Exhibition in Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington DC, USA)

Living Tradition:
Icons for the Liturgical Year by Philip Davydov & Olga Shalamova

Location: Dadian Gallery, Wesley Theological Seminary
(4500 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington DC, USA)

Opening: 10.00 AM on Tuesday 17th of June 2014

Reception & Artists Talks:
Tuesday, July 15, 4:30 5:30 (light refreshments)
Tuesday, September 16, 12:00 1:30 p.m. (buffet lunch)

Closing: 19th of September 2014

Press release:

The Dadian Gallery sparkles with 35 lovingly-created icons that have been transported from Russia to Washington, DC. The practice of representing holy beings on a flat panel, functioning as instruments of instruction, veneration or worship, has existed since early Christian times as far back as the 2 nd century. Iconographers Philip Davydov and Olga Shalamova have devoted their lives to researching, assimilating, fabricating, extending and reinterpreting this time-honored Orthodox Christian tradition.

The couple has produced more than 200 icons, which reflect centuries-old theological vocabulary and requisite mastery of the ancient, laborious egg tempera painting technique. Yet the artworks of Davydov and Shalamova are not merely a reiteration of standardized types; they succeed in effectively translating a visual language so that it is eloquently comprehensible to contemporary viewers. By turns narrative or ministerial, subtle or abstract, painterly or graphic, each icon is a unique undertaking, a specific realization. The presence of these modern icons in the gallery provides viewers with the opportunity to select and connect with a single, solitary image that may become a powerful conduit for an individual encounter with the face of holiness.

Philip Davydov and Olga Shalamova were born in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Philip learned his trade from his father, an orthodox priest and iconographer, at a time when any Christian art in the Soviet Union was considered “religious propaganda,” and artists might have been punished for painting an icon as though committing a crime. A graduate of State Academic Institute of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg (Russia), Philip met and married Olga, a museum professional there. Together they founded Sacred Murals Studio, which has created icons and frescoes for Christian churches of different denominations in the U.S. and Russia. Since 2004, Philip and Olga have been teaching icon painting as a series of courses in Australia, Canada, Russia and the United States.

The exhibition and gallery talks on July 15 and September 16 are free and open to the public. The gallery is located at 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., in the Kresge Academic Building on the campus of Wesley Theological Seminary. Regular hours are Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and by appointment. The gallery is closed weekends and holidays, and will also be closed August 1 – 24.

The Dadian Gallery is a program of The Henry Luce III

See the PDF version of press-release HERE >>