Optimist
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Features
    • Book Review
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Podcasts
    • Optimist Overtime
    • Top of the Key
  • Police Log
  • Print Edition
  • Projects
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
You are here: Home / Life / A walk through ‘Sacred Spaces’

A walk through ‘Sacred Spaces’

September 19, 2013 by Richard Lyne

Art professor Jack Maxwell – the visionary artist responsible for the Jacob’s Dream sculpture – will be opening his new exhibit of paintings, Sacred Spaces, with a reception tonight at the ACU Downtown Gallery. This new show offers “intimate perspectives from recent travels in the United Kingdom and Italy.”

Despite the conviction that God has called him to be a sculptor, Maxwell considers painting to be deeply fulfilling and full of spiritual significance.

“I see a lot of metaphor in objects,” Maxwell said.

From the purity of a simple metal bowl to the comfort offered by a radiator, everyday objects offer a wealth of insight to him. But the grandeur of something like Jacob’s Dream can still be seen in his paintings. Some of the new offerings include a vase of flowers bathed in a rich interplay of light and shadow as it rests in front of a majestic stained glass window, an exquisite Romanesque church interior where Jesus hangs upon a crucifix and an expansive pasture full of roaming Scottish sheep. Maxwell’s many journeys to Oxford University, the Scottish highlands and Italian cathedrals combined with an abundance of time spent lost in thought in West Texas churches inspired his latest works.

In describing his personal style, Maxwell briefly mentioned his use of oil paints and how he coats his canvases in cardboard-brown before he begins. This isn’t what defines his painting, however, but as “carefully observed realism in combination with spontaneous brushwork.” In the past few years, Maxwell’s art has been displayed at the ACU Downtown Gallery and a feature in many of Abilene’s monthly ArtWalk events. Now he hopes to draw more attention to this important aspect of ACU culture and invites the student body to come out for tonight’s reception.

“If you’re not into going to museums, I think this is accessible to most people. It’s relatable in that it’s not totally abstract, and I think that people can connect more easily with that. I hope you can be moved by some of the things I saw. If you’re moved at all, that’s my goal,” Maxwell said, addressing the entire campus.

The reception will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the ACU Downtown Gallery, at 1133 N. 2nd Street, and Sacred Spaces will stay open until Oct. 24. For more information, contact Jack Maxwell at maxwellj@acu.edu.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Art

Other Life:

  • Highland Church of Christ fundraises for missions during Ultimate Game Night

  • Study Abroad: Students think of Oxford as new home

  • Teaching Kitchen class shows students how to make poke bowls

Avatar

About Richard Lyne

You are here: Home / Life / A walk through ‘Sacred Spaces’

Other Life:

  • Highland Church of Christ fundraises for missions during Ultimate Game Night

  • Study Abroad: Students think of Oxford as new home

  • Teaching Kitchen class shows students how to make poke bowls

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

acuoptimistThe Optimist@acuoptimist·
12h

"We need to start taking steps toward understanding each other no matter how repulsed we may be initially." Read more from Managing Editor Dillon Daniel below:
https://acuoptimist.com/2021/01/to-achieve-unity-we-need-to-start-listening/

Reply on Twitter 1351990382385479682Retweet on Twitter 1351990382385479682Like on Twitter 13519903823854796822Twitter 1351990382385479682
acuoptimistThe Optimist@acuoptimist·
19 Jan

"Lack of interaction — whether online or in-person — leads to lack of connections between professors and students." Read more from Guest Columnist Morgen Maltby below:
https://acuoptimist.com/2021/01/quality-online-education-requires-lecturing-and-better-communication/

Reply on Twitter 1351590244966150146Retweet on Twitter 1351590244966150146Like on Twitter 13515902449661501462Twitter 1351590244966150146

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

12 hours ago

The Optimist
"We need to start taking steps toward understanding each other no matter how repulsed we may be initially." Read more from Managing Editor Dillon Daniel below: ...

To achieve unity, we need to start listening - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

There is no question that the current climate among Americans is tense and, as the Capitol Hill and 2020 riots show, even hostile. Although these behaviors have always been present, it seems that the last decade has seen an increase in tribal tendencies. We cling to the ankles of our political candi...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

2 days ago

The Optimist
"Lack of interaction — whether online or in-person — leads to lack of connections between professors and students." Read more from Guest Columnist Morgen Maltby below: ...

Quality online education requires lecturing and better communication - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

With the university handling new forms of teaching in light of COVID-19, many classes have been moved to an online format due to safety for the professors and students. Because of this unexpected transition, fewer guidelines were placed on class procedures. Some professors chose to have weekly Zoom....
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Praise Day Fridays return to campus

Video by Allie Jones. https://youtu.be/4F0D1oNzGjM   ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast – Nov. 5, 2020
  • ACUTV, Optimist preparing for live election show
  • Earliest snowfall recorded in Abilene

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • Weekly Ads
  • Classifieds

© 2021 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved