The Frye Art Museum is pleased to present the exhibition Melissa Weinman: Saint Stories.  Weinman's images of saints and mythological characters reinvest well-worn legends with contemporary concerns.  The idea of loss and recovery, expressed in universal or highly personal terms, is particularly evident in works ranging from St. Lucy: Patron Saint of Vision (the loss of eyesight) to the Why Die? series (loss of a loved one).

What Weinman does with her subjects, whether a Madonna or Cupid, should not be mistaken for nostalgic reworking of traditional subject matter.  By divesting the saints of their pious props and attitudes, Weinman reinvests them with individuality and moving personal dignity.  Saint Sebastion in army boots, Cupid in cutoffs: these unexpected "re-visons" compel us to rethink our assumptions about the relationship between observed reality and imaginative impulse.  Taking on art history and the banality of legend is a daunting and ambitious agenda for any artist.  Fortunately, Weinman brings an enviable mastery of drawing and painting to the task, as can be seen in the sensitive studies and the small, evocative, panels included in the exhibition.  --Richard V. West, Executive Director