Serving Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches and communities
I want to recommend a new venture founded by my friend and former teacher, Aidan Hart, who is one of the foremost iconographers in the UK. KALOS is a design consultancy and team of highly skilled practitioners which offers churches a way to rethink the design of their sacred spaces and commission liturgical art. This means that the art is not an afterthought, but central to the project. His detailed mission statement is posted below. You can contact him at aidanharticons.com/consultancy/. KALOS takes commissions on both sides of the Atlantic.
KALOS offers design, consultancy, implementation, and project management for church interiors worldwide, working on both refurbishments and new builds. It specializes in the reintroduction of figurative iconography into bespoke schemas that harmonize with the architecture and the liturgy of the client’s church. Drawing on both the Eastern Orthodox and early Western traditions and working across denominations, its mission is to preserve and advance the tradition of sacred art so that liturgical spaces encourage participation in heavenly worship.Drawing on the wisdom of both the Orthodox East and the early Christian Western traditions, KALOS serves Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches. The aim throughout is to help “re-face” church interiors, making them, as Aidan puts it, “living icons of heavenly worship.”
Aidan brings more than just the knowledge and experience of a working liturgical artist, extensive as that is. He is a published author and a serious scholar of liturgical history and theology, specializing in the role of iconography, architecture, and interior design within that theology. Such a combination of practical skill and learning is rare, and it means that a parish working with Aidan is guided by someone who understands deeply how all aspects of the design impact those who worship within.
KALOS can manage a project from first consultation through concept, design, planning approval, and creation, whatever the budget and whatever the setting, from a small chapel to a cathedral. For any church considering how to make its interior more truly conducive to prayer, I cannot think of better hands to be in.
The KALOS mission statement is as follows:
“We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on earth...for on earth there is no such splendor or beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We only know that God dwells there among men.” So spoke the emissaries of Prince Vladimir of Kyiv, reporting back on their experience of the Holy Liturgy at Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, in the tenth century.
KALOS, meaning beautiful and good in Greek, is an integrated consultancy and production house specializing in the design and creation of high-quality liturgical spaces for churches in the UK and across the world. KALOS is the vision of Aidan Hart, who, as well as being one of the most prominent iconographers and liturgical artists in the UK today, also enjoys a considerable international reputation. His work is in high demand across Christian denominations, with works in many cathedrals and over twenty-five countries worldwide.
KALOS specializes in reintroducing figurative iconography to places of worship and creating interiors conducive to prayer. Worship on earth is participation in heavenly worship, and so a major part of KALOS's work is to help communities to 're-face' their church interiors with iconography that helps make this a reality for worshippers. Liturgical art and church interior design are therefore a specialist field, requiring intimate knowledge of liturgy, theology, architecture, tradition, and materials. Detail and context are paramount in our process. From initial consultation and concept development to design, gaining planning approval, creation and project management, we can guide and manage every step of the process with care, clarity, and deep respect for sacred context.
The KALOS team draws especially on the wisdom of the Eastern Orthodox and early Western traditions, seeking innovative and intelligent ways to integrate these into contemporary ritual spaces. While favoring traditional methods and natural materials, we sometimes also use contemporary materials where these best suit requirements.
We source, curate, and manage teams of leading artists, architects, craftspeople, technicians, and other professionals. We select these for their expertise, theological sensitivity, and technical excellence. Our core team members have worked for many decades in the realm of liturgical art and architecture. This experience enables us to tailor to the needs of worship spaces whatever their context, whether parishes, cathedrals, monasteries and convents, pilgrimage sites, landscaping, chapels of faith schools or sites of Christian heritage. Whether the projects involve fresco, mosaic, panel icons, church furnishings, sculpture, interior design, lighting or large-scale liturgical environments, we bring together the right people to deliver enduring works that enhance the beauty and function of worship spaces.
With a mind to meeting the growing demand for church refurbishments and new builds, we also apprentice promising new students of liturgical art as well as employing past students from The King's Foundation School of Traditional Art, where Aidan Hart has taught an icon-painting program since 2009. We plan to sponsor and promote research to glean practical wisdom from academic and scientific studies of past church masterpieces. We are also developing modules for seminaries, to inspire future priests concerning the importance of beauty and liturgical art, and to equip them with practical skills such as how to brief architects and other professionals for renovations.
Past commissions range from intimate prayer spaces and chapels to large churches and cathedrals with frescos and mosaics, always seeking to honor the sacred purposes of the spaces and churches that we serve, whatever the budget.
We are committed to a warm and generous spirit of collaboration with churches of all denominations. Our mission is not only to preserve but also to advance the tradition of sacred art in our time. Liturgical arts should reflect and participate in heavenly worship, drawing hearts and minds to an encounter with Christ and the saints. “On Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6, 10) is our inspiration.
Here are some before and after photographs of Aidan’s work with churches:
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