St. Paul’s Monastery Art Gallery
Open daily 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Tel. 651-777-8181
The Monastery Art Gallery is a sacred space for fine art, with exhibits changing six times per year. The gallery is open to the public daily from 9:00-5:00 pm and is located in the narthex area of the Monastery just inside the main doors, at the entrance to the chapel. Light from the courtyard glimmers in through the large windows, illuminating the artwork at all times of the day. The prayers of the Sisters spoken out loud in the chapel at morning, midday and evening are a melodious background to the artistic visions adorning the gallery walls. The Monastic community, guests and staff feel the presence of the Holy Spirit animating these works, many of which depict the beauty and mystery of nature, and our place amidst God’s creation. The Benedictine Center retreat guest experience is greatly enhanced by the artwork, and leads to a deeper understanding of the divine through silent contemplation.
Father Cyril Gorman of Saint John’s Abbey frequently celebrates Mass on Sundays at 11:00 am for the Monastic Community. He has been known to share his appreciation of the current exhibit’s art with the Sisters in his homilies. Recently, he spoke about the oil paintings of the Lake Superior shoreline by Holly Newton Swift as being a beautiful example of our interaction with God, how we can meet God in this coming and going space of the Monastery. In another recent homily, he described how the spring thaw depicted in one of Swift’s paintings can be seen as a metaphor for our relationship with God.
We have been blessed to have many fine artists working in all media show their work in our gallery space since the current Monastery building opened in 2009. The former building at 2675 Larpenteur also displayed artwork from the Monastery’s permanent collection. The light-filled, intimate space of the current gallery is ideal to showcase the talent of Minnesota artists. It is always exciting to see the new shows come together, and we often feel a bit of sadness when each exhibit comes down. Mary Elizabeth Ilg manages the gallery and curates the exhibits, inviting artists to show their work often based on their participation in the annual juried Seeing God show or recommendations from friends of the Monastery. Mary Elizabeth arranges and hangs each exhibit with the expert assistance of Toby Twist, also on the Monastery staff.
Seeing God: A History of the Juried Exhibit
The gallery calendar begins each year with Seeing God, an Annual Juried Exhibit of Sacred Art, a show that has been in existence for 25 years. In 2012, the Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery embarked on a journey to continue the pioneering work of Nick and Rosemary Heille, who founded and organized The Annual Northeast Minneapolis Spiritual Art Show for eleven years. In 2012, the exhibit was on tour at Cross Lutheran Church in Minneapolis as well as the Basilica of Saint Mary, before coming to St. Paul’s Monastery gallery in 2013.
From 2001 to 2012, the Heilles curated a spiritual art exhibit, finding a different church or venue to host it each year, until it spun off to the Benedictine Center. The new exhibit title was changed in 2012 to Seeing God: A Juried Exhibit of Sacred Art. The promotional materials stated: “Artists speak to us in a language that takes us out of the ordinary. It is a dialect that expands how we image the mystery of God revealing itself to us each day in the world around, in the encounters that come our way.”
Sister Virginia Matter and Sister Carol Rennie were instrumental in bringing the exhibit to the Monastery gallery in 2013, with former Benedictine Center Director Samuel Rahberg, OblSB. Sister Virginia shared her pottery and Sister Carol Rennie, Prioress at the time when the gallery was designed and built in 2009, shared her deep Benedictine appreciation for art. Both Sisters helped to administer the show in the first years and greeted artists and their work with care. Former Benedictine Center Director Victor Klimoski originally chaired the Arts and Spirituality committee to oversee the annual juried show, as well as the selection process for artists of other group and solo exhibits.
Gallery Leadership
Through Oblate Kathy Fleming’s engagement with many artists in the Twin Cities community and fine artistic sensibility, exhibit participation increased each year. Kathy recalls feeling the divine presence guiding her as she hung the shows faithfully each year: “Being the porter or gatekeeper as the Rule of Benedict says, I know that the Holy Spirit was moving through the Monastery hallways as we worked…we never had anyone who exhibited anything but happiness.”
Kathy Fleming began her stewardship of the exhibit in 2013, serving on the Arts and Spirituality Committee and curating the show until 2021. In 2022, Oblate Mary Elizabeth Ilg took over responsibility for the art gallery as part of her former role as Co-Director of the Benedictine Center and continues to manage the gallery presently and curate the exhibits.
The 2026 Exhibit Calendar is listed below. Several artists for 2026 participated in the Seeing God Juried Exhibit in January, and were then invited to have solo shows. Artist Carleton McCambridge won First Place 2026 for his painting, I Will Carry You. Other award-winning artists from the Seeing God exhibits are scheduled for Summer 2027. We are thrilled to have two returning artists scheduled: Religious icons by Ilze Strobela in June and July 2027, and New Testament Images, prints and watercolors, by Kirsten Malcom Berry in August and September.
2026 Exhibit Calendar:
Seeing God, Juried Exhibit of Sacred Art, January-April
Hill-Murray Student Art Show, April-May
Summer Artist, June-July: Holly Newton Swift
Summer Artist, August: Richard Mittelstadt
Fall Artist, September-October: Gail Speckmann
Winter Artist, November-January: Carleton McCambridge
January Light
On a cold dark night in the deepest of January winter, we host our annual Seeing God Artists’ reception. Warmth and light fill the gallery as participating artists gather for wine, hors d’oeuvres and conversation; old friends and new come together to share their love of art. The Awards Ceremony takes place that evening, where three winners receive First, Second and Third Place ribbons along with cash prizes. Three Honorable Mention awards are also given. Past jurors have included Kirsten Malcolm Berry, Kathy Fleming, John Ilg, Sister Jacqueline Leiter, Sister Virginia Matter and Margaret Thompson. Kathy Dhaemers was added to the group of exhibit jurors in 2025. Kathy served as Curator of the Art Collections at the Basilica of Saint Mary for many years and brings with her great expertise and knowledge of fine art.
The Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery are pleased to host these inspiring fine art exhibits each year, as they welcome all guests as Christ, and invite their guests to deeper levels of prayerful contemplation through visio divina, sacred seeing of artwork. We are honored to share the longstanding tradition of the Benedictine value of appreciation of art, so that in all things, God may be glorified.
