Grace Cathedral

Inspired by the Virgin Mary, this work by the American photographer David LaChapelle celebrates faith and positivity in humanity. Mr. LaChapelle grew up during the AIDS epidemic and his early work was deeply influenced by ideas of life, death, and the metaphysical. The model is Haitian-born Guetcha Tondreau.

San Francisco-based nonprofit Illuminate and Grace Cathedral present Grace Light, a site-specific, large-scale immersive light installation created by George Zisiadis, with an original score composed by Gabriel Gold.

Jacob’s Dream has been removed for repairs. There is no schedule for its reinstallation at this time. Created by our 2016 Artists’ in Residence, Benjamin Bergery and Jim Campbell, the work is made of rungs of LED lights that rise 55 feet from the base to the clerestory level of the cathedral. The LED rungs act as a fragmented screen for low-resolution moving images of enigmatic figures that ascend and descend the ladder. The installation speaks to the Bible story and the connections between the visible and invisible, and to our own personal journeys on the ladder of life.

The Infinity Boxes started as an LA underground art phenomenon in 2012, grew up in the Burning Man community where they are a regular feature, then matured through art fairs, science museums, and interactive art venues to reach over 2 million people (and counting) across the United States and London. The Infinity Boxes thrive on being in the middle of the flow of the human race, creating spaces of connection, contemplation, and shareable photos. They have been featured at top art galleries in America, Area 15 in Las Vegas, Google Headquarters, various museums including the Science Museum (London), auctioned at Sotheby’s (and currently featured there online), and have been purchased by art collectors internationally.

Sculpted by Italian artist Paolo Ottone from a precious block of Carrara marble, Cristo Velato, or Veiled Christ, was inspired by the veiled Christ in the church of San Severo in Naples, and also by the way light reflected on the marble in Ottone’s studio. He was born in San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy, in 1979 and trained in Milan. Giving visual form to light – or sculpting light – has become the primary objective of his sculptures. His works are showcased in various international collections, some in the United States. On loan from a private collection.

German artist Michael Pendry’s Les Colombes: The Doves was presented in the cathedral 2018-2019. Two thousand paper doves, symbols of spirit and peace, soared in a 45-foot long aerial sculpture. Volunteers from our congregation and the community folded the doves, whose wings will bear messages of hope and inspiration.

Jim Hodges, a leading installation artist known for mixed-media sculptures and collages, will premiered Unearthed, his bronze-cast monumental uprooted tree stump. During the residency, a series of concerts were offered.

Waterfront, a five-panel oil painting by the cathedral’s 2018 Artist in Residence Sukey Bryan, explores the beauty and simultaneous power and delicacy of the ocean. This painting brings the viewer in close as the water is shaped and blown apart by the physics of tidal movement, wind and shoreline. With intense environmental pressures on ocean life and rising global sea levels, our dependence and responsibility for the care of the oceans and pushing back temperature rise is a front worth joining.

A two-part image of our planet embracing the cathedral’s Rose Window was envisioned by 2018 Artist in Residence Sukey Bryan. Former Executive Pastor and Canon for Social Justice Ellen Clark-King said: “To me it speaks of a broken earth with the light of hope at its heart. What does it say to you?