WELCOME! All visitors are welcome to view the art in our gallery. We exhibit art with the mission to enhance our spiritual growth and expand our faith by experiencing the transcendent power of the arts.
SPRING 2021 Rooted in Beauty Sunday Forum, May 23, 2021. View by clicking here.
FALL 2019 TEXTILE SHOW:
Gloria Dei textile artists Gallery filled the Gallery and the display cases with their beautiful creations.
Colorful quilt is part of our Fall 2019 Textile Show.
RECENT ART ADDITIONS
Six crosses by internationally known local artist James Quentin Young were recently given to Gloria Dei by Luther Seminary. These are currently displayed in the glass cases on the lower level. Information about the gift and the artist is included in the case. Artist’s page In-depth article
Three Janet McKenzie photographic prints are now on displayed on the lower level across from the Library. See our blog’s feature on these works. The artist’s comments about the works will be displayed near them soon (Summer 2019).
ART CALENDAR
2019
2019 Art Committee Annual Report
September – October Members’ Textile Show
March 4 – May 21 “Lest We Forget” / Sandra Brick
This powerful show is in the gallery through May 21. At the March 17 Sandra Brick presented her show, which translates Fred Amram’s stories about his early life in Nazi Germany and then as a refugee in the USA into powerful visual art. Mr. Amram was present and signed copies of his book, We’re in America Now.
For more information on the show, visit www.LestWeForgetExhibit.
January 7 – February 24: Saint Paul Paintings by Jeanne Kosfeld
Painting primarily with water-based media Jeanne Kosfeld’s body of work also includes newspaper design, board game design, sculptures in ice, polymer and living matter.
Being raised in a family of artists Jeanne began her career as an illustrator/cartoonist. Along her artistic path she led the design department at the University of Alaska where she taught magazine design. At the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota she was the creative director/designer for eighteen years before retiring to become a full-time painter.
Jeanne has been honored with artist-in-residences in France; Colorado; Arkansas; Minnesota; Wisconsin; California. She recently attended the International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Portugal. Next fall Jeanne will be the artist-in-residence in Juneau, Alaska.
Jeanne Kosfeld show 2019 (poster)
2018
Glorious River! our new installation
We invite you to come and see the new permanent art acquisition now installed above the fireplace in the Colonial Room! Annie Hejny, whose art was featured in the Gallery last Spring in her show “Rivers to Change,“used Mississippi River water and sediment as the painting medium. The Art Committee commissioned her to created this just for Gloria Dei.
Annie described her unusual process and discussed her painting, which she has titled “Glorious River,” at the November 18 Sunday Forum, in Fellowship Hall. After her we’ll walk back to view the new piece! Please join us to learn about this unique and creative work.
Glorious River Reveal! – Annie Hejny / Rivers of Change
November show: Carolyn Kleinberger / Strong Women of the Bible
Artist Carolyn Kleinberger portrays strong women in the Bible in paintings; her charcoal studies appear next to the final paintings. Along the upper walkway are her images of the environment in biblical times. Originally scheduled to end January 2, 2019, the artist withdrew her show at the end of November. Kleinberger Art Show Ends Early
September-October: Jon Solinger photography
An exhibit of works by photographer Jon Solinger. Here are some of Jon’s remarks about his work:
Working Land unearths meaning behind rural landscapes and explores how human labor transforms the land, and in turn, the land shapes the life of the worker. The exhibit helps us understand how our workplaces reveal who we are.
People who live and work in my rural Otter Tail County neighborhood gain an intimacy with a place by deriving—or aspiring to derive—some livelihood from it and by leading lives in contact with natural processes. They dwell in long-term relationships with rural landscapes and ways of work—sometimes by choice, sometimes by birth—with their centers of balance inclined toward the natural world. My ancestry, like that of many others here, includes lives spent working their home plots of land. These personal and universal roots inspired this project.
Seeing beautifully considered images of a farmer in work clothes or against a fertile landscape or a “portrait” of an animal or machine elevates the idea of the everyday rural workplace. They help viewers to see art as more than luxury, collectible or decoration but rather as an honest and heartfelt expression of who we are, how we work and where we work.
2017-2018 EXHIBITS
Summer 2018: no exhibits during the summer
March-May 2018 – Annie Hejny / Rivers to Change
January-February 2018 – Prodigal Son / Selected reproductions on loan from Luther Seminary Archives
http://www.luthersem.edu/art/search.aspx
2017
2017 Annual Report
September – December: Congregation Member Show
Informal reception October 22 between services (9:30-10:30 am). The exhibit featured works by 17 member artists of all ages, and in various media, and will be up through December. An informal reception was held on October 22 between 9:30-10:30 as an opportunity to enjoy special treats and meet the artists and learn more about the artistic visions they’ve shared with us.
Guatemalan Art: La Ultima Cena (The Last Supper)
Our newest permanent art acquisition, La Última Cena (The Last Supper), was painted by a member of the Reanda family in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. The original oil painting was selected by members of Gloria Dei who traveled to Guatemala last fall. The artist gave Gloria Dei permission to photograph and enlarge the painting for use in our sanctuary. This stunning and colorful interpretation of the Lord’s supper helps us to experience communion as a global celebration of the Easter meal, as well as honors our long-term relationship with the mission in San Lucas Tolimán and our partner communities with the Augustinian Lutheran Church in Guatemala (ILAG). The altar hanging will grace the sanctuary until Advent. The original is to hang in the Fellowship Hall. The Art Committee covered the cost of the painting and the framing (a special thanks to Liz for managing the framing and installation work). Thank you to Eric Lecy and Millie Northcott for their work to photograph and enlarge the art for the altar banner.
View the altar banner in Flickr
Sketch & Write on hiatus: The Art Committee began sponsoring a monthly meeting: an evening Sketch & Write launched on Wednesday, October 5, 2016. This was a time for anyone interested to get together informally to draw, paint or write in the company of others (no critiques and no formal discussion). We are currently considering possible changes to the arrangements. If you want to comment, please contact Susan Gangl. We hope the Art Committee can sponsor a sketching workshop during Summer 2019 taught by Jeanne Kosfeld. No art background required!
Art Exhibits and Events 2003-present
ABOUT THE GALLERY
The Gallery hosts three to four art exhibits each year, and provides a welcoming space on the lower level, west end. If you would like to visit the Art Gallery at times other than Sunday mornings, please contact the church office before you come, to be sure that the building will be accessible upon your arrival. Call 651-699-1378. Thank you!
Artists wishing to exhibit here may contact Susan Gangl. All decisions are made by the Art Committee. View the gallery space here.
The Gloria Dei Art Committee’s mission is “to enhance our spiritual growth and expand our faith by experiencing the transcendent power of the arts.”
Here’s a list of our past shows since the Gallery was opened after a building renovation.
Behind the Scenes+
Below: Members got creative and colorful painting in a paper replica of a stained glass window in our Good Shepherd Chapel.
Art Project Rally Sunday 2014