Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace
Jonathan Koestlé-Cate's academic background in Fine Art and History of Art led to an early interest in the history of modern and contemporary art and the church. His writing on this subject first appeared in a collection of essays published in 2003 called ‘Painting, Sculpture and the Spiritual Dimension’, edited by Brandon Taylor and Stephen Newton. Some years later, the theme of contemporary art in and for the church formed the basis of his PhD, completed in 2012 at Goldsmiths College, London. The process of this research allowed him to develop ideas cultivated over a decade of observing and reviewing church-based projects. In 2013 Koestlé-Cate joined the editorial board of Art and Christianity, a leading journal in this field, to which he has been a regular contributor for some years. In the same year he was invited to become a trustee for Art and Sacred Places, an organisation committed to sponsoring contemporary art projects in sacred sites. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and currently works at Goldsmiths College as an Associate Lecturer.