Skip to main content

Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual

Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual at Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art contains works by six artists who use everyday materials, found objects, and elements of craft production to explore issues related to faith and spirituality, personal and cultural identity, and tradition and community.

A grid with details of six artworks. Top row, from left, includes a highly detailed tower sculpture in red paper, white ceramic with blue Arabic lettering on red bricks, and a chalice made from gold tin foil and plastic gems. Bottom row from left, includes a man in a green shirt with his hand tipping a cowboy hat standing against a patterend pink background, a setion of wire fence woven with artificial flowers and rosaries, and a quilt with three silhouetted figures kneeling in the shadow of a cross.

Top row, from left: Michael Velliquette, Our newly awakened powers cry out for unlimited fulfillment (detail), 2020. Courtesy of the artist; Beliz Iristay, Where Is He? (detail), 2017. Courtesy of the artist; Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Chalice (detail), ca. 1990s. Courtesy of the artist and Pavel Zoubok Fine Art, NY.

Bottom row, from left: Gabriel Garcia Roman, José Villalobos (detail), 2023. Courtesy of the artist. Jenelle Esparza, Landscape Tapestry 4 (detail), 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Gwendolyn A. Magee, Full of the Faith (detail), 2004. Courtesy of the Estate of Gwendolyn A. Magee. Photo © Roland L. Freeman. 

Exhibition Details

Jan. 28 – May 19, 2024

Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual assembles the work of six artists from across the country who use everyday materials, found objects, and elements of craft production to explore issues related to faith and spirituality, personal and cultural identity, and tradition and community. The exhibition includes artworks made from clay, fiber, fabric, photographs, paper, and ephemeral materials such as tin foil. The materials and techniques used reveal the close connections each artist has to the objects they make. Yet, the creative process transforms these highly personal expressions into artworks that speak to people of diverse backgrounds, inviting experiences of joy, connection, and community.

Artists whose works are showcased include Jenelle Esparza (Texas), Gabriel Garcia Roman (New York), Beliz Iristay (California/Mexico), Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt (New York), Gwendolyn A. Magee (Mississippi), and Michael Velliquette (Wisconsin). 

Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual is organized for MOCRA by René Paul Barilleaux, head of curatorial affairs at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio.

Check out the Open Hands Gallery Guide for the full exhibition texts as well as additional material about the art and artists. 

Explore the Gallery Guide

Join us for a talk by guest curator René Paul Barilleaux, exhibition Spotlight Tours, and more.

Explore Upcoming Events