About The Ikon Studio

The Ikon Studio is not so much a place as a vision and a person. More than 30 years ago, a young student of Theology, Basil Lefchick, was captivated by the otherworldly beauty of icons--the most ancient, enduring and profound form of representational Christian art.

Academic Theology, at least for Basil, shed light--like the moon at night. But like the moon, its light is cool rather than warm like the sun's.

Icons, on the other hand, embody Theology in form and color, making its content visible and touchable. They give us Theology with a human face. The beauty they radiate, the fusion of Word and Image, can enlighten our minds and stir our hearts.

Convinced (more by intuition than hard evidence) that he was given artistic talent, he set out to learn how to paint icons. Unaware of any teachers or masters to apprentice with, he learned through trial and error (lots of the latter). His approach was to buy books with prints of the great iconographic masterpieces of the past, and try to figure out how to do what the masters did.

Eight years into his quest, he was invited to work as an associate at an established Byzantine iconography studio in New York City. There Basil learned studio techniques and procedures for executing large-scale work. He also learned that by trial and error he'd discovered the same techniques of icon painting his associate had been taught formally via the apprentice system in Greece.

Basil eventually left New York, returning to the Washington D.C. area to follow his own artistic vision as director of The Ikon Studio. Since then, he has produced a body of work that includes: large-scale icons, including canvas murals and three sanctuary triptychs; eight frescoes (on dry plaster); and about 200 panel icons.

In addition to his studio work, he has also served as: artist-in-residence at the Magi Center for Liturgy and Art, Catholic University of America; artist-in-residence at the Center for Religion and Art, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D.C.; consultant to the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.; and consultant to the Walter's Gallery, an internationally respected museum in Baltimore, Md.

Venues at which he has lectured on iconography include: The Smithsonian Institution's College on the Mall and the Smithsonian Associates, Washington, D.C.; The School of Theology, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; and the 1999 National Conference on Environment and Art for Catholic Worship, Colorado Springs, Colo.

His publications include "Iconographic Form and Content in the Kunz Collection," published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

The artist has pursued graduate studies in Theology at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., and holds an M.A. in Dogmatic Theology from the School of Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.