View, Discuss Sister Corita Kent's "Love is Here to Stay" Exhibit

View, Discuss Sister Corita Kent's "Love is Here to Stay" Exhibit

Chavez Print Kent

“Love is Here to Stay (and That’s Enough),” a prints exhibit of works done by the late Sister Corita Kent, aka Frances Elizabeth Kent, is currently on display in Founders Hall’s Robert and Karen Hoehn Family Galleries on the University of San Diego campus.

The exhibit, running through May 13, showcases work from all parts of Kent’s career, including many works from USD’s own collection, and includes archival materials that have never been exhibited publicly before. The exhibit consists of more than 50 vibrant serigraphs and its presence at USD is the result of a multi-year collaboration between the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture at USD and University Galleries. The exhibition and accompanying scholarly catalogue have been curated and written by Jeffrey Mark Burns and Erin Sullivan Maynes.

Since the exhibit opened in February, a few events have taken place to provide the campus community an opportunity to go beyond the visual experience, thus providing important dialogue opportunities to learn more about the works and about the artist.

Two important events ahead are an April 7 gallery talk by Jeffrey Burns, director of the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, and a May 3 gallery talk with April Dammann, author of Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography. Both talks run from 5-6 p.m.

Interest in her work remains palpable. Kent entered the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent of Hollywood in 1936, studied art at USC, and was a renowned teacher. Today she is considered one of the most important American pop artists. Although she left the order in 1968, her work is most often associated with the Immaculate Heart of Mary community, the flourishing 1960s Los Angeles art scene and protest art of the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War.

A story on Kent was recently presented on the "CBS Sunday Morning" program.

During her prolific career, Kent produced more than 700 prints, most often using text and bright colors to deliver messages that she intended to “oppose crass realism, crass materialism, with religious values or at least with real values.”

Be sure to visit the Hoehn Galleries to view the Sister Corita Kent exhibit. Admission is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Thursdays until 6 p.m. For more information about University Galleries, please visit: http://www.sandiego.edu/galleries/

Print of Cesar Chavez by Sister Corita Kent