“The Paintings of Chapel Americana”, by Dean Radinovsky, to show at Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown Manhattan

Through May 13, 2012

 

Saint Peter’s Church

619 Lexington Avenue (at 54th Street), New York, NY

 

Opening Reception:  Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 5pm-8pm  Free and open to the public.

Hours:  Daily, 9 am to 7 pm (sometimes later depending on church schedule)

 

In the years 2006 to 2008 Dean Radinovsky built a small Chapel in his art studio, then located in the old Artkraft Strauss building on 57th Street and 12th Avenue.  The piece was an artwork and non-denominational meditative space, a work of spiritual architecture inspired by the small family chapels and cave chapels in Crete.  In 2010 the building housing the studio was torn down, but the painted panels that formed the east, west, and south walls of the Chapel were salvaged.

 

From March 28 through May 13, the paintings will be on display at Saint Peter’s Church, including “Chapel Pastorale”, a twelve by fifteen foot atmospheric abstract canvas that once hung just outside the chapel door.

 

“For a time, the painted walls of the Chapel will have a new life (appropriately over Easter) in a new, more public, context.  In a sense, given the generous space of St. Peter’s gallery walls, they become museum pieces, but unlike the altarpieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they are now housed in a (non-secular) spiritual space. 

It is appropriate that St. Peter’s is the “Jazz Church” of New York.  The paintings were done to a constant soundtrack of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Max Roach, Charles Mingus, and many other classic and contemporary jazz artists.  (J.S. Bach, too.)”    

 

--Dean Radinovsky

 

Note:  WNYC did an excellent short video piece of the life of the Chapel.  To view the video, use this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVH4Wtu6AEY

 

These paintings were made possible by a studio space grant from Chashama, a non-profit arts organization that provides subsidized space to create for artists throughout New York City (www.chashama.org).

 

Exhibitions at Saint Peter’s Church are presented by MIDTOWN ARTS COMMON.

 

For more information, contact:

 

Saint Peter’s Church:  (212) 935-2200

or

 

Dean Radinovsky: 

contact@deanradinovsky.org

(917) 584-3244

www.deanradinovsky.org