Salt Lake City's Christian School art display in limbo after sculptor's death - Axios Salt Lake CityLog InLog InAxios Salt Lake City is an Axios company.

Salt Lake' s Christian School art display in limbo after sculptor' s death

A passerby examines writing on a window of the "Christian School," artist Ralphael Plescia's studio near 1300 South State St. Anyone who's lost a senior loved one knows one of the most painful steps is deciding what to do with their decades' worth of belongings.And when you've lost an artist, their artwork is a legacy of their passion. But you can't keep everything. What's happening: That's Vonna Rae Plescia's dilemma as she mourns her husband, Ralphael, the prolific sculptor who created the "Christian School" art display on State Street.The self-taught sculptor was a fixture in Salt Lake City's art community, finding inspiration in , which he watched artist Thomas Child create in the 1940s and 50s, when Plescia was just a boy. Details: Ralphael, 84, died last month after a few weeks of illness — not enough time to make arrangements for his vast body of work at the Christian School site, Vonna Rae told Axios.He leased the building, which his father had willed to the Shriners hospital. Now the family has until Dec. 1 to find a new home for the artwork displayed there. Why it matters: Ralphael's depictions of Bible stories and other religious themes earned him some renown, with his work featured in , the website and a short .Much of his work focuses on Biblical images of motherhood and the apocalyptic visions in Revelation, according to the art preservation group . Catch up fast: Ralphael's sculptures began to fill his family's former auto-repair shop on State Street in 1970, when his father and daughter died in a car wreck on the drive to his sister's funeral in California, Vonna Rae said.He had always been fascinated by theology and faith, she said; he grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints and later attended St. Paul's Episcopal Church. What's next: Vonna Rae is unsure. An octogenarian herself, determining the fate of Ralphael's life's work is a physically and mentally daunting task, especially in the middle of grief.Some of the work is affixed to the building and will probably go to the Shriners, she said. As for the rest, "I don't know how we can even begin to [save everything]," she said. "There's just so much." Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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