Beauchamp’s  Gallery in Topeka will host its annual Christian Themes show in the St. Benedict’s Abbey Art Gallery this year.

The show will open at 11 a.m. July 11, following Sunday Mass at the Abbey Church. The Gallery is open each Sunday after Mass or by appointment. To make an appointment call 913-367-7853.
Beauchamp’s, a small but successful  gallery serving corporate and private collectors in Topeka and northeast Kansas for nearly 40 years, originally began its Christian theme shows four years ago as a way for owner Bob Swain to merge his “work-a-day vocation and his faith,” he said. “I’ve been greatly pleased and gratified by the reception of our first four Christian art exhibits and expect our upcoming shows will be equally well received.”

Previous shows have exhibited a diverse range of work including symbolic abstract, classical realism, icons, terra cotta, glasswork and mixed media.

This year’s show at the Abbey will feature the works of Kansas artists (see artist profiles below) , including: an oil on linen painting of the Christ Child in the Temple by Jim Janknegt; Blue Madonna by Janlyn Nesbett-Tucker; a collage entitled “Words” by Phil Hershberger; “mi alma (my soul)  by Stephanie Munoz O’Neil;  “The Stench of King Eglon,” by Robert Swain; “Loading of the Ark,” a pastel painting by Nora Othic; “Capital Punishment,” an oil on panel by Mike Henry; “Angel at the Tomb,” an acrylic painting by Tony Novak; “Abel to Zechariah Altarpiece,” an oil on panels by Mike Buesking;  “Pending Storm,” a photograph by Judith Sabatini, a friend of St. Benedict’s Abbey whose work the Abbey hopes to exhibit at a later date;  St. Francis Restores the Neglected Church,”  an intaglio print by Jim Munce; two Madonnas by Barnara Fast;  and two oil works by Beth Neur+  +  +

Jim Janknegt - Texas artist Jim Janknegt describes the day his junior high art teacher taught him the difference between looking and seeing- It “changed my life”.  Like many students who have learned what it means to “see”, Jim went on to earn his BFA in Studio Art at the University of Texas and his MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Iowa in 1982.  For many years, he painted urban landscapes – nighttime visions filled with neon lights, buildings, cars and angst.  He came to the realization that his painting was, more than anything else, an expression of his own sadness and sense of dislocation.  It was only about 10 years ago that Jim became convinced that his time spent as an artist would be better used trying to paint the intersection of faith and life.  Jim asked himself, “What if I only had time left to paint a few more paintings?  What would I paint?”  It seemed trivial to not attempt to paint something of significance.  Says Jim, “My hope is that my paintings can help the viewer look deep into the heart of the gospel and hear afresh the good news of Jesus.

Mike Henry - Though born in El Paso, Texas in 1951, Mike Henry lived most of his young life in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  His formal art education came at the Art Students Academy in Tulsa and it was there that he began his teaching career as well.  He later moved to Topeka, Kansas and has taught art at Cair Paravel Latin School for over 20 years.  Henry’s work is included in many public and private collections and he has been recognized with national awards in oil, watercolor & pastel painting.  Says Henry, “Making art has been the most consistent activity in my life.  It is for me, a need.  I don’t really know or much care why this is.  I just know it is.”

Barbara Fast - Barbara Fast grew up in a small town in southwestern Minnesota.  She moved to Kansas for her undergraduate degree at Bethel College and to Virginia for her MFA degree from James Madison University in 1989.  Since then, she has been a Professor of Art at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia.  Her work has been exhibited at venues across the United States and is held in both private and public collections.   Says Fast about her “Madonna” series, “I see the Madonna series as a critique or commentary on an American tendency to intertwine superficial Christianity with everything from trade, politics, and science, to domestic and foreign policy, in contrast to a more genuine faith that builds bridges between people; shows concern for the marginalized; and works for justice in all parts of the world.”

Stephanie Munoz O’Neil - It is hard to think of artist Stephanie Munoz O’Neil separately from her family, her community and her parish.  That’s because elements and influences from her upbringing in Topeka’s Oakland neighborhood and Our Lady of Guadalupe parish are infused throughout her artwork. The symbols, the colors, the images: they all tell of her heritage, her faith  and her place in the world.  Stephanie, a KU School of Art & Design graduate spends her daytime hours as a 7th grade art teacher for the Topeka Seaman school district.

Nora Othic - Living and working in little Marceline, Missouri, it seems only natural that Nora Othic would be influenced by regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton.  The University of Missouri grad even describes her modern day artistic style as neo-regionalism.  Like Benton, she elevates the ordinary aspects of everyday life; (especially small town life) to a heroic, even iconic level.  But Nora retains a level of irony, even humor in her work that seems to connect with contemporary society in a unique way.  Says Othic, “A drawing of a bull is just that, an exploration of the form of the actual animal, …..but it is also…… a venture into the psychology of human/bovine relations.”

Janlynn Nesbett-Tucker - Janlynn Nesbitt Tucker is another Texan transplanted to Kansas by her vocation.  She is currently the CEO of The Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority, a job that is in stark contrast to her home life of artist and mother.  Of her “Madonna” series, Janlynn says “There is nothing more beautiful than the relationship between a mother and child. I remember looking into the eyes of my first-born child as I held her in my arms.  The overwhelming feelings were beyond words. I think back to that day and often wonder how Mary must have felt knowing that she had just given birth to the Savior.  I am awe inspired by the beauty and innocence of this blessed woman.

Tony Novak - Tony Novak graduated with a degree in Commercial Art from Middle Tennessee State University in Nashville in 1986.  After graduation, he worked for several years as a graphic designer and illustrator.  In 1997, he started creating relief sculpture and architectural décor.   Today, Tony operates his own studio where he specializes in restoration of statuary and architectural ornamentation.  He also, creates beautiful paintings in his signature graphic style.  Tony often quotes Leonardo da Vinci who said, “The good painter has two chief objects to paint: man and the intention of his soul.”  Says Tony, “This is the challenge that entices and inspires me – to capture the intentions of the soul.”

Judith Sabatini - Judith Sabatini is a photographer and artist living in Topeka, Kansas. She formerly served as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Photography and Assistant Director of the Mulvane Art Museum at Topeka’s Washburn University. Her work is part of many public and private collections throughout the United States.  Whether working in landscape or figurative imagery, Judith’s large photographs have a soft intimate quality that always seem to strike an emotional chord with the viewers.

James Munce - Jim Munce recieved his BFA in printmaking at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1966. He completed his MFA degree in printmaking at Indiana University in 1971. After teaching in Hawaii for a year, Jim moved to Manhattan and began his long-term career as a professor at Kansas State University, in printmaking.  For the last 40 years, Jim has devoted his professional life to creating prints. Primarilly his subjects have been taken from Christian literature -- the time honored subject of Michelangelo, Dürer, and da Vinci. Says Munce, “I think that I am primarily a storyteller. My function as a visual artist is to create a two-dimensional formal structure that will best contain the story being told. I am always trying to create a sense of space that has somehow been altered or transformed by an event.”

Phillip Hershberger - Phil Hershberger is an artist with an impressive national reputation but ironically, he is virtually unknown in Topeka, Kansas where he lives and paints.  He is a soft spoken thoughtful man who is seems quite content to toil away, working on his ethereal paintings far from the galleries in New York, Atlanta  Santa Fe & Memphis where his work has been frequently shown.  Hershberger produces mostly large wax encaustic paintings – a mixture of beeswax and oil pigment on wood panels.  Says Phil, “I want to create a scene in a space that is not tied down to a specific time. There are things that are there and not quite there.”  This timeless quality of his work is one of the aspects of his work that makes it so mysterious and so attractive to viewers.  Its artwork to which you keep returning again and again.

Robert Swain - After graduating with a BFA in Painting from the University of Kansas in 1986, Bob spent most of the next twenty years working in the corporate world of banking and technology.  After feeling like a fish out of water for many years. Swain returned to the art world full time when he and wife Kim bought the Beauchamp Gallery in Topeka in 2005.  Now he spends mornings painting quirky still life artworks in his home studio and walks 3 blocks to work at the gallery in the afternoon.  Shortly after buying Beauchamp’s, Swain initiated an annual Christian Themes exhibit.  Says Swain, “I saw it as a way to integrate my faith life with my work-a-day vocation, but I wasn’t sure how our modern culture would receive a show full of Christian art.  Thankfully, it’s worked out just great.  Every Christian Themes show since has been a great blessing.”

Mike Buesking - Mike Buesking grew up in Strausburg, Illinois and after a four year military stint attended Southern Illinois University where he studied art and graduated summa cum laude in 1985.  Two years, (and a master’s degree) later, he started teaching at Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri.  While still continuing to teach at Evangel, Mike has also earned his MFA degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia.  Mike sees his figurative paintings in two ways: first as Sign & Symbol- something that is read and understood by the community of Christian believers.  Secondly, he sees his work as an illustration of an event, mood or idea in a more or less realistic space – an artwork that will draw in viewers beyond the community of faith.

Beth Neuer - Beth Neuer has been a late bloomer in the world of art.  Not until she was in her 40s did she go to art school, earning her BFA from Washburn and following that up with more study at KU.  Beth’s paintings project an “other world” feeling of quiet solitude and even mystery.  Says Beth, “It is through my paintings that I explore the depth of life and death as I have experienced it.  My work invites the viewer into the space where it will lead them to think about their own life experiences.”  Her work is oftentimes symbolic- sometimes with more obvious symbols like roses and crosses and sometimes with more ambiguous symbols like empty chairs or vases.  Even the way light falls into the spaces of her canvases has special meaning.   In a very engaging way, Beth explores what spirituality means in relationship to herself, her religion and her work.