Sarah Crow, “Cemetery Flowers” (2025), oil and silverpoint on panel
The Xavierite
The Saint Xavier Art Gallery is featuring “No Such Thing Is Lost,” a solo exhibition by artist and adjunct faculty member Sarah Crow, on view through Feb. 21. The exhibit brings together deeply personal paintings that explore grief, faith, and memory through both layered materials and symbolic imagery.
According to Crow, the works are rooted in personal and familial histories and shaped by experiences of loss and Catholic faith.
She described the exhibition as a “visual poem” that draws attention not only to what is physically depicted, but also to the materials and processes behind the paintings. Exposed layers of paint, subtle distortions, and intentional interruptions of illusion encourage viewers to pause and reflect.
Sarah Crow, “Metanoia” 2025, oil and muslin on panel
The Xavierite
“The subject of the paintings is not only their representational imagery, but the materials and processes employed in their creation,” Crow said. “I explore how visible forms house invisible truths, informed by Catholic Sacramental theology.”
The exhibition includes devotional paintings of Catholic saints alongside still lifes, portraits and more abstract works. According to Crow, this is the first time she has shown explicitly religious paintings together with other genres in one exhibition.
Sarah Crow, “Saint Lucy” (2023), oil and gold leaf on panel
The Xavierite
“All the work flows from the same source of inspiration,” she said. “These paintings together tell the story of my soul.”
Crow described her painting process as slow and layered.
“I think and daydream about images for a long time before I start working,” Crow said. “All my paintings are indirect and made slowly with multiple layers of often transparent paint.”
Many of the pieces are directly informed by deceased loved ones or meaningful moments in Crow’s life, while others are more abstract. The earliest pieces in the exhibition date back to 2018, though most were created between 2021 and 2025, making the show a reflection of several years of slow, intentional development.
Sarah Crow, “For Pat” (2023), oil and gold leaf on panel
The Xavierite
Crow hopes visitors experience the gallery as a place of quiet reflection.
“I would love for [the viewers] to experience the gallery as a kind of sanctuary where they can find rest, slow down and enter into the subtlety and symbolism of the work,” Crow said.
The SXU Gallery space played a key role in how the exhibition was presented. Crow said she intentionally chose to show her work on campus so students could easily access it and engage with it firsthand.
“I value having art students and other artists see my work,” she said. “There is never any substitute for seeing artwork in person.”
As a practicing artist and educator, Crow believes making art is essential to teaching it. She hopes students who visit the exhibition gain a deeper understanding of how materials, techniques and meaning are inseparable in visual art.
“Everything I learn and explore in the studio informs what I share with my students,” she said.
Crow also emphasized the broader value of faculty exhibitions to the SXU community, noting that visual art communicates in ways words simply cannot. Beyond visiting exhibitions, she encourages students to get involved by attending regular paint jams held in the Visual Arts Center, even if they are not enrolled in an art class.
Looking ahead, Crow is currently working on a major commission: a series of 24 original oil paintings of Catholic saints for Our Lady’s Healing Center in Texas.
“No Such Thing Is Lost” remains on view at the SXU Gallery through Feb. 21 and is open to students, faculty and the public.