Our Lady of Guadalupe statue added to school's collection

IC photo/Linda Petersen

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Juan Diego Catholic High School Principal Dr. Galey Colosimo, pictured, says the Virgin Guadalupe, a unique wood carving, is an important addition to the school's art collection.

DRAPER — A new piece being added to the art collection of Juan Diego Catholic High School is like nothing Principal Dr. Galey Colosimo has ever seen before.

The 6-foot tall Virgin Guadalupe completed in 1992 by artist Claudia Hecht Uriarte was hand-carved from a tree trunk. Using a unique sculptural technique, the artist carved out the figure of the Virgin and added wood and glass elements. She then applied gold and silver leaf before painting it with oils and varnish to give it the appearance of a centuries-old piece.

Hecht Uriarte, who is from Mexico City, is the creator of a new art movement called “Pictorial Sculpture Art” and has received many awards in the art world.

“I created the Virgin Guadalupe with deep emotion in the early ’90s,” she said. “It was a very special and spiritual time in my life. I wanted to make it last by creating this sculpture of the Virgin. She represents the road to my spiritual peace.”

An anonymous donor bought the sculpture from Hecht Uriarte and directed that it be given to Juan Diego CHS, Colosimo said. The school has been blessed to receive the three-dimensional carving, he added.

“I don’t know if it’s synergy or the Holy Spirit or grace or luck or whatever, but I think when you commit to something like this [art collection] and you spend 20 years being true to that commitment, you get lucky,” he said. “You become what you value and when you value art and demonstrate that by displaying it, purchasing it, when you commit to what you believe in, what you value, eventually you get lucky and good things happen to you.”

The school has been building an art collection of mostly religious pieces since it opened in 1999. Each year the administration presents a new piece to the school community during the Dec. 11 Spiritus Donorum dinner, which recognizes the contributions of donors to the school.

“We made the commitment to purchase at least one significant, original piece of art every year to add to a collection that would be part of our celebration of the Feast of Juan Diego,” Colosimo said.

The Virgin Guadalupe, Hecht Uriarte’s piece, was formerly housed in the Italian embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Catholic Art and History, New York City, as well as cathedrals and churches throughout the United States, primarily in Los Angeles. Most recently, it was on display at Dixie State University for three months.

In the school’s collection, “We try to use a variety of mediums; the idea is to expose our students to a variety of art media, a variety of iconography, a variety of religious symbols and some not so much religious,” Colosimo said. “What we’re trying to do is just surround the students with a whole variety of artists with a variety of mediums to advance the value of art.

“Beauty is the pathway to God, so if we believe that, which we do, when we surround the school with beautiful things, that’s another way to help our students get in touch with the Almighty,” he added.

The school administration has not yet determined where on campus the Virgin Guadalupe will be dis-played. Its high value and the fragility of the wood dictates that it be in a sheltered spot, Colosimo said.

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