Lisa DeLong, “The Magdalene Triptych,” oil & 24k gold leaf on panel

The April offerings at downtown Provo’s Compass Gallery represent well their mission of celebrating symbolism, storytelling, and spirituality. With three one-person shows and a group exhibition all together in the space, the art covers the gamut of spiritual and symbolic representations.

In The Greatest Act of Love, numerous artists approach the Easter season with storytelling imagery in various styles. A number of these works represent traditional formats and focus on the range of stories from Christ’s life. Two standouts are on the wall by the front window of the gallery. Jane Wilson Boyle’s “The First Witness” uses a painterly approach along with the power of light and shadow to depict the site of the Resurrection in a way that feels like a quiet, peaceful, deeply spiritual experience. Julie-Ann Lake-Diaz’s “Saint Juliana of Nicomedia” has a warm subtle beauty that reflects a reverence for the martyred patron saint of sickness. The curving pattern of the frame enhances the simplicity of the artist’s depiction. Brook Bowen’s small “Saint Joanna” has a lively floral frame that complements the emotional depiction of the wife of King Herod’s chief servant, who served as caregiver to Jesus and the Apostles. Bowen’s piece has all the elements of small devotional paintings of past centuries, with an added note of feminine strength.

In Words of the Prophets, Joe Bennion brings his passion for pottery-making to a wall in the gallery where 12 of his large platters hang. These masterfully thrown platters reflect precision in his wheel work and the essence of his hands in their textures and patterns. The edges of the pieces include the words of poets, prophets, and writers, from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians to Mary Oliver and William Blake. The format feels like the pottery of our childhood, harking back to the 1960s and 1970s when pottery began to blossom out of decorative to higher art. Bennion speaks to his goals for the work in his artist statement: “The influences that most powerfully shape us are located in the household and family. I want my pottery to be there and to promote and influence that growth, however small its part may be. The family dinner table is sacred space and the venue of first choice for my pottery.”

The two other artists featured this month appear under the umbrella exhibition title of Queens and Priestesses, exploring the feminine in history, symbolism, and spirituality.

Kristen Barsch von Benedikt, “Pandora, Just a Curious Girl,” oil and graphite on panel

Kristen Barsch von Benedikt’s paintings reflect upon the depiction of women in Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Christian mythologies. Her work seeks to find a balance between past renderings of women as temptations and recipients of blame. In works such as “Pandora, Just a Curious Girl,” Barsch von Benedikt’s women are approachable in their contemporary appearance, while simultaneously questioning their historical portrayal as chaotic or problematic. She deftly mixes ages and styles in works like “Lot’s Wife” and “A Portrait of Grief.” Her oil and graphite on panel works are rich and saturated in color. Her watercolor paintings, such as “Antigone Outside the Wall” and “Portrait of Justice,” tell her stories with a lighter touch that still packs a powerful punch in her figures’ presence.

The final artist featured in the multi-show exhibition has some of the most powerful works in the gallery.  Known for her works focused on sacred geometry, Lisa DeLong has an MFA from BYU and a PhD from The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London. The deep blues and delicate oranges of her works in her “Crowning Creation” portion of the exhibition feel as ancient as the symbols and geometric forms that are the foundation of her work. “We are surrounded by signs and symbols that reveal powerful feminine principles
inextricably interwoven throughout Creation,” she writes in her statement. “The pattern traced by the planet Venus, the
starry body of the night sky (known to the ancient Egyptians as the goddess Nut), and the
golden proportions in the structure of DNA that permeate every cell in the body our
matriarchs gifted us with.”

DeLong’s works engage the eye and the mind, creating a melding of both the right and left brain while viewing their visual movement and patterns. She uses both the 10-fold Mother of Knots (Um al Girih in Persian) as well as the number 12, associated with the rights and responsibilities of priesthood. Her grasp of geometry and its powerful symbolism is balanced by her mastery of color theory. Like many artists whose works are considered abstract, DeLong’s paintings are no less emotional than the figural works in the gallery around her. She manages to create works that allow us to question and engage and stand in awe.

With so many artists in one place, there is a surprising cohesiveness to these four exhibits. Finding moments of contemplation in each of the works seems fitting in this month of rebirth and growth. The overarching ideas of calm in chaos, peace in the face of great change, and strength to face our world permeate each of the shows and, in turn, each of the individual artists and their work. A prime example Barsch von Benedikt’s “Hope,” on the title wall. The winged figure stands before a fiery background in tall boots and a short dress, as if waiting to take us on a tour of how to survive in chaos.

Kristen Barsch von Benedikt, “Hope,” oil, graphite & gold on panel

The Greatest Act of Love, Words of the Prophets, Queens and Priestesses, The Compass Gallery, Provo, through Apr. 25.

Gina Cavallo

Gina Cavallo has been a curator, registrar, and executive director in museums for over 35 years. She spent many years as an art critic for publications in Phoenix. She began her career at the Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum, was a founding curator at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, spent two terms managing exhibitions at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and was the Executive Director at the Mission Inn Foundation & Museum in Riverside, California. Her current role is Director of Development for Taproot Theatre Company in Seattle where she also serves as the curator of the Kendall Center Exhibition Series. She moved to Orem in 2024 with her husband, a theatre faculty member at UVU.