Page 12 - Br. Chapman :: Opening the Gift

Artist

in residence

In 1989 Brother Chapman had taken on the focusing on the sources of his creativity. that would interrupt the artist’s unique
role of artist in residence at Iona College. She concluded that the work was arc of creativity. “Here is a monk whose
He had some lecturing responsibilities, eminently marketable, however, advised art is an expression of a deep spiritual
but the college president, Brother John against making it available noting that life. Let the Spirit blow where it wills.”
Driscoll, CFC, made it clear to Ken and all it would quickly generate a market and
at the college that the artist’s primary role Brother Chapman would be pressured And so, Brother Chapman entered the
was to be faithful to his artistic muses. to produce works similar to whatever most productive period of his career.
was attracting the most lucrative sales. Painting with renewed enthusiasm
On the insistence of major benefactors The first few paintings to be sold would in his studio in the skylit attic of the
of the college, Brother Chapman’s work dictate the medium, subject matter, and president’s house on the Iona campus.
was presented to a leading authority style that would then be requested of Here he experimented with new forms of
on art promotion in New York City. the artist. Meeting such demands would expression.
She reviewed the expanding corpus of bracket his artistry. Such, she advised
Brother’s works and interviewed him would impose a direction on production

He tapped into his experiences on
the Native American reservation and
generated a set of paintings vibrant
in the colors, textures, and, most
importantly, movement of a people
he had come to love and admire.
Preparation for his occasional classes
involved paying attention to the works
of current artists, capturing what was
unique to each and incorporating it into
some of his own works.