Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) recently opened an exhibition titled James Rosen: The Artist and the Capable Observer. Over his six-decade career, American artist James Rosen has produced a body of visually arresting paintings, watercolors, and drawings, that gently invite viewers to stay a while. Rosen seeks “capable observers” who bring to bear their own intellect and imagination in order to observe poetic images that are conducive to quiet contemplation. The late art historian Madlyn Millner Kahr wrote, “While others tangle themselves in excess, Rosen starts with the question: What is truly essential here? He demonstrates that the function of art is to coordinate the visual imagination, the sensitive eye, the intellect, and the network of subliminal associations that not the painter alone, but the observer as well, brings to the work.”

James Rosen, "S. Agata," 1986. Oil and wax/oil emulsion on canvas. Collection of MOCRA.

James Rosen has had a distinguished career as an artist and lecturer. Educated at Cooper Union, Wayne State University, and Cranbrook Academy of Art, he has taught at the University of Hawaii, the University of California – Berkeley, Augusta College, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He has exhibited widely and his works are in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Whitney, and the Ashmolean Museum. He is represented by Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, and the Leyton Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland.

The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) is fortunate to have over 100 Rosen works either in its collection or on long-term loan. His work has been included in many of MOCRA’s group exhibitions over the years and never fails to draw appreciative comments from visitors. Drawing primarily on these works, The Artist and the Capable Observer presents work from the 1950s to the present, offering viewers the opportunity to observe Rosen’s visual journey through paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints.

James Rosen, "Trepassey: Triangles & Parallelograms," 2000. Watercolor and gouache on cardboard. Collection of MOCRA.

Influenced by artist Mark Rothko and art historian Meyer Schapiro, Rosen’s work demonstrates his keen understanding of art history, mastery of form, and ability to imbue canvases with mystery. The exhibition culminates with a series of oil/wax-oil emulsion paintings that are homages to the religious art of the European past. Rosen is especially drawn to some of the great European religious masterworks by artists such as Duccio and Grünewald. These works possess a sense of mystery as they slowly disclose themselves to the patient and attentive observer. He notes, “My paintings are about time. They have up to sixty veils of wax/oil and they have taken me sometimes a year to finish. They require time of the viewer as well … Only by spending time with the work, looking at it in subdued lighting, does one experience the work beginning to reveal itself to the viewer.”

Paintings by James Rosen installed in MOCRA's nave gallery. The large work at center is Rosen's "Homage to Guido da Siena: La Maestà."

Rosen’s works find an ideal complement at MOCRA, in a former chapel space. For instance, six paintings of saints, homages to works found in a neglected chapel in a convent in Ferrara, Italy, have been grouped together in one half of the nave gallery, flanking the monumental Homage to Guido da Siena: La Maestà. The effect is the creation of a meditative space that invites visitors to slow down and experience the subtle luminosity of Rosen’s work, to allow the work time to reveal itself. A generous placement of chairs reinforces this invitation.

The Artist and the Capable Observer continues through December 12, 2010. Regular museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Exhibition admission is free, though there is a suggested donation of $5, or $1 for students and children. Information about the exhibition is available by calling 314-977-7170 or visiting the MOCRA website.

Tags: drawing, James Rosen, Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA), painting