SU Art Museum’s ‘Space and the Sacred’ juxtaposes religion, science
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The late American artist and printmaker Letterio Calapai’s works depicting both space and religion seem completely different, but that contrast is exactly what drew Julia Neufeld to them.
While working as an intern at the Syracuse University Art Museum between two years of graduate school, Neufeld began cataloging Calapai prints. For Neufeld, Calapai’s explorations of space and Catholicism piqued her interest, especially as someone raised Catholic.
“I think the two themes are very disparate, and that was really what grabbed me, how space and religion are always kind of in tension with each other,” Neufeld said.
Those themes are showcased at the museum’s newest exhibition “Space and the Sacred: Letterio Calapai’s Prints,” which debuted Tuesday in the James F. White Gallery and will be on display until Dec. 11 to highlight Calapai’s 50-year career. Neufeld, who graduated SU in 2023 with a master’s degree in art history and a museum studies graduate degree in 2024, discovered Calapai’s works when she was still a student.
Neufeld said the prints in the gallery, which are primarily from the 1960s and 1970s, examine how crucial historic events, like the Vietnam War and the Apollo 11 moon landing, impacted regular people’s lives.
The prints feature bright colors, sprawling lines and experimental designs. Most of the prints are from later in Calapai’s career, when he mostly used intaglio printing, a technique where an image is etched below the surface of a metal plate.
Letterio Calapai’s pieces examine how historic events, like the Apollo 11 launch and the Vietnam War, impacted people’s lives. The gallery’s curator, Syracuse University alumna Julia Neufeld, said the disparity between space and religion drew her to Calapai’s work. Kedar Nair | Contributing Photographer
Melissa Yuen, curator of the SU Art Museum, oversaw Neufeld’s work. Yuen said Calapai used a variety of techniques in his printmaking. The space-based works are “more abstract,” but all of the pieces are still cohesive, Yuen said.
“Calapai’s approach in what he was interested in and how he depicted these abstract ideas, I think, is remarkably consistent throughout his career,” Yuen said.
Despite her interest in his work, Neufeld said that Calapai, who died in 1993, is “not super well known.” She said finding sources to supplement background information and context for the gallery’s plaques was challenging because of the lack of details regarding his life.
Neufeld needed sources to prove the arguments she was making in her head. She reached out to the Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C., which provided her with helpful resources.
SU junior Maryan Ismail, one of the museum receptionists, said the gallery is currently her favorite part of the museum. Ismail appreciated the variety of colors Calapai used in his work.
“They go perfectly together,” Ismail said. “It doesn’t look unappealing to the eye.”
Ismail doesn’t typically read about art; she prefers to focus on how it makes her feel. Calapai’s work reminded Ismail of the anime style she likes to watch, like Dragon Ball Z.
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Neufeld said the gallery’s themes of space and religion didn’t have much relevance when she began curating the exhibition around three years ago. But she said recent events like the first American pope and beginnings of space tourism have increased the relevance of the gallery’s concepts.
“I think there’s a lot of really cool and interesting space things that are happening right now, and then also a lot of really prescient religious things that are happening right now, in kind of a weird ‘I don’t know how it happened to come out at this exact time’ sort of way,” Neufeld said.
The gallery highlights “curricular engagement” within SU’s art collection, Yuen said. She enjoys seeing the entire central New York community come together over art.
Calapai’s career spanned a half-century, with his works commenting on an array of themes like society, religion and literature. Neufeld hopes the exhibit can draw more eyes to his expansive catalogue.
“He had a really long and varied career and put out a lot of different work,” Neufeld said. “I think that there is something that can be found for everyone.”
