Art Show + Book Release with Matt Rawle (Aug. 27)
Matt Rawle wrote a book. I made some art. And we're going to get together at the beautiful, newly renovated RAW thestudio. across from Ki Mexico in Shreveport, LA next month to share it all! Come out for an art exhibit, book reading, and engaging conversation then take the party over to Ki for dinner and drinks if that's you're thing.
Full event description:
In Jesus Revealed: The I Am Statements in the Gospel of John, pastor and author Matt Rawle explores the "I Am" statements in John as works of art that resonate throughout the Gospel and all of Scripture. Light. Bread. Way. Life. The Gospel of John uses these and other symbols to paint a picture of who Jesus is. Matt shows us how these words point beyond themselves to the deep mystery of Jesus Christ. In keeping with the artistic use of symbolism in John's Gospel, Matt Rawle asked Louisiana-based artist Sarah Duet what the “I Am” statements looked like to her as a creator.
While there are myriad ways to read John’s gospel, it remains most compelling to Sarah as a work of literature—a brilliantly crafted text infused with Jewish mysticism and the influence of Greek philosophy. John is, to her, a universal invitation to vitality, depth of experience, and awareness of our interconnection. Matt shared this quote by Craig Koester early in their creative process: ‘The characters in John’s Gospel are a prism that breaks up the pure light of Jesus’ remote epiphany into colors the reader can see.’ Sarah was inspired by this image of a prism refracting light to reveal multifaceted realities in a way that we can understand. It lends itself well to the geometric abstraction technique that she often uses in painting, and Sarah decided to title her 6-painting series REFRACTIONS in response to this prismatic dynamic.
The artist had this to say about the project: "It was liberating to pursue this expression outside the limits of language, without the words that so often carry a weight of certainty that they were never meant to hold. I hope these paintings are accessible to everyone—whether you simply feel drawn to them visually or you are more interested in the texts that inspired them. Ultimately, I returned to Lewis Hyde’s assertion that, ‘Every mystery needs its image.’ as a mantra while making this work. These are the images I could offer at this time in response to the mysteries at hand.”
Learn more about my painting series here.