Twenty years ago, Joseph M. Malham decided to devote his life to the sacred arts—a devotion that continues to this day.
Born in Gary, Indiana, Malham is of Greek and Assyrian descent, and credits his Near East and Mediterranean heritage with his love of sacred art and iconography in particular. He studied art in Rome through Loyola University’s Rome Center and graduated with a BA in History from that same institution. In the midst of a promising and lucrative career as a fine art gallerist, Malham decided to give his life over to sacred, not secular, art.
Since 2001, he has been artist-in-residence at St. Gregory the Great Church in Chicago. Using the traditional techniques and materials iconographers have utilized for centuries, Malham writes his icons on poplar panels in egg tempera and 23k gold leaf. His panels and icon banners, a meld of traditional Byzantine/Russian images and his own unique style, have been acquired by churches, institutions and individuals around the country.
The Catholic Collection, presented by Trinity Icons, is less of a departure from and more of an evolution of his work as an iconographer in both form and medium.
Photo by Pat Sullivan