John Giuliani Artist / Theologian
John B. Giuliani was born in a family of immigrants, originally from a poor agricultural town near Naples, Italy, whose closeness to the cycle of the living earth he credits for his interest in cultures celebrating daily the unity with the spirit of mother earth.
Believing in the richness of contemplation, he studied icon painting under a master in the Russian Orthodox style in New York in 1989, before he began to adapt the technique to a Native American motif. He wanted to find ways to "expand the notion of Orthodox sacredness in order to express the idea of Native American Indians as the original, indigenous presence of the holy in this continent [North America] is the land whose energy continues to inform our spirit, if we remain open to its generosity." Even though Giuliani paints with acrylics, he still uses part of the "icon writing" process, applying several layers of paint starting with the dark hues and finishing with the lighter shades, in order to achieve that special quality of translucence emanating from icons.
