Soave Corporate News
Capuchin's Unveil New Resurrection Statue
Supporter Anthony Soave makes donation in memory of his parents.
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic Published April 6, 2007
Detroit — Although there's no way to tell what Jesus was feeling as He was being resurrected, it was probably many emotions.
Was He overwhelmed? Happy to see His friends again? Triumphant that He was conquering death?
These are all ideas artist Sergei Mitrofanov tried to work into his work "Resurrection," a bronze sculpture of Jesus returning from the dead. The piece is in the private courtyard at St. Bonaventure Monastery, at the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit, the base from where the cause for sainthood of Ven. Solanus Casey, OFM Cap., is promoted.
Working with the piece was an "unforgettable" religious experience, Mitrofanov said. He spent so much time with Jesus, he would even dream about Jesus and the piece, and would talk to Him as he was working on it.
"I really like it," he said of the end product. "I'm very pleased."
The Capuchin friars, who live in the monastery part of the center, tapped Mitrofanov for a wall sculpture, "Reconciliation," which is now hanging, appropriately, in the Solanus Casey's reconciliation room. Out of that came the offer to create the "Resurrection" statue for the courtyard.
He started working on it about two years ago, and found it challenging in that it wasn't a painting, or a graphic piece, but a sculpture, for which he also had to consider the piece's surrounding area.
Although he spent a frustrating few months sketching, the statue, bronze with a black granite base and water basin, was erected and dedicated last summer.
While Mitrofanov was planning the piece, he also decided to change the environment. The courtyard, in an area of the monastery not generally open to the public, formerly had a pool with fountain jets.
"They didn't have a place for the statue except the fountain, and I didn't like the idea of Christ in the fountain with jets," Mitrofanov said. "I didn't know what to do with that." In the end, he came up with the idea of a circulating, slightly rippling but peaceful fountain to replace the old one, in which the statue would reflect. The sound of the water in the new fountain creates a peaceful place for prayer and meditation, which the noisy water jets tended to disrupt, he said.
"Now, it an absolutely different thing," he said. "It's a very good contrast to the sculpture."
Bro. Richard Merling, director of the Fr. Solanus Guild, feels "Resurrection" is an inspirational piece that helps makes the courtyard a good place to meditate and pray.
"We certainly are very privileged and honored to have the piece here," he said.
Area businessman Tony Soave donated the money for the statue, in memory of his parents.
Mitrofanov also does restorations of churches and other historic buildings, such as Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Wyandotte and the Detroit Athletic Club downtown. He cleans and restores artwork, repaints, and often finds hidden intricate details, he said.
Originally from Ukraine, Mitrofanov creates religious and other artwork out of his basement studio in his Livonia home. He's been in the Detroit area for 17 years, and has worked mostly with sculpture for the past two years.
After working in the restoration studio of an art museum, he got serious about studying art in his early 20s. He wanted to do something more exciting than art history, so he got into stage design in Belarus, where he worked with many forms of art.
He attends St. Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Parish in Southfield, but does attend Catholic Mass from time to time — and has even traced Catholic priests in several generations of his father's family. He likes the Catholic churches because of their artwork, which tends to be more varied than Byzantine-style iconography in Orthodox churches.
Mitrofanov, 49, says his artwork is a job — but it is also a God-inspired process. "I think the most important thing is not money, but that you've done something to make people feel happy," and closer to God, he said.
