News

Imaging the Unseen: Roman Joseph Verostko (1929-2024) / Fall 2024

After working as an artist for over seventy-five years, Roman Joseph Verostko, C’55, S’59, H’21, died at his home on June 1, 2024, leaving an indelible impact on generations of digital creatives working around the world. Verostko was formerly a Benedictine monk at Saint Vincent Archabbey and a professionally trained painter and scholar before he began experimenting with electronic media, circuit logic, and computer languages. Working at a time when art made in tandem with computers was viewed with deep suspicion, Verostko anticipated the ways in which algorithms would revolutionize global society. Despite staunch resistance from those who maintained computer-assisted drawing would never be considered art, Verostko remained resolute in revealing a universe of visual forms that do not “re-present” the world as previous generations has sought to do but rather make visible the invisible. 

The Verostko Center is proud to mount this memorial exhibition surveying the extensive career of our namesake.

Roman Verostko : In Conversation

At a moment when generative artists are renewing painting, Verostko’s brush plottings prove that the physical and the digital have always been in dialogue. His work also unites Western and Chinese traditions in a way that foreshadows the global conversation that has become a hallmark of digital art since the NFT. Today, RCS is pleased to bring together two generations of artists in a conversation for the ages.

Right Click Save's editor-in-chief, Alex Estorick, together with an international group of generative artists interviewed the Center's namesake, Roman Verostko. Their discussion explores Verostko's history of creative coding, the legacies of algorithms in art, as well as the projects he's working on now. Click here to read this insight-filled, intergenerational dialogue.

Beyond Paris / British Impressionists in the Rusinko Kakos Collection 
Jennifer Thompson, Ph.D.

On Thursday, September 14, Dr. Thompson offered a lecture entitled “Beyond Paris: British Impressionists in the Rusinko Kakos Collection.” In the years leading up to World War I, several prominent American and British writers posed the question, "What is Impressionism?" They were responding to the international dissemination and adoption of painting techniques identified with French artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Illustrated with objects from the Rusinko Kakos Collection, Dr. Thompson, explored the ways in which British painters embraced Impressionism's interest in color, fleeting sensations, visible brushwork and modern subject matter. In so doing, they developed a style with local characteristics and global resonance. A recording of the lecture is now available on the Saint Vincent College YouTube channel.
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Dr. Thompson earned her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Since joining the European Painting and Sculpture Department in 1999, she has played an essential role in interpreting, displaying and developing the museum’s collections of European art. She has published widely and curated many notable exhibitions, including The Impressionist’s Eye (2019), Old Masters Now: Celebrating the Johnson Collection (2017), Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting (2015), Van Gogh Up Close (2012) and Late Renoir (2010). She is also curator of the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia.

Hours / Fall 2024

While classes at Saint Vincent College are in session, the Center is open to the public: 

Tuesday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Those interested in visiting the Center from off-campus are encouraged to confirm the Center is open before visiting. For research requests or to schedule a visit outside these hours, email verostkocenter[at]stvincent.edu. Visitors are encouraged to park in lots D & E near the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica. Download a walking map to the Verostko Center here. The Center is always free and open to all. We look forward to welcoming you!
Roman Verostko,Untitled, 1988, pen and ink plotter drawing, 22.25 x 24 inches, Roman Verostko and Alice Wagstaff Legacy Collection.
The VCA is proudly named for digital art pioneer, Roman Verostko. Learn more about Verostko's work, formative years at Saint Vincent, and signature process of using computer code for creative purposes.
The Verostko Center for the Arts cares for over 4,000 works of art ​ranging from ancient to contemporary. Your support can help us preserve these creative legacies for future generations.
Verostko Center for the Arts
​Saint Vincent College | 300 Fraser Purchase Road | Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650