Exhibit ran from April 8 - May 21, 2002

About The Artist

Mary ... a feminine touch, an exhibit of icons, paintings and other works by Beverly Stoller, will be at the University of Dayton’s Marian Library Gallery from October 1 through November 17.  The exhibit is free and open to the public weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call (937) 229-4254 to view the display outside of normal operating hours.  The Marian Library Gallery is located on the seventh floor of the Roesch Library.

Images of the Madonna, Mother and Child, the Holy Family, Christ and angels are among the sixty works selected for this retrospective from more than two hundred pieces.  Indeed, this display is a retrospective for, alas, Beverly has left us, for she passed away on Holy Thursday of 2004.  Stoller, who wrote icons in her later years, worked with a variety of mediums to create her art. Sacred images, landscapes and flowers appear in woodcuts, etchings, drawings, water color, acrylic and mixed media.

Beverly Stoller's artistic creed was none other than to portray the beauty of God's creation.  All of her art is designed to give praise to the Creator and to express the inner beauty of all creation.  Oriented toward creation spirituality, Beverly's art expresses the spiritual nature of life on earth.  The artist's vision was to share this beauty with as many people as possible, and thereby to proclaim the universal presence of Jesus Christ.

Tucked away in the peace-filled wooded hills of Western Connecticut, Beverly Stoller's "Theotokos Studio" was dedicated to the Mother of God, the God-bearer, who has participated in the humanity of Jesus.  More than a studio, it bore the intimate touch of a sanctuary, in praise of art made prayer and prayer become palpable in art.  Creativity deals in values and valuation.  Each creation produced by the artist represents therefore an original design.  Art was celebrated as a liturgy, whenever Beverly creates an icon.

The retrospective features Stoller's Marian work, much of it created while she lived in Dayton (1978-84) and later in Connecticut (1984 until her death on April 8, 2004).  While there Stoller studied iconography under Vladislav Andreyez who taught "Icon Painting in the Byzantine-Russian Tradition" at the Washington Art Association in Washington, CT.

Stoller designed one of the logos of the Marian Library and the covers for two books on Mary, one by Mother Teresa and Brother Roger of Taize, the other by Father Bert Buby, SM.

An angel and other pieces by Stoller's granddaughter, eleven-year-old Amelia Beverly Stoller, who hopes to continue the legacy of her grandmother, are featured in the exhibit.

A commemorative evening honoring Stoller was held Thursday, October 12, with Holy Mass at 7 p.m. in the Mother of Good Council Chapel, Alumni Hall, followed by a presentation of Stoller's art by Rev. Johann G. Roten, SM, at The Marian Library.

For media interviews, contact Father Johann G. Roten, S.M., at (937) 229-4214.  For more on The Marian Library, see campus.udayton.edu/mary/gallery.html. Pictures are available on request.