Linda Hesh and the $2,828 Questions

Linda Hesh hoped to add to the gay-marriage debate with this ad, which ran in The Washington Post in October, but there were only six responses. (Linda Hesh - Courtesy Linda Hesh)

John Sager's "Tracings of Eternal Light" at the Dadian Gallery. (Dadian Gallery)

The tone is quirky, yes, and disquieting, too.

Welcome to the Dadian Gallery, part of the Luce Center for the Arts and Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary. The current exhibition, "The Square Halo," features the work of Texas artist John Sager. And if his peculiar creations are not what you expect when you think about religious art, that's just what the center has in mind.

Gallery curator and temporary Luce co-director Deborah Sokolove explains that the center exists to promote conversation between artists and theologians, and to share that dialogue with the public.

"The arts can open us to new kinds of understanding," says Sokolove, who does not always look for explicit religious imagery when selecting exhibitions. "We've had shows on AIDS, poverty. . . . I'm looking for a kind of truth about what it means to be a human being. If it's honest and non-polemic, then I'm interested in it."

The center has evolved over two decades as the seminary has embraced arts components throughout its curriculum. Students' course work is enhanced by the center's gallery exhibitions, visual and performing artist residencies, and programs in music, drama, dance and literary arts. The center also schedules public performances and lectures.

The value placed on the arts makes the seminary unique among its institutional peers, adds Sokolove, and represents a challenge to reclaim centuries-old arts traditions in churches that have been lost or diminished, as well as a challenge to break new ground in terms of what the arts can do to enhance spirituality.

(In)visible Silence, at School 33 Art Center, 1427 Light St., Baltimore. Opening reception Saturday 4-6 p.m. Exhibition continues through Jan. 6. Open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday noon-4 p.m. Free. Call 410-396-4641 or visit www.school33.org.

The Square Halo: Constructions and Collages by John Sager, at Dadian Gallery, Luce Center for the Arts and Religion, Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Massachusetts Avenue NW. Through Dec. 17. Open Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Call 202-885-8674 or visit www.luceartsandreligion.org.