From "The Daily Cross" to "A Door A Day"

Gallery 135 is exhibiting all 366 photographs from my Daily Cross project starting on March 23.  Artists nationwide and from ten countries worldwide have been participating and will be on display until the end of April.  This project has been well loved and was on display during the season of lent. It also greatly enhanced the Good Friday Meditation Service.

The Daily Cross project gave me an incentive to watch my surroundings more closely.  After the project was finished I longed for the discipline of looking for a perfect object to photograph.  So on January first, I started a new project called A Door A Day.  Again I am posting one picture every day (this time of a door) on Facebook and I am leaving Sundays open for contributions of friends and visitors worldwide.  If you are interested in participating, please email your photograph to liebmanng@yahoo.com and observe the many doors that are already on display at A Door A Day

Doors and gates do say a lot. They all lead to somewhere.  I hope to convey that Jesus is the door. No matter how the door looks to us from the outside, it is through Him that we enter the kingdom of God.

The Cross in a Beijing Gallery

My third trip to China was phenomenal.  The first stop was in Guangzhou, one of China’s southern cities, where I taught several art classes in Christian schools.  Once again, it was very exciting to see how hungry the young people of China are for opportunities to express the redemptive work of Christ in creative ways.  I was also delighted when I found out that the principal of one of the schools, who had befriended me during an earlier trip, was opening up an artist salon.  I was invited to share at the opening about the special role of the Christian artist in society.  A dozen local artists attended. The discussion that followed was very engaging – and it definitely challenged my interpreter!

 

After Guangzhou, I flew to Beijing where I set up my exhibit at a gallery in the 798 “art zone.”  798 is a bit like New York City’s Soho was in the 70’s.  Factories that used to make ammunition have been converted into art galleries.  It’s a very cool place with a vibrant atmosphere and lots of artistic activity.

 

The exhibit featured my "Stations of the Cross" banners and my "Flavor of Salt" installation.  Attendance at the opening was great, with a half-and-half mix of Christians and non-Christians.  There were also representatives from the press and China’s diplomatic corps.  

On the last day of the exhibit, I gave a lecture and then took questions from the group.  There was lots of interest in the connection between faith and art.

This all was made possible by George, a Chinese art critic and curator that I met through a mutual friend online.

The Stations of the Cross

The Flavor of Salt

After the lecture

A Creche on Main Street

 

Peace on Earth, detail, Luke 2:14

Garmany is a luxury retail clothier in downtown Red Bank, NJ.  James Yarosh Associates Fine Art Gallery uses the display windows of Garmany as public art space and exhibits original fine art by selected artists.  My artwork will be displayed in those windows from November 8, 2012 to February 28, 2013.

Since this display will be up through the Christmas season, I decided to create twelve 90"x11" encaustic monotype banners based on the gospel narrative.  It is very exciting to have the opportunity to create art with a Christological theme for a public commercial space.  Here is a little preview with details from two of the banners.

Census, detail, Luke 2:1-3

The Daily Cross

My new book is out!  You can choose from a hard cover, paper back or eBook version. Eighty pages.

The Daily Cross by Gerda Liebmann | Make Your Own Book

A 60-Second Year

So now the year of “Daily Crosses” is complete.  Looking back on all the crosses that I found—in nature, on buildings, and in so many mundane places—I have this new sense of Christ being everywhere.  It’s a great feeling.

 

I also love how this project engaged my friends and acquaintances from all over the world who commented on my daily Facebook postings and even contributed photos themselves.  If you’re one of those people, thanks for participating.

 

Here is a video that shows all 366 crosses in one minute.  I hope you enjoy it.  I am also making a book for those of you who want to look at all the photographs at a more leisurely pace.  Let me know if you’d like a copy!

The Stations of the Cross

As is appropriate for Lent, the theme of the next exhibit at Red Bank Community Church will be the Stations of the Cross.The Stations have been a traditional theme of Christian art for centuries। Of the traditional stations, only eight have a clear scriptural foundation. Pope John Paul II, however, introduced a set of scriptural Stations in 1991 that align with the gospel accounts. This opens up the Stations as a devotional model to a broader range of Christians.

I am curating the show and have invited artists from across the country to create pieces based on the scriptural Stations. Through their works, these artists facilitate our contemplation of and connection with the suffering of Christ. So, in addition to having a conventional exhibit opening, we are also going to open up the space for a meditation service on the evening of Good Friday.

The piece that I am contributing to the exhibit consists of fourteen long, narrow banners that hang on the wall and gently roll onto the floor. At the foot of each banner is a pillow where visitors can kneel and reflect on each station. I made these banners by painting on a hot box with encaustic paints and then making a mono print on Japanese Kozo paper. You can see this process in the video above.

I invite you all to come to the exhibit and consider the great suffering that Jesus endured on our behalf. The exhibit opening is on Saturday, March 31 from 3-5PM at 135 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, NJ. The reflection service will be on Good Friday, April 6, 6-8 PM. Additional exhibit viewing hours will be held during the entire month of April on Wednesdays 6-7 PM and on Sundays 12-1 PM.

Lit

In the winter months, I long for light. This is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder—which has a very apt acronym: SAD.

This is why December is the perfect time to reflect on Advent, which is when we look forward to the incarnation of Christ, our Light. We decorate our homes with countless lights in an effort to make the darkness bearable. But every little dot of light is really an expression of our hope for the true Light of the World.

We look back 2000 years to when Jesus came from heaven to earth, which we remember by celebrating Christmas. But that is not the end of the story. Jesus then made a way for us. He taught us the truth and showed us what the perfect light of love is like. He died on the cross to redeem us from our own darkness. And now Jesus lives in us. His light is being multiplied as we become countless dots of light in the world.

We also have the hope that there will be a time when there will be no darkness anymore, not even a shadow. In the New Jerusalem, the presence of Jesus will be brilliant and eternal. No more SAD! Maranatha!

Currently I have an exhibit at The Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank, NJ. It is called “Lit.” I am showing light painting photographs. This video premiered at the opening:

http://youtu.be/Rd-vIhWCcbI