Regis Philbin Reading From The Bible Under Guillermo Esparza’s Mural of Pantokrator, CBS Special: New York Christmas To Remember, December 24, 2013
New York, New York (PRWEB) December 28, 2013 -- Regis Philbin Reading From The Bible Under Guillermo Esparza’s Mural of Pantokrator, CBS Special: New York Christmas To Remember, December 24, 2013, Church Of St. Paul The Apostle.
A holiday service of Lessons and Carols, A New York Christmas to Remember, featuring host Regis Philbin and the puppetry of Jane Henson at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, broadcast Tuesday, Dec. 24 (11:35 PM-12:35 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
About Guillermo Esparza's Mural of The Pantokrator:
“Podlennik” (original drawing) of the mural of The Pantokrator with Tetramorphs of the Evangelists and Archangels Gabriel and Michael
By Guillermo Esparza
Conte on mylar
15 ft by 20 ft
2001 – 2012
Permanent installation, Church of St. Paul The Apostle, New York
Part of the collection of the U.S. National Archives
“Podlennik” of the mural of The Pantokrator with tetramorphs of the Evangelists and Archangels Gabriel and Michael by Guillermo Esparza. “Podlennik” is the original drawing for Guillermo Esparza’s Mural Icon of the Pantokrator, 15 foot by 20 foot painting in oil and 24 karat gold on Belgian linen, which is permanently installed 60 feet above the nave of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York, and is a gift from the Very Rev. Robert V. Wilshire, who served for 20 years as Dean of the Cathedral, seat of the Long Island Episcopal Diocese. The Rt. Rev. James Cordone and The Rt. Rev. Orris G. Walker Jr., Bishop of Long Island, were also instrumental in having this project funded and realized. “Podlennik” (original drawing) of the mural is permanently displayed at the Church of St. Paul The Apostle in New York City since 2012.
About Guillermo Esparza:
Guillermo Esparza is an award winning internationally recognized American iconographer, painter and sculptor with collections at the US national archives, the Phanar in Istanbul, Turkey, the Vatican Museum in Rome, Italy, Smithsonian American Art Museum, as well as numerous cathedrals, churches, museums, and private as well as public collections internationally. He is the artist-in-residence for the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Manhattan, New York.
Born in San Antonio, TX, and raised in San Francisco Bay area, Guillermo Esparza began his career as an environmental sculptor, creating public fountains and monuments in the Southwest. He came to New York in 1988 to learn the art of the Orthodox. After extensive study of scripture and sacred art, he spent many years in the restoration of churches and icons for the Byzantine Catholic Community. He studied iconography with Michael Joseph Dudick, Bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the U.S. branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.
An ecumenicist, Mr. Esparza has been awarded important commissions by churches of many denominations, and his original works are installed in Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Greek Orthodox Churches. Mr. Esparza’s murals for Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches have had the great distinction of being declared Icons. A visionary in the world of public art in the US, Mr. Esparza is the first recipient of the “Percent-For-Art” public commission from the State of Arizona in 1986, thus opening the door to the next generation of artists competing for public commissions. Guillermo Esparza has been honored for his work by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, His Holiness the late Pope John Paul II, and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, among others. Mr. Esparza is the subject of the documentary film “Guillermo Esparza, an American Iconographer” an original production by Los Angeles filmmaker Veronica Aberham for London-based Studio International. Original soundtrack to the film was composed and performed by Maria Andriasova Esparza. The film was released on June 1st, 2009 and had its premier on June 7th, 2009 at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral for its 200-year anniversary after the historic Mass delivered by Archbishop of New York Timothy Michael Dolan. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg honored Guillermo Esparza's sacred art exhibit "Arcanum Angelorum" ("Mystery of the Angels") at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and proclaimed its opening date of February 26, 2009 as the official “St. Patrick's Old Cathedral Day” in New York City.
Msgr. Donald Sakano, present Pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, has been an important patron, friend, and spiritual advisor to Guillermo Esparza for many years. They were involved in several projects, including a recent restoration of the historic icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that was installed in the transept of St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue at its dedication, and is now at the Church of the Holy Innocents on West 37th Street. The building of the shrine and the icon restoration has been commissioned by Msgr. Donald Sakano. Mr. Esparza also restored and gilded the tabernacle and ciborium in St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, once again under the guidance and patronship of Msgr. Sakano.
Guillermo Esparza has also worked closely with another important supporter and patron of his studio: businessman and philanthropist Michael Parlamis of New Jersey. One of their projects is a 60-foot Peace Dove mural that is installed at the Peace Memorial Gymnasium adjacent to the St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tenafly, NJ. The mural was commissioned by Mr. Parlamis and his relatives to commemorate the victims of the Lockerbie terrorist attack. Mr. Parlamis' niece, Alexia Tsairis, died aboard Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Guillermo Esparza was working on the dove at his studio when the World Trade Center was attacked. The windows were blown out and a cloud of dust filled the studio, a block from the Twin Towers. Some debris and dust attached itself to the canvas where it remains today. "The dust is sealed into the painting under a layer of white pearlescent paint,'' Esparza says. "The dust came in and there is no going back. Once it came in, it was on the painting. I took it to the cathedral and unrolled it there on the floor and the parishioners came there to touch it.'' The mural was blessed by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios in 2002, and by His All Holiness Bartholomew I in 2004.
Guillermo Esparza's monumental sculpture of Archangel Michael, which he carved out of Vermont marble, is installed at S.S. Peter and Paul Byzantine Church in Somerset, NJ. Mr. Esparza designed and built the Shrine as well, including carved glass doors and icons. The sculpture took two years to carve, and was blessed by Bishop Michael Joseph Dudick.
Another major work by Guillermo Esparza in New York area is his original Mural Icon of the Pantokrator, 15 foot by 20 foot painting in oil and 24 karat gold on Belgian linen. It is installed 60 feet above the nave of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, and is a gift from the Very Rev. Robert V. Wilshire, who served for 20 years as Dean of the Cathedral, seat of the Long Island Episcopal Diocese. Dean Wilshire died on July 22, 1999. The Rt. Rev. James Cordone and The Rt. Rev. Orris G. Walker Jr., Bishop of Long Island, were instrumental in having this project funded and realized.
In July 2011, blessing of the Cherub bronze sculpture by Guillermo Esparza dedicated to the holy innocents took place at The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, where it was permanently installed at the entrance to the catacombs. The blessing of the sculpture was celebrated by Msgr. Donald Sakano, The Basilica's presiding pastor.
On October 28, 2010, a blessing of the mural Icon took place in a private ceremony in the Holy Name Chapel (the lower church) of The Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral. The occasion was the blessing of the mural Icon of The Deisis by Guillermo Esparza, the artist-in-residence. The blessing of the mural Icon was celebrated by Msgr. Donald Sakano, The Basilica's presiding pastor. The mural Icon of the Pantokrator, the Deisis, depicts Christ in His Majesty (“Majestas Domini”). The figure to the left of Christ is John the Baptist, Prodromos, the Fore-Runner. The figure to the right of Christ is the Virgin, Theotokos, Mother of God. The Deisis means “prayer, or supplication”. The mural Icon is dedicated to the memory of the late Archimandrite Thedore Roberto Guadalupe Isaias Moreno (1931–2009); Don Manuel Martinez Esparza (1889–1955); and Gilberto Martinez Esparza (1916–1989). It is presently being displayed in the Chapel and is on loan from Maria Andriasova and Guillermo Esparza’s private collection, as part of the on-going award-winning sacred art exhibit by iconographer Guillermo Esparza, “Arcanum Angelorum” (“Mystery of the Angels”.)
Sacred art installation of mural and table for the shrine of "Our Lady of Lujan" by Guillermo Esparza unveiled at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York on September 27, 2009 as part of the continuing events celebrating the Cathedral's 200-year anniversary. The mural and table for the shrine of "Our Lady of Lujan", commissioned by Rev. Carlos Mullins and the Argentinean-American Association of Our Lady of Lujan, became permanent installation at the Cathedral. The mural of "Our Lady of Lujan" by Guillermo Esparza was executed in oil and gold on linen. It depicts the miracle of Our Lady of Lujan, which took place in 1630 in Argentina. The shrine was blessed by the Cathedral's pastor, Msgr. Donald Sakano.
Guillermo Esparza creates monumental and small sculpture in a variety media including marble, bronze, silver, stone, cast stone, glass, wood and terracotta. In his paintings and icons, he uses egg tempera, oil, watercolor and gold leaf. He grinds and prepares all colors and gessoes in the studio, and uses the ancient Byzantine canon of sacred geometry, proportion and multi-perspective philosophy in his work.
Mr. Esparza’s family built churches and cathedrals in Mexico. His paternal grandfather, Don Manuel Esparza, was a prominent US landowner and businessman, whose family held Spanish land grants in Mexico since the 17th century. Mr. Esparza’s maternal grandfather, the architect and engineer Don Benito Hernandez y Quiroz, was instrumental in bringing electricity to Guatemala. Guillermo Esparza is married to award-winning composer and concert pianist Maria Andriasova Esparza, daughter of the legendary Soviet composer Iosif Andriasov. In 1995, Ms. Andriasova was invited to perform at the Gala concert dedicated to His Holiness Pope John Paul II's visit to the United States to commemorate the International Year of the Family and to celebrate the friendship between the United States and the Vatican. At this event she met her future husband, Guillermo Esparza, whose Ecumenical sculptures were commissioned by Archbishop Iakovos, Former Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, funded by the American Greek Orthodox community and a Catholic community of the US. His Emminence Archbishop Iakovos presented the silver sculptures to the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, on his historic visit to the Vatican, presented the sculpture to His Holiness Pope John Paul II, and kept the other sculpture at the Phanar in Constantinople. Maria and Guillermo Esparza live and work in New York City.
For further information please visit:
http://www.guillermoesparza.com
Esparza Studio, Esparza Studio, http://www.guillermoesparza.com, 347-419-6585, [email protected]
Share this article