Currently on display at Patmos Art Center at the Community of Jesus in Orleans, Massachusetts, Through Light, the third artistic collaboration between Filippo Rossi and Susan Kanaga CJ explores imagery of light within the context of abstract sacred art.
Reflections, Susan Kanaga CJ and Filippo Rossi. Acrylic, gold leaf, wax, polystyrene, and gold smalti, 2017.
“The central piece, Reflections, shows three works in harmonious conversation: a Trinity imagined in two and three dimensional form. The weathered gold-encrusted block placed upon the ground alludes to Christ. Always calling us to himself, Christ desires each of the faithful to take a physical and spiritual step toward him—a commitment to follow in a new way of life in him. For he is the chief cornerstone, “a lamp to my feet” (Psalm 119:105).
The sparkling light of the clear plexiglass and gold mosaic within the hanging sculpture hints at the Holy Spirit, whose light guides us as we journey in faith toward our Heavenly Father, as is suggested by the gold and black circle placed on a rectangular white surface. Embracing the sufferings of Christ and following in the clarity of the Holy Spirit, one steps humbly toward God and eternal life in him.” —from the Through Light catalog
Artists’ Bios
Susan Kanaga has been a member of the Community of Jesus since 1983. She has studied the art of mosaic in Ravenna with Alessandra Caprara, of “Mosaici Antichi e Moderni,” and helped realize the mosaic pavement of the Church of the Transfiguration, at Orleans, MA. In 2004, Susan Kanaga was commissioned to design a creation cycle for stone sculpture for the Atrium of the Church of the Transfiguration. Susan has collaborated with Italian and American publishers for cover designs and has exhibited at the Mount Tabor Ecumenical Centre for Art and Spirituality in Barga (Italy) and Orleans, MA. Susan currently lives in Lucca, Italy, working in collaboration with Filippo Rossi and focusing her studio work on non-figurative sacred art. Visit her website at: www.susanskanaga.com
Filippo Rossi has been exhibiting since 1994 and has worked as a site specific artist for private and public patrons. His works are in museums and collections both in Italy and abroad. He was the youngest of the artists invited to the audience with Pope Benedict XVI in the Sistine Chapel in 2009. In 2011, he was invited by the Florence Cathedral Foundation to take part in the competition for a pulpit for the Cathedral. In 2012, he accepted the invitation from the Derix Glass Studio in Frankfurt (Germany) to collaborate with their technicians in translating some of his paintings into stained glass. He conducts workshops in the United States and Italy. Visit his website at: www.artfree.it.