Concordia University, Nebraska

Luke Scholars "All This and Not Ordinary" course works with Marxhausen Gallery of Art

Seward, NE (02/11/2026) — The Marxhausen Gallery of Art is hosting the exhibition, "Was God Dead? Biblical Imagination in German Expressionist Prints" January 19-March 5. Concordia University, Nebraska's Luke Scholar's class will host an event to discuss personal analyses of individual prints within the exhibition on Sunday, February 22 from 1-4 p.m.

The Luke Scholars involved in the event are all enrolled in the art section "All This and Not Ordinary." Professor of Art and Director of the Marxhausen Gallery of Art James Bockelman had the students work with the exhibit to allow them to engage with primary-source materials.

"My goal is to have these students work directly with original prints, studying them and looking closely at them," he said. "My overarching goal is to provide them with opportunities for them to become better visual thinkers and also develop a greater degree of empathy. Looking at art is like meeting a new acquaintance for the first time."

The students were able to arrange the exhibition and decide where the prints should be displayed in the gallery.

The Luke Scholars event will focus on students' personal analyses of specific prints. Each student chose one work to study in depth, and their presentation will include the print's form and content and how their research is in dialogue with modern art history and theology in the context of a public art gallery.

A large portion of the artwork displayed in the exhibition are responses to World War I and the aftermath of tragedy and political divide in Germany.

"Two groups of German artists, the Blue Riders and the Bride developed a unique visual language by recovering the wood cut print method and adopting the primitive mask from Africa and Non-Western societies," said Bockelman. "These raw, graphic art forms became known as German Expressionism and the gravitation towards Biblical stories of expulsion, wandering, deliverance and the passion of Christ gave a powerful depiction of the drama of the human nature in light of the immediate times."

The exhibition and the Luke Scholars Presentation are possible because of Academic Excellence Grant Award, "To Nurture Habits of the Mind."

Luke Scholars enrolled in "All This and Not Ordinary" include:

Timothy Baker, Khovd, Mongolia

Bailey Bianco, Loveland, Colorado

Acacia Carlson, Pleasant Dale, Nebraska

Morgan Davis, Andover, Kansas

Elaina Hanson, Valdez, Arkansas

Quinlan Hendrickson, Lincoln, Nebraska

Emma Higgins, Long Prairie, Minnesota

Kailyn King, Seward, Nebraska

Micah Knerl, Tekamah, Nebraska

Lillian Loghry, Omaha, Nebraska

Cameran Schafer, Orange, California

About Concordia University, Nebraska

Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod located in Seward, Nebraska, which currently serves more than 1,700 students. Concordia offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world. For more information, visit cune.edu.

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