Christina Saj

Christina Saj
Chryssa Saj
Born1967
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
NationalityUkrainian-American
EducationSarah Lawrence College, BA, 1988, Bard College, MFA, 1992
Known forContemporary spiritual and religious icons
Websitechristinasaj.com

Christina Saj (/saɪ/; Ukrainian: Христина Сай; born 1967) is a Ukrainian American artist living and working in New Jersey.[1] She is best known for her paintings bridging traditional Byzantine iconography and contemporary art.[2] She has created icons in the modern vernacular, that are neither pastiche, nor nostalgic reference, but rather a meant religious symbol.[3]

Biography

Christina Saj is a first generation American, whose family emigrated to the US after World War II from Ternopil, Ukraine.[1] Saj was born in Syracuse, New York and grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, where she returned after completing her undergraduate and graduate studies.[4]

Education and early career

Saj earned a BA in Fine Art in 1988 from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville NY, followed by an MFA in Painting from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College, Annandale on Hudson in 1992;[5] she also studied Byzantine Art History at Wadham College, Oxford University,[6] and spent time at SACI in Florence, Italy.[7] Early in her career she learned traditional techniques of icon painting using egg tempera (a medium that employs pure pigment ground with an emulsion of egg and water) on a ground of levkas, while studying precepts of Byzantine Iconography with Petro Cholodny the Younger, whose icons can be found in Lourdes, Rome and in NY.[4]

Despite traditional training, Saj has often used found or unconventional materials in her work such as wood, metal, glass, collage elements and mixed media. Her works are based on traditional prototypes and therefore can be recognized as venerable objects of worship.[4]

Style and technique

Saj is a prolific artist who is equally comfortable producing intimate work and large scale painting in an architectural context.[8] In her 1997 solo exhibition “Remembering Myth” Saj explored the realization that all cultures search for spiritual meaning and thus began to pursue universal symbols with broad spiritual concepts.[9]

Saj's work features strong compositions, an ambitious palette that takes delight in decorative effects and ornamentation.[8] Her two-dimensional works merge representation with abstraction to create mystical spaces. She imbues the work with influences from traditional folk art, Ukrainian embroidery patterns, pysanka designs, and traditional religious iconography. A 1991 series made with industrial metal screens reduced her subjects to the purest geometric forms using subtle changes in texture and color to achieve definition.[4] When exhibiting these works, Saj sometimes offered a traditional illustration and/or a biblical reference alongside it.[8]

Some of Saj's early explorations were collage paintings that incorporated human x-rays she collected from a medical office.[4] The use of puzzle-pieced skeletons referenced reliquaries, bones, and living beings in real time. This use of x-rays addresses the figure inside and out thus capturing the essence of the human spirit.[10] Saj's work links the modern with the ancient.[11]

Exhibitions and collections

Saj's work has been exhibited at venues as the Ukrainian Museum,[12] Union Theological Seminary, the Marian Library at University of Dayton,[13] Museum of Biblical Art (NYC),[14] the Washington National Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine,[15] The Museum of Cultural Heritage (Kiev, Ukraine), Andrey Sheptytskky National Museum in (Lviv, Ukraine), and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago.

The Arts and Emhassies Program selected her Tree of Life series for the Qatar Embassy in Doha,Qatar.[16]

In 2019, the Ukrainian Museum in NYC invited Saj to do a public engagement installation project for them.[17] REcreate, an installation consisting of 12 large panels with moveable parts was invited museum goers to co-create works by reassembling removable pieces with the artist. The magnetized paintings turned passive viewers into co-creators,[18] encouraging them to think about composition the way artists do.[19] Participants posted their creations with the hashtag #RecreateAtUM which turned their artworks into an online exhibition on Instagram.[20]

In 2021, The Ukrainian Museum exhibited the Saj's response to COVID-19 titled “Finding Sanctuary During the Pandemic,”[21] a collection of paintings on vinyl records that lined a wall in the lobby and an adjacent gallery to dramatic effect:[22] The circular forms provided a sacred space at a stressful time to demonstrate that even amid the chaos, there is beauty, and there is art.[22]

Publications

Saj's work has been published in the New England Review,[23] WovenTale Press,[24] Our Life Magazine,[25] The Christian Century,[26] Literature and Medicine,[27] and Civa: Voices, and Liturgical Press.

In 2015 Augsburg Fortress of 1517 Media, the official publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) commissioned Saj to create a Tree of Life Series for their Sundays and Seasons collection.[28]

Curatorial work

Saj was the founder and director of ARTspace 129 a gallery in Montclair NJ (2004–2007). She curated and presented 6 exhibitions of regional artists annually.[29]

Residencies

In 2022 she was awarded a residency at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York City.[30]

In 2008, as part of a residency Saj created an installation of the Six Days of Creation at New Brunswick Theological Seminary which was installed in the sanctuary on the New Brunswick campus.[31]

Selected solo exhibitions

Lucky Charms, Talisman of a former life 81 Leonard Gallery, NYC 2023[32]

Finding Sanctuary: Painting thru the Pandemic, Ukrainian Museum, NYC 2022[33][34]

Sacred Space: Art as Sanctuary, First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor MI 2022[35]

Longing For What Belongs to Us FreshAirMontclair, 73 See Gallery, Montclair NJ 2020[36]

RE:create – Christina Saj's Transformative Paintings, Ukrainian Museum, NYC 2019[37]

Cruciform, Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta GA 2014

Let the Angels Sing! 5th Avenue Presbyterian, New York, NY 2012

Chorus of Angels, Christ Church Episcopal, Glen Ridge NJ 2011[38]

Angels, Shepherds and Kings Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta GA 2011

On a Wing and A Prayer, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA 2011

Images of Faith, Grantham Church, Grantham, PA 2010

Form Seeking Expression, Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton OH 2010[39]

The Six Days of Creation, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Rutgers University, NJ 2008[31]

Visions and Imaginings, artpsace 129, Montclair, NJ 2006

Lisova Pisnia, Ukrainian Education Cultural Center Gallery, Philadelphia PA 2004

The Tree of Life, American Embassy, Doha, Qatar thru 2006

Words and Images, works on paper The Rosalind & Alfred Lippman Gallery, Temple B’nai Jeshurun Short Hills, NJ 2003[40]

Indomitable Spirit: Paintings of Faith, Hope and Remembrance The Interchurch Center NY, NY 2001[7]

The Guiding Spirit, The Bible Technologies Conference, Chantilly, VA 2000

The Corporate Landscape, Brodsky Gallery, Chauncey Conference Center, Princeton, NJ 2000

Painted Prayers, St. James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, NY, NY 2000

Drawing on Inspiration, Midland Gallery; Montclair, NJ 1999

Music as Art/Art as Music, Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair, NJ 1999

Celebration of Faith, Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair, NJ 1997[36]

Remembering Myth, Midland Gallery; Montclair, NJ 1997[9]

Allegories, The Lobby Gallery, Deutsche Bank, New York, NY 1995[16]

Saints, Kings and Prophets, The Lobby Gallery, Deutsche Bank, New York, NY 1995

Contemporary Icons, Norbert Considine Gallery, Stuart Country Day School, Princeton, NJ 1994(8)

New Painting, Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, Toronto, Canada 1993[2][41]

References

  1. ^ a b "Discover Database". discover-database.org. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  2. ^ a b Даревич, Дарія (1993-12-23). "На мистецькі теми: Виставка Х Сай в Торонто". Cвобода (in Ukrainian).
  3. ^ Nicholls, Rachel (2007-12-12). Walking on the Water. BRILL. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004163744.i-232. ISBN 978-90-474-2335-5.
  4. ^ a b c d e Peterson, Lisa (March 31, 1994). "Abstract Thinking applied to Old World Icons". The Star Ledger. p. 69.
  5. ^ "MFA Gallery". www.bard.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  6. ^ Popovych, Orest (2018). Encyclopedia of the Ukrainian diaspora volume one United States of America Book 3 S - Y. New York - Chicago: Shevchenko Scientific Society, Inc. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-88054-146-6.
  7. ^ a b "Saj's Indomitable Spirit exhibit in New York". The Ukrainian Weekly, Dec 2, 2001 p11. December 2, 2001. p. 11.
  8. ^ a b c Shevchenko, Olya (February 26, 1995). "Art Scene: Allegories paintings by Christina Saj". The Ukrainian Weekly.
  9. ^ a b Shevchenko, Olya (December 7, 1997). "Art Scene: Remembering Myth". The Ukrainian Weekly.
  10. ^ Saj, Christina (1997). "The Ghosts of Byzantium". Literature and Medicine. 16 (2): 174–175. doi:10.1353/lm.1997.0020. ISSN 1080-6571. PMID 9368225.
  11. ^ Nicholls, Rachel (2007). Walking on Water Reading MT 14:22-33 in the light of its Wirkungsgeschichte. Brill Publishing.
  12. ^ "The Ukrainian Museum: Finding Sanctuary During the Pandemic: An Installation by Christina Saj (2021)". 2022-01-22. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  13. ^ University of Dayton. Marian Library (2010-04-19). "Form Seeking Expression: Marian Artistic Creations". Marian Library Exhibit Summaries.
  14. ^ "Time Off: Art NY T". The Wall Street Journal. August 8, 2000.
  15. ^ "'Amen' Exhibit Offers The World A Prayer Of Hope". HuffPost. 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  16. ^ a b "Christina Saj – U.S. Department of State". Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  17. ^ "The Ukrainian Museum (NYC) Exhibition: Andy Warhol: Endangered Species". 2019-03-22. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  18. ^ "Be A Part of The Art". Re:Create. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  19. ^ Artdaily. "The Ukrainian Museum presents an installation by the contemporary artist Christina Saj". artdaily.cc. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  20. ^ "Interactive exhibition attracts new generation of museum-goers". The Ukrainian Weekly. 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  21. ^ "The Ukrainian Museum: Finding Sanctuary During the Pandemic: An Installation by Christina Saj (2021)". 2022-01-22. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  22. ^ a b Castronovo, Val. "The Ukrainian Museum". www.chelseanewsny.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  23. ^ "Vol. 32, No. 2 (2011)". New England Review. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  24. ^ "Christina Saj – The Woven Tale Press". 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  25. ^ "UNWLA - Ukrainian National Womens League Of America". UNWLA - Ukrainian National Womens League of America. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  26. ^ "Christina Saj". The Christian Century. 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  27. ^ Saj, C. (1997). "The ghosts of Byzantium". Literature and Medicine. 16 (2): 174–187. doi:10.1353/lm.1997.0020. ISSN 0278-9671. PMID 9368225.
  28. ^ "Sundays and Seasons" (PDF).
  29. ^ Nash, Margo (March 27, 2005). "Picasso Legal". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Residency Profiles". EFA Studio Program. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  31. ^ a b Qarooni, Nawal (May 1, 2008). "Shining The Light". Star Ledger. pp. Thursday, May 1, 2008.
  32. ^ "Pause: Lucky Charms". 81 Leonard Gallery. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  33. ^ "Christina Saj's "Finding Sanctuary" shows the artist's journey to find solace in creativity amid a seemingly endless pandemic". 6park.news/newjersey. 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  34. ^ "The Ukrainian Museum: Finding Sanctuary During the Pandemic: An Installation by Christina Saj (2021)". 2022-01-22. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  35. ^ "Sacred Spaces Art Exhibit". www.firstpresbyterian.org. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  36. ^ a b "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  37. ^ Artdaily. "The Ukrainian Museum presents an installation by the contemporary artist Christina Saj". artdaily.cc. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  38. ^ "Local Artist's Exhibition "A Chorus of Angels" at Christ Church". Bloomfield, NJ Patch. 2011-12-30. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  39. ^ "Form Seeking Expression".
  40. ^ "Images of Jerusalem". The Montclair Times. February 27, 2003.
  41. ^ "UKRAINIAN CANADIAN ART FOUNDATION / KUMF Gallery". KUMF. 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2024-09-29.

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