Metal relief sculpture
64”h x 61”w x 4”d
Collection of St. Mary’s Mercy Medical Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan

“Altar Piece” was commissioned for chapel area of St. Mary’s Mercy Medical Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The full descriptive title of the work is “VIRGIN AND CHRIST CHILD WITH ATTENDING SAINTS”. The composition is an abstraction of the typical three panel altar pieces of gothic period European church architecture. The central figures of the Virgin and Christ Child are flanked by Saints John the Baptist on the left, and Saint Luke the Evangelist on the right. Many examples of Gothic and renaissance period Christian symbolism are used in the design to define who the figures represent. The anonymity of the facial features is a deliberate device intended to lead the viewer to insert their own imaginings of the face of God, and encourage them to consider the role of God and the prayers of God’s people in the healing of body and mind. In renaissance fashion gold leaf is used on the nimbus (or halo) of each figure. St. Luke is both the patron saint of physicians and of artists.