Sacred Traditions: Pavlo Lopata

June 19 – July 16, 2026

Reception: Friday, June 27, 1-4pm

The desire to commune with the divine has been a source of inspiration ever since our distant ancestors began carving stone, forming clay and creating pictographs. From the prehistoric Venus of Willendorf to the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Last Suppers of Leonardo da Vinci and Andy Warhol, sacred art has been one of the primary dynamos of cultural progress. While growing up in a remote mountainous region in former Czechoslovakia, Pavlo Lopata was stirred to create by the candle-lit gilded icons and ornaments decorating his village church. Embodying a tradition spanning over a millennium originating in Byzantium, Lopata’s icons, egg tempera and oil paintings on specially prepared wooden panels, often with gold leaf, feature recognized Christian figures. Imbued with the artist’s prayers and manifesting divine revelations, the viewer is invited to reflection, meditation and hope for a better future.