Nationally recognized artist at Spiritus Donorum dinner

Intermountain Catholic

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John August Swanson speaks about his art during the annual Juan Diego Catholic High School during the 11th annual Spiritus Donorum dinner. The school purchased six of Swanson's serigraphs to add to its art collection. The serigraphs depict Biblical events about Advent and Christmas. IC photo/Marie Mischel

DRAPER — John August Swanson, a California artist whose work is housed in the Vatican Museum’s Collection of Modern Religious Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, among other venues, was present at Juan Diego Catholic High School’s 11th annual Spiritus Donorum dinner as six of his serigraphs were unveiled as the most recent work to be added to the school’s collection.

"One way to God is by firing the Catholic imagination, and that’s done through art and iconography," said Dr. Galey Colosimo, principal, explaining why the school has an art collection. "It’s always Catholic art; it’s always designed to teach," he said, adding that the artwork sends the message of Christ to students in a subtle but powerful way.

Colosimo first saw Swanson’s serigraphs in a brochure from Emery University’s Candler School of Theology, which gathered six of the prints for a CD about Advent art.

Swanson, who during the dinner spoke about his creative process and the prints the school bought, created the first serigraph in the series in 1985. He is a self-taught artist who draws from the story-telling heritage of his Mexican mother and Swedish father, but his style is influenced by Islamic imagery and Russian iconography as well as the tradition of Mexican muralists, according to his website, www.johnaugustswanson.com.

Juan Diego’s Spiritus Donorum dinner recognizes and thanks those whose "blood, sweat and tears, time, talent and treasure that it takes to put together Juan Diego Catholic High School," Colosimo said.