Jerome Tupa was born Timothy John in Rollette N.Dak.and became a monk at St. John's Abbey in Minnesota in 1962. From an early age he was a painter and sculptor. However, he had little success with his work until he went to paris where he lived and studied for about 5 years before receiving his doctorat in 1976. During this period he was in a milieux of art and architecture that influenced his vision of the world and of the creative act. From that time he was an avid painter exhibiting in Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, Rome and throughout the United States. In recent years he has been working with the concept of pilgrimage as a metaphor for our journey in life.

Having searched for a new genre of expression from the religious paintings of the last 200 years Tupa has explored the spirituel journey and a new iconography by first of all using the images of the dance followed by a series of shrines and artifacts from the catacombs. His more recent works have been inspired by the architecture of California and Europe in the pilgrimages of the western world: the California Missions, the pilgrimage road to visit the relics of Peter and Paul in Rome and the great trek from Paris to Compostella in Spain to pray at the tomb of San Diego. At present Fr. Jerome is waiting to complete the last great pilgrimage of the Christian West and that is to Jerusalem, the great geographical focal point for all of Christian and Jewish spirituality.

Vita

1963 -Religious Profession, St. John’s Abbey
1972- Maitrise de la Civilization Francaise: University of Paris IV
1976- Doctorat du Troisieme cycle, Sorbonne
1982 -Priesthood ordination Master of Divinity Degree,St. John's


Lecture Presentations:

2000-Mayo Clinic. Miami, Fl. "Art and Healing". A multi-media presentation of Paintings.
2000- Minnesota Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Mn. "In Quest of the Spirit".
2002- Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fl."Art and healing".

Publications

1999 An Uncommon Mission: Fr. Jerome Tupa Paints the
California Missions,Holly R. Witchey, Curator
of Contemporary Art San Diego Museum of Art. Welcome Press, San Francisco, New York City.

1996 In Quest of the Spirit: Laurel Reuter, Curator
the North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks,North Dakota A retrospective look at the work of Fr. Jerome Tupa

Selected Exhibitions

• 2007- The Pilgrimage from Paris to St. James of Compostella, Spain. Book and exhibition of the works created on this pilgrimage. The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington D.C., Museum of Catholic Art and Culture, New York city.
• 2005-03 Travelling exhibit: The Road to Rome Museum of Catholic Art and Culture, New York; exhibition of paintingsand watercolor,Marshall Fields, Chicago, 2003,
• 1999-2001 Traveling exhibits: San Diego Historical Society Museum September 1999. April 2000, Santa Barbara Historical Museum. Contemporary Art Museum of Fresno, California. September 2000.
• 1998 Scottsdale Center for the Arts and Cynthia Woody Gallery SPIRITSCAPES
• 1996-2000 Cynthia Woody Gallery, Scottsdale, Az. Flower Series
• 1996 North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota A Retrospective with catalogue
• 1995 In Collaboration, Akron, Ohio 'Torsos'
• 1993 Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, New York CANTICLES
• 1992 93 In Collaboration, Santa Monica, California
• 1991 93 In Collaboration, Akron, Ohio
• 1986 93 C.G. Rein Galleries; Minneapolis, Minnesota,
• 1990-92 New York Art Expo, New York, New York
• 1992 Art Miami International Gallery Invitational, Miami, Florida
• 1991 Alice B. Rogers Gallery, Collegeville, Minnesota
• 1991 Tangerine Gallery, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• 1990 Pierre Colt Gallery, Nice, France
• 1990 International Gallery Invitational, Chicago, Illinois
• 1990 Minnesota Museum of Art, Landmark Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
• 1988 Galerie des Pas Perdus, UNESCO, Paris, France
• 1987 Galeria Collegio San Anselmo, Rome, Italy
• 1985 Galerie Laurens, Paris France
• 1984 Daedalus Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1983 Musee National de Jean Moulin, Bordeaux, France
• 1983 Galerie des Amis des Arts, Bordeaux, France
• 1983 La Cave aux Huiles, Aix en Provence, France