Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is hosting an art exhibit titled “Land and Times,” consisting exclusively of work by fourth-year seminarian Edward T. Obermueller. The exhibit features landscapes from Minnesota to Missouri, Mexico to England, Massachusetts to Arizona, and conceptual landscapes from the biblical to the philosophical. It is open to the public through April 30 and is displayed in the art gallery on the second floor of the Seminary library.
Containing approximately 30 pieces, mostly oil paintings, Obermueller’s exhibit will include a reception on Friday, Mar. 19, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with an artist’s talk at 7:30 p.m. Obermueller also will preach on the topics included in one of his paintings in the Seminary’s morning chapel service that morning. The painting described in the chapel service is displayed in the Seminary’s Sieck Hall, commissioned by the Seminary Class of 2000 as a gift to the Seminary.
“When I first came here in 2001, I was immediately impressed with the piece that hangs in Sieck Hall (And His Name Was the Word), which had been commissioned by the class of 2000,” commented Eric Stancliff, public services librarian for the Seminary. “When I realized he was a student, I was curious to talk to him. I saw some of the other things he had done and thought now would be a good opportunity to do a show of his work.”
Obermueller is a 1996 graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. He received the bachelor of arts degree in studio art and music. While a student of Concordia Seminary, he studied at Westfield House in Cambridge, England, during the 2001-2002 school year. He expects to receive the master of divinity degree in the spring of 2004.
“I’m really excited about it and I’m incredibly grateful to the Seminary and Eric Stancliff,” Obermueller commented. “For me, it’s a way to be sensitive to the way that visual aspects of life affect people – visual aspects of sanctuary, liturgical vestments, banners, anything visual – I think it’s important to attend to that.”
The exhibit will be available for viewing during the library’s normal working hours: 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday; 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday; and 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, contact Eric Stancliff at (314) 505-7033.
Some of Obermueller’s work will be for sale. For more information or to commission future work, contact Obermueller at (314) 721-6891 or [email protected] [1].