Icon Painting Exhibition at Wolfson College, Oxford University

The Prince’s School helped to facilitate an intimate icon exhibition, Byzantium Endures, at Wolfson College, Oxford University from 4-6 November 2016.

The exhibition was conceived by Dr. Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, Senior Tutor in Theology and Research Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Oxford University and was held in conjunction with a meeting of the Slavonic and East European Mediaeval Studies Group (SEEMSG).

The purpose of the exhibition was to introduce contemporary iconography and iconographers to the Oxford University community and SEEMSG members and to encourage dialogue about iconography today. Dr Vasilescu sought the help of recent PSTA graduate, Dr Irina Bradley and current PSTA research student, Aleksandras Aleksejevas.

The painted icons of Dr Bradley and the bronze cast icons of Mr Aleksejevas were exhibited alongside icons from the students of Aidan Hart and icons and other works by contemporary artist Ivan Djidjev. There was great interest in the exhibition and in Dr Bradley’s demonstrations of icon painting throughout.

In addition to the SEEMSG members and many interested members of Wolfson College community, among those attending were Professor Carol Harrison from the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, and we were very honoured to welcome Metropolitan Kallistos Ware to the exhibition.

We are indebted to Dr Vasilescu for her continuing efforts to bring contemporary iconography to the attention of different communities and to Wolfson College for their generous hospitality.