Debut St. Mary art show becomes standout creative showcase

The mural depicting Jesus splitting bread for those in need strikes a powerful image behind the pulpit of at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church. The painting, which stretches up to the ceiling on the curved wall at the front of the hall, is a creation of painter Frank Hopper.

His work may be more unique than most community members know, as guest speaker Paul Sykes explained during one of the Women’s Guild’s new events this year.

The guild hosted its first “Art for the Heart” showcase and fundraiser on Feb. 11 at Father Edward Pick Parish Hall. Members volunteered works either by themselves or from their personal collections to be displayed and raffled off to the lucky winners.

Art on display included oil and watercolor paintings, handcrafted basketwork, photographs and more. Even the culinary arts were in play with a red, pink and white dessert display.

One artist who shared her work was Susan Gilmore Clarke, who exhibited four prints of her photos. Her subjects ranged from a man vending produce in Cuba to something closer to home, a live heron admiring a heron statue on her patio.

She said she was glad to support the inaugural art event.

Enigmatic Frank Hopper

Central to the art show was Sykes’ presentation on the church mural. The art dealer and owner of Art Avenue noted that relatively little is known about the enigmatic Hopper considering he painted a portrait of former President Richard Nixon as he sought re-election which eventually hung in the White House. He also worked with UNICEF, creating a commissioned piece centered on a baptismal ceremony in Ghana.

Hopper was born in 1924 in a small city in southern Indiana and began working out of a rented space in Siesta Key Village in the 1970s. Sykes jokingly noted that he apparently is no relation of renowned artist Edward Hopper, known for his brooding piece “Nighthawks.”

Sykes said it is fairly rare to see a mural of such scale in churches in America as the one adorning that in Longboat Key.

“In fact, there are so few that I’ve only come across a couple, one being in St. Charles Borromeo Church outside of Philadelphia,” he said.

In addition to the size, the mural is notable for the technical challenge it overcomes in being placed on a curved wall. At the center is Jesus, who appears to make eye contact with the viewer while he splits a loaf and a woman holds up her hands in supplication behind him.

Sykes said his assistant, Elin Li, called the mural "absolutely superb" from a technical standpoint upon seeing it for the first time.

She particularly cited his use of light hitting the figures in the scene and powerful light coming through in the background.

"Nothing can make an artist more famous than the legacy of what he's left on the walls here of this beautiful cathedral," Sykes said.

He also credited late church leader Pick for his efforts to bring the artist to this church.

Kay Kochenderfer and event chair Linda Olsen thanked attendees for helping make the celebration of local artists a success. 

From Pope John Paul II, Kochenderfer quoted, “The purpose of art is nothing less than the upliftment of the human spirit. Artist talent is a gift from God, and whoever discovers it in himself — or herself — has a certain obligation to know that she cannot waste that talent but must develop it. … Make your life a work of art.”

One of the guild’s main fundraising focuses this year is its new legacy scholarship program. Attendees could buy raffle tickets and place them with the piece of art they hoped to take home.

Just before the raffle commenced, attendees had an opportunity to leave their own mark, adding hearts to a tree on canvas. Each heart contained a prayer intention, which Kochenderfer said Father Robert Dziedziak would later offer up for everyone.