Past Exhibitions SLU

Browse the chronological list of past exhibitions at the 老司机福利网 Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCRA), or search for a specific exhibition. Click 鈥淰iew鈥� for more information about an exhibition. If you need further information about an exhibition, please contact us.

Name

Steven Heilmer: Pietre Sante | Holy Stones

Dates

February 7, 1997 to March 16, 1997

Description

Expertly carved in Carrara and Vermont marble, the sculptures of Steven Heilmer juxtapose raw stone with highly finished sculpted fabric. In a dramatic partnering of surfaces, the 鈥渃loth鈥� variously presents, wraps, confines, conceals and reveals roughly hewn marble, tangibly evoking the mystery of the Incarnation and the humanity of the Word-made-flesh.

Rock is . . . 鈥渢he bone under the flesh of soil in the body of the earth. . . .鈥�

Michelle Stuart, Return to the Silent Garden

Heilmer draws on an Eastern perspective both in his handling of his medium and in the points of entry he offers to visitors. For instance, cushions around his Pietastone/Meditation on the Last Temptation invite visitors to come to floor level and spend time with the work.

Heilmer draws inspiration and insight from a variety of theological and literary sources, seeking dialogue with mythical and archetypal meanings in addition to the Judeo-Christian tradition.

I was a stone; mysterious stone; my breach was a violent one,
聽聽聽my birth like a wounding estrangement,
but now I should like to return to that certainty, to the place of the center,
聽聽聽the matrix of mothering stone.

Pablo Neruda, Skystones

Steven Heilmer is a highly respected sculptor and educator. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Minnesota, and he has taught at the University of Minnesota, Brooklyn College, Bethel College, and Greenville College. Mr. Heilmer was the recipient of the 1995/1996 Arts Midwest/NEA Visual Arts Fellowship. In 1997 Mr. Heilmer was selected to create a sculpture titled Gratia Plena for Seattle University鈥檚 St. Ignatius Chapel, designed by noted architect Steven Holl.

A rough-hewn stone is a repository for the soul intended to evoke that image which lives within the stone. It is both spirit and spirit's dwelling place. | Abram Tertz

above:
Installation view of Steven Heilmer: Pietre | Sante at MOCRA, 1997. Photo by Jeffrey Vaughn.

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