About Emil Frei Inc.
For five consecutive generations, the Emil Frei Stained Glass Studio has fostered a space for artists to create, communicate and craft art that engages
both the rich tradition of sacred art and their own time in history. Through economic
challenges, changing tastes and declines in church construction, the Emil Frei Studio
has thrived by embracing the visions of its studio artists, whose designs have been
rooted in artistic traditions while striving for contemporary expression.
Best known for trailblazing the modern stained glass movement in a variety of styles, the studio has received acclaim on a national level, including in Time Magazine. The studio is highly regarded in the fields of architecture, liturgical design, and art for religious spaces, and has made windows for Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches.
Emil Frei is honoring this heritage and celebrating the work of its artists and craftsmen by sharing a critical part of the artistic process with the public. Through this exhibition, the Emil Frei studio is pleased to open its archives and explore the labor and beauty of ongoing liturgical design.
From the Studio:
"Here at Emil Frei & Associates, we continue to make stained glass windows and mosaics with the same processes that have been utilized for centuries. At the same time, we innovate upon these traditional crafts over and over. But no matter how old or new a fabrication process, all of our work is crafted to the highest standard of quality. Every window and every mosaic is assembled by our highly skilled craftsmen using the finest materials."
The UD Connection
The University of Dallas is a Catholic liberal arts university with a strong focus on the classics as well as a thriving fine arts department. Liturgical arts are an especially complex form of art precisely because they reside at the nexus of so many disciplines — theology, architecture, art — to name a few. The students who study at the University of Dallas are invited to join in the recovery of the Christian intellectual tradition in a constructive dialogue with the modern world. Many of our students have gone on to do great work in the field of art. The Emil Fei Studio includes alumni:
William Frank, BA '06, Artist/Curator
Aaron Frei, BA '03, President of Emil Frei Inc. and Artist
Nicholas Frei, BA '06, Vice-president of Emil Frei Inc., Project Manager and Craftsman
John Wheadon, BA '02, Artist, Designer, Craftsman and Project Manager
The Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery, the university’s primary professional art space, is the perfect place for this exhibition to debut. We are extremely honored to premiere this exhibition and invite students (of all ages and walks of life) to spend time to connect with the great tradition of sacred art on display here.