Artist Timothy Schmalz next to his St. Thomas Aquinas sculpture. The sculpture is set to be installed in the new Iverson Center for Faith this August. (Photo courtesy of university commons)
The new Iverson Center for Faith’s outdoor plaza will feature a 7.8-by-5.8-foot sculpture of St. Thomas Aquinas created by Christian artist Timothy Schmalz. The sculpture is anticipated to be installed by the end of August, in time for the new academic year.
Schmalz was chosen from an invite-only art contest facilitated by the art history department. The influence of having this artist work on something for St. Thomas cannot be understated, according to department chair Victoria Young.
“He is arguably the most important Christian sculptor working in the world right now,” Young said.
Schmalz’s recent work includes the piece “Angels Unaware,” which was made public at the Vatican in late September.
“This is the first public sculpture unveiled in St. Peter’s square in 400 years,” Young said. “This is not a place where the average person gets to unveil art.”
When envisioning the sculpture, the art history department wanted to ensure that it had life and energy. Schmalz chose to feature St. Thomas Aquinas holding a book with pages flying out into a dove as a celebration of Aquinas’ intellectual contributions to society.
Sketch of Schmalz’s St. Thomas Aquinas sculpture. (Photo courtesy of university commons)
“His theology and philosophy was so spiritual in its nature that the pages lift from the book that he’s writing and they just ascend toward heaven,” Schmalz said.
Schmalz hopes that his sculpture will be a meaningful contribution to the St. Thomas faith community. He is inspired when working on art with divine themes.
“One of the most powerful subjects that an artist can work with is the spiritual,” Schmalz said.
Young thinks that choosing the right art for this space is crucial.
“Art can be a really powerful force in this building, because every religious tradition has an artistic tradition,” Young said.
Having created a sculpture of Aquinas early in his career, Schmalz was excited to create another sculpture of the saint and reconnect with the story of his life and legacy.
“It was great to revisit St. Thomas Aquinas again through sculpture,” Schmalz said. “I think that he’ll be happy with this.”
Annie Terry can be reached at terr2351@stthomas.edu.