Wisdom House . . . Art Gallery

Wisdom House will be installing new chapel windows designed by painter Hugh O'Donnell of Washington, CT. The title of the new window series will be "In Sophia's Garden." In the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery will be an exhibit of the process of the designing of the new windows.

Current Exhibit

In Sophia’s Garden,
Hugh O’Donnell
Show runs:
5/21/2006 ~ 12/31/2006
Creating a series of images for a whole room dedicated to meditation and contemplation is one of the best tasks a visual artist can undertake. The task was made even more exciting when it was clear that the inspiration of spiritual wisdom as understood by the Daughters of Wisdom was at the heart of the commission.

The designs provide a context in which to reflect on the order of nature as a reference that is constant and pervading all things.

The medium of the work is a combination of traditional painting in oil on canvas, digital manipulation and laminated glass technology.

There are very few examples of fine art deploying imagery in this way. The innovation opens the way for new uses of imagery beyond traditional stained glass.

My painting, over the past 15 years, has come to center on one main issue, i.e., the struggle for light and space going happening on every level of life. The struggle for light and space is a necessary condition for growth. Protecting life and creating the conditions for life is a central issue that unifies all belief in God.

Reading the Book of Wisdom has taken me beyond the idea of a contest between light and dark to something that transcends this. I particularly like the quote that refers to Sophia as ...”She is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light, she is found to superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but, against wisdom, evil does not prevail.” (Wisdom 7:29-30)