Rashid and Inessa Azbuhanov: Revival and Modernity in Orthodox Carving

Rashid and Inessa Azbuhanov are recognized as forerunners in the rediscovery of the carved icon and we have featured their work here before. This time we present a feature interview with the Azbuhanov couple thanks to the kind collaboration of Paul Stetsenko who translated the whole interview from Russian into English for us. The Azbuhanovs carvings circulate in the…

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The Transfiguration in Shadow.

Last year I was asked by a patron to carve a large icon of the Transfiguration.  She said: “I am curious to see how you will do that.”  I understood immediately what she meant, and her comment for me went to the core of what icon carving attempts to grapple with.  So much of Orthodox theology, especially since St-Gregory of Palamas…

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Introducing BART: Byzantine Arts Today

Last year I wrote a few articles on a new initiative in Canada called BYZANTIUM: Ottawa International Byzantine Arts Symposium an initiative under the direction of Lesia Maruschak.  One of the highlights of Byzantium was the opening exhibition featuring the icons of  George Kordis, several Romanian iconographers and two Canadian artists: myself and Maruschak.  BYZANTIUM’s highlight…

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The Serpents of Orthodoxy

One of the most surprising images one is faced with considering Orthodox liturgical symbolism is the bishop’s staff sporting two snakes flanking a small cross atop it.  Especially in a Protestant North American context, this image seems to hark back to ancient chthonian cults, more a wizard’s magic staff than anything Christian.  As I have…

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Authority on The Right. Power on The Left.

This is post 3 of 3 in the series “The Right and Left Hand in Iconography” Jonathan Pageau examines the recurrence of left and right hand symbolism in traditional art and how they create a pattern of engagement in the world. Mercy on The Right. Rigor on The Left St-Peter on The Right. St-Paul on…

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Carving a Reliquary

There are certain Medieval forms which have always been with me, seeming to affect an almost hypnotic attraction.  The casket reliquary or “chasse” is one of these.  Shaped like a tomb, but also suggesting a basilica church, these reliquaries most probably originate in early insular (Gaelic/Celtic/Pictish/Saxon) art. Most of us know this shape primarily from…

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