March 1994

An exhibition of spiritual work.

	Christ oil on aluminum 24" x 20" 1991

OLD WORLD ICONS take contemporary form in Christina Saj's works of art.

Based on traditional icons -- which were paintings, mosaics and enamels of Christ, the Virgin Mary or saints, revered as sacred objects in Eastern Christendom -- Saj's work ranges from small pieces done on 10" x 10" tile to others measuring 3 feet by 4 feet.

Given titles such as "Christ," "Saint," "Mary Magdalene," "Holy Ghost," "Prophet," and "St. Nicholas" most are abstracts of the basic shapes of heads with halos, wings and other features of traditional icon subjects.

Holy Ghost oil on wood 8" x 10" 1994 Bachynsky Collection, New Jersey

The Sarah Lawrence College graduate, who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts at Bard College, studied in Italy, at Oxford University in England, and with [Petro] Cholodny for three years.

Saj said she learned egg tempera technique and the Orthodox precepts of iconography from Cholodny. She explained that egg tempera is pure pigment that is ground with an emulsion of egg and water and sometimes oil. Egg tempera was sometimes used by artists before the invention of oil paints.

	God the Father oil on wood 8" x 10" 1994 C. Reed Collection, Pennsylvania

Saj also works with wood, metal, collage and mixed media. She said the series of icons in the exhibit "are entirely contemporary works, yet are based on traditional Byzantine canons, and therefore recognizable as modern renderings of venerable objects of worship.

"Icons are religious paintings in the Eastern Christian Church," she noted "and in response to Jewish and early Christian fear of idolatry, representations of personages were formalized, stylized, dignified and detached, expressing a sense of other worldliness.

Saint mixed media on metal 22" x 28" 1991

"One is not supposed to look at sacred pictures, but rather look through them, ascending mentally and spiritually from image to prototype. It is my aim to create a series of icons in the modern vernacular" Saj said.

She added, "I want them to be entirely contemporary works yet based on traditional Byzantine canons so as to be sufficiently recognizable to today's faithful as objects of worship. They must have a mystical quality which is conveyed through their stylized cartoon, rich colors and intricate rhythms."

	Crucifixion collage 10" x 14" 1993	Chalice collage 10" x 14" 1993

Saj said her 1991 series of works done on pieces of metal "reduced visages of their subjects... Christ, Madonna and Child, Warrior Saint... to their simplest geometric forms, circles and squares, with subtle changes in texture and color accents used to define their character."

Soldier Saint mixed media on metal 22" x 28" 1991

"Because the series was produced in the late 20th century, they tend to be spiritual rather than religious," Saj said.

In her most recent works, like "Amazing Grace" and "Jonah in the Belly of the Beast," Saj said " I try to present a series of images, often entirely abstract, and invite the viewer to look through them and imagine a state of mind and recreate parables.

	Jonah in the Belly of the Beast oil on canvas 36" x 48" 1994

"My hope is to engage the viewer's imagination as much as to please his eye," she said. "I'm simplifying the most basic forms of icons."

Saj said it takes several coats of paint to achieve the rich color found in much of her work, and though she said she likes to work with colors, there are traditional Byzantine rules about icons that she feels she has to follow for some of her pieces.

Amazing Grace oil on wood 12" x 16" 1994

She said the head of Christ in the exhibit is "modern but according to Byzantine precepts. The mantle for Christ is always blue, the cloak is always red and He's only in white after the Resurrection."

"Basically, I'm working out of a rigid structure and making it contemporary" Saj added. She said that makes her pieces in the exhibit "more acceptable" to my audience. "I love the modernists like Paul Klee, Henri Matisse and Vassily Kandinsky."

Saj noted the traditional icons "tend to be quite small. They're small and sort of precious. They're very personal and intimate -- people used them to pray. They're traditional things that sort of draw you in. They're very rich in colors and metallics."

Resurrection oil on canvas 21" x 19" 1993

Some of the more whimsical aspects of Saj's work can be seen in her use of actual metal grates like those used for radiator covers as the "canvas" for several pieces.

Another favorite of Saj's are human X-rays. X-ray parts can be found in some of her works if a viewer looks closely.

Hope oil on wood 12" x 16" 1994 Forsythe Collection, Pennsylvania

"I tend to sort of build my paintings. For icons, I lay down flat colors like watercolors, with as much as 15 coats. It's a slow process. I cut out shapes, pick out the highlights... You work from the darkest to the lightest... -- the opposite from other paintings," Saj said.

She added, "I have a very strong aesthetic sense. I want to make a beautiful painting that people will want to hang in their homes and live with."

The Norbert Considine Gallery is located at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, 1200 Stuart Road.

-- From "Beyond Ambition; More abstract thinking applied to old world Icons" by Lisa Peterson; Star-Ledger, March, 1994