2013 Angel Calendar is here.  12 new pieces part of a series of “pencil illuminations” are featured in a new larger format  6.5″ x 11″ — available in limited quantities for $15.  order yours here!

OPENING RECEPTION – Sept. 20, 4:30 -8:30 pm

Regular Hours: September through April

OPEN: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 2:00 – 6:00 PM

Closed: Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, Major Holidays and College Vacations:

Please contact us to verify hours since the Gallery may be closed for vacations or re-installations: 973-290-4315 or artgallery@cse.edu

“Reflecting on HOME” A Community Dialog

Dates & Time: Tuesday night: February 28,  from 7 – 8:30pm

Address: Christ Episcopal Church, Bloomfield/Glen Ridge, 74 Park Avenue, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028

Telephone: 973-743-5911

Email: ccinbgnj@verizon.net

Website: http://christchurchepiscopal.org/

Media Contact: Sophia Donarumo, (973) 699-3703

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An installation of paintings of angels for the Christmas holidays by Christina Saj can be found at Christ Church (Glen Ridge/Bloomfield) at 74 Park Ave Glen Ridge NJ 973.743.5911 www.christchurchepiscopal.org (December 20 – Feb 19, 2012.)

If you’d like to visit Monday – Friday 9am –4pm. or please call 973.743.5911

Center for Lifelong Learning

Columbia Theological Seminary

701 S Columbia Dr., Decatur, GA 30030

Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit
8:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M., Monday – Friday or by appointment
please call for holiday closings and more information 404-687-4577
or e-mail lifelonglearning@ctsnet.edu

FREE & Open to the Public

Works are editioned and available for sale. Exhibition brochure available here.
For purchase inquiries please contact 973-964-5310 or email here.

Giclée Prints

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Transfer Prints (edition of 25)

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“These pieces based in drawing and printmaking explore images inspired by angels, who protect and shelter us, inspire prayer and hopes for divine intervention. Negotiating the pitfalls of daily existence in contemporary life, I come to this series of drawings hoping for little glimpses of hope, comfort and understanding.

As in my paintings, my images explore stories with ancient roots that can enlighten our understanding of the world. They are not meant as simple illustrations, but rather, interpretations using modern vernacular. It seems only natural  that along with acknowledgement of ancient precepts, as contemporary artists we admit our modern influences. As our world evolves, our vocabulary shifts. It is my aim to share familiar themes in new and interesting ways. These pieces are meant as fluid explorations that are immediate and welcome counterpoint to the more laborious technique and rigid precepts I use when painting icons.”

Columbia Theological Seminary, located in Decatur, GA, was established in 1828 and is one of 10 theological institutions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The seminary offers seven graduate degree programs: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts (Theological Studies), Master of Arts in Practical Theology, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, Doctor of Educational Ministry, and Doctor of Theology in Pastoral Counseling. Currently 421 students are enrolled, representing 30 denominations, 34 states, and 10 countries. The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary is a center for vibrant, non-degree learning  where Christians are strengthened and transformed for ministry in the 21^st century  

Cerulean Blue Angel

An exhibition of paintings by Christina Saj
Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta
November 6, 2011 thru January 8, 2012

Artist’s Reception:  Tuesday, November 15th, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

hours | generally 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. or by appointment. Please call ahead FREE & Open to the Public

Works are available for sale.

For purchase inquiries please email me.

Paintings

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Illuminations

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Prints

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This exhibition will feature a collection works meant to elaborate on this year’s Advent theme “Wait, Watch and Wonder.” The artist whose work is often found in and exhibited in spiritual contexts explores narrative images inspired by her study of icon painting. Her work with congregations helps them experience, understand and experiment with an artistic practice in the context of ministry and especially in relation to the worship life of the church.  Her exhibition will run through January 8.

Saj’s works betray an easy familiarity with the formal elements of Byzantine icons which are part of her heritage as well as part of her early studies in painting. As her work has evolved, her new paintings assimilate hard edge abstraction, flat shapes of rich color and rich patterning in order to artfully juxtapose contemporary art and the methodologies and meanings associated with icon building. Using formal elements and familiar narratives from ancient works, Saj aims to develop a language which can resonate with church goers today making the images beautiful, fresh, and approachable. Recurring themes allow the artist to rework and reinvent familiar characters in new ways and to distill them to their essence. For this exhibition, her focus is the season of Advent. Works will include paintings, mixed media works on paper and prints. Her subjects will be familiar: The Annunciation, Wise Men Bearing Gifts, The Nativity, and Angels in all their guises. The characters in these stories have preoccupied artists for centuries.

“Saj’s great achievement is to create a kind of synthesis between these traditions, rather than simply borrow motifs or techniques of each.” – writes, Rachel Nicholls, in her recent book “Walking on Water” which includes analysis of Saj’s work specifically in relation to scripture.  [Nicholl’s writes] “She has creatively combined two spiritual artistic traditions and through them expressed a Christian narrative in a way in which is neither kitsch pastiche nor nostalgic reference but a ‘meant’ religious symbol. It is an intriguing postmodern achievement that has broken the bounds of each tradition (an abstract painting with a figure in it, an icon without a face) yet preserved and combined something of the heart of them.”

Christina Saj is a painter who lives and works in New Jersey. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence and an MFA from Bard College. Early in her career, she mastered the technique of Byzantine Icon painting. Her contemporary interpretations of icons have been widely exhibited including such venues as the American Bible Society, Union Theological Seminary, The Ukrainian Museum in New York, Museum of Cultural Heritage, Kiev Ukraine, the American Embassy in Qatar as well as at the White House. Her works reside in private and museum collections in the US and abroad.

Central Presbyterian Church is a downtown church that draws its membership from across the major metropolitan area. Sunday morning worship is a central aspect of congregational life. Enhanced by a fellowship luncheon each Sunday, worship is the principal gathering moment in each week for members, prospective members, and visitors and the primary occasion on which we establish, celebrate, and maintain community. In addition to our regular Sunday morning worship service, we also offer additional worship services. Central’s Liturgical Arts Guild encourages the creation of and use of visual art to transform and enhance worship spaces and experience. Regular art exhibits and workshops also help members explore the visual arts as a means of worship and expression of Christian faith. For more information please contact Dave Vandermeer, Director of Music & Fine Arts Ministries http://www.cpcatlanta.org/