, on the observance of Lent.

The opening will begin with an artist talk at 5:30 March 15 with refreshments being served. The exhibition continuesuntil April 19. Chapel Gallery hours: Tuesday Thursday Saturday 10-2p.m.