"The Risen Lord" by He Qi

When the artist He Qi visited the Concordia Seminary campus recently, he told the following story about the artwork above, “The Risen Lord.”

A church in China commissioned the work from He Qi for their sanctuary without any strings attached. He Qi went to work with a “blank canvas,” so to speak. When he showed the pastor what he had made, the pastor was speechless.

Two minutes of frozen silence passed. He finally spoke.

“Its too Chinese,” the pastor said.

He then asked He Qi if he could make a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”

One of the interesting things about Dr. He Qi, though, is that he is also an art scholar. And he then proceeded to remind us that Leonardo’s models for “The Last Supper” were all his fellow citizens of Milan. We could just as easily say about it, “Its too Italian.”

Needless to say,…

Awhile back, I wrote here about the Chinese artist He Qi. Near the end I mentioned that “there’s a chance we may be bringing his work to campus for an exhibition in the fall.” Several commented that they hoped it would come to pass.

Well, after a few months of hard work, it has become a reality. “Look Toward the Heavens: The Art of He Qi,” an exhibition of 43 artist proof giclee works, is now open on the Concordia Seminary campus. The exhibition is housed in the gallery of Concordia Historical Institute, the first building on the left on the Seminary Drive entrance into campus from Clayton Road. It is the first (only?) time He Qi’s art has been exhibited in the St. Louis area.

Moreover, He Qi (pronounced huh chee) will be here “in the flesh” on Thursday and Friday. His exhibition is a stunning collection,…

"The Risen Lord" by Dr. He Qi (www.heqigallery.com)

In recent weeks, I have been working hard on the Winter issue of Concordia Journal, the quarterly theological publication of Concordia Seminary. This week we received permission to use “The Risen Lord” (above), an artwork by prominent Chinese Christian artist He Qi (pronounced huh chee) for the cover. He Qi’s own personal story is remarkable, from growing up during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, to converting to Christianity, to becoming an artist of international renown.

Here is part of what I am writing for the editor’s note about the cover:

….His bold use of color and shape, his drawing on multiple art traditions, his faithful interpretation of biblical narrative—it all creates a total greater than the sum of its parts. Much like his older Japanese counterpart Sadao Watanabe (a familiar artist to those familiar with Concordia Seminary), He Qi draws deeply on the folk artistic and cultural traditions…