ABOUT THE EXHIBITION...

Give me chastity, but not yet. St. Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo and one of the major figures of early Christianity, uttered this famous prayer in his struggle to gain mastery over his earthly desires. In the spirit of brazen honesty with which Augustine addressed his deity, David Lancaster proposes a collection of modern prayers, painted in oil on aluminum, designed to explore and question the nature of communication with the divine.

Sad, bold, frank and funny, the prayers challenge our collective notions of supplication and gratitude, what we should ask of an omnipotent God and for what we should give thanks and the very idea that prayer is a catalyst for divine action.

Ten of Lancaster's studded aluminum paintings and sculpture will be on view in PHD's Portfolio Gallery. The text of each prayer, rendered without vowels or word breaks (in the manner of early biblical manuscripts), surrounds the nude supplicant, painted in oil on aluminum, the whole nailed to a plywood substrate with brass escutcheon pins, reminiscent of Christian icon paintings and stained glass windows.