For almost a year and a half, the Saint Meinrade Archabbey Library Gallery has been closed for renovations. But, now is the time for a re-birth! The Gallery will reopen on October 7th with an exhibit of prints by St. Louis artist William Frank.
The exhibit, entitled “Via Dolorosa and Drawn Small,” will run from October 7 through December 4, 2023.
This exhibit brings together two bodies of the artist’s work. In his studio practice, Frank creates work designed for a specific site and community as in the “Via Dolorosa” series commissioned for the chapel of SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. “Drawn Small” exemplifies more personal work that involves his immediate family.
The fourteen stations in the “Via Dolorosa” series depict the chief scenes of Christ’s suffering and death. Each print combines a scene of Christ with an image sourced from the archives of Saint Louis University and SSM. These include diagnostic medical images such as X-rays. There is a person and a history in each image—a child who falls from a tricycle, a man shot in the spine, a woman losing vision to macular degeneration. In this way, the local community and its afflictions become the landscape in which Christ’s suffering and sacrifice unfolds. To the patients and caregivers who visit the hospital chapel, these stations provide a reminder that anyone suffering is united with Christ.
For more information call (812) 357-6401 or (800) 987-7311, or visit the Archabbey Library’s website: www.saintmeinrad.edu/library/hours/.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Those wishing to view the exhibit may want to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time.
