Guru of the Gallery
Fr. Iain's eye for detail is also apparent in the gallery, according to assistant curator Martha Sawyer, who holds a studio arts degree from the University of New Hampshire “He’ll come in with a matchbook cover,  a bag or a business card, and say, ‘Look at this color! That’s what we need for this exhibit.’ He has a feel for how he’d like a show to look: a sparse, contemporary look for one exhibit, a living-room look for another. But he’s extremely willing to accept ideas from me and from the students,” she says.

Robert Craven, director of Southern New Hampshire University’s McIninch Art Gallery, who visits often in his role of critic and regional review editor for Art New England , enjoys the Chapel Art Center’s architectural character and tranquil setting. “Fr. Iain has a great eye for spatial relationships and color, and his choice of placement is meticulous. The result is a display that leads the viewer from station to station on a journey of discovery,” he says.

The center’s attendance grows annually, drawing over 4,000 visitors in the last year. Juried student shows are the most popular within the campus community, but the highest attendance for a single show was the 2003 exhibit “Collector’s Items: Biblical Art and Private Devotion,” topping off at 1,275 visitors.

Guests are often surprised to find that the student handling paintings or answering questions is a business or sociology major, and that the gallery is not part of the fine arts department but the academic affairs office. The center is an academic resource for the whole college, and this responsibility underlies every decision Fr. Iain makes. “Students in any major have abilities that can apply to this realm,” he says, citing design, management, advertising, and marketing.

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