$10, Members Free.
Religious icons hold an important place in the prayer life of many Christians. Iconographer Susan Kelly vonMedicus will hold a lecture in connection with her exhibition, using a PowerPoint presentation to discuss icons and their symbolic language. The presentation will feature ancient icons as well as Ms. Kelly vonMedicus’ own work. Along with discussing the use and symbolism of icons, the old technique of egg tempera using ground mineral pigments and gold leaf will also be illustrated.
There will be an exhibition of Ms. Kelly vonMedicus’ icons in the Museum opening Saturday, September 15, 2012.
About the speaker: Susan Kelly vonMedicus was born in Philadelphia to the fabled Kelly clan, a devout Irish-Catholic family. Her parents, John B. (Jack) Kelly, Jr. and Mary Freeman, were both Olympic athletes. Her aunt, movie star Grace Kelly, married Prince Ranier III of Monaco to become Grace, Princess of Monaco. Susan has recently completed an icon as a gift for the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Monaco, a commission from her cousin Prince Albert II to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the archdiocese of Monaco.
Ms. Kelly vonMedicus was educated at the following institutions: Mater Misericordiae Academy; The Baldwin School; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and The Prosopon School of Iconology. In 2013 she will be an artist-in-residence at the Burren College of Art on the west coast of Ireland, just a few miles down the coast from Westport, County, Mayo, where the Kelly family emigrated from in the late 19th century. The mother of three sons, Susan lives and works in the Philadelphia area, creating artwork and keeping a garden, chickens and bees.