Interviews Update

Since my last Interview Update, I have had an interview published by International Times with Jacquiline Creswell, who has worked as a curator with a number of Cathedrals in England and in that time has commissioned, curated and installed more than 80 exhibitions:

'It’s so interesting, as it usually takes about two or three years to do an exhibition, and what’s really amazing and fascinating is how the artist sees their work and themselves differently in that time. Somehow, they’ve actually embraced faith. I don’t necessarily mean in a Christian way but they have a new and different spirituality by that engagement. They talk to the Cathedral’s communities and there’s these backwards and forwards conversations, from which everybody’s learning. Everybody’s getting something from it. It’s bringing light to everybody.'

My reviews of exhibitions curated by Jacquiline Creswell can be read here, here, and here. 

As a result, I am updating this index of interviews. I have carried out a large number of other interviews for Artlyst, ArtWay, Church Times, International Times, Seen and Unseen and Art+Christianity. They provide a wide range of fascinating insights into the approaches and practices of artists, arts professionals, clerics, curators, performers, poets and writers.

They can be found at:

Artlyst

• Michael Petry Discusses In League With Devils with Revd Jonathan Evens
• Sean Scully A Humility Towards Nature
• Winslow Homer: American Passage An Interview With Biographer Bill Cross
• Grayson Perry Tapestries On Show At Salisbury Cathedral
• Sidney Nolan’s Africa: Interview With Andrew Turley
• Ilona Bossanyi: Tate’s Ervin Bossanyi Stained Glass Window Mothballed After 2011 Redevelopment
• Louis Carreon: Sampling Art History
• Modus Operandi - What Makes Successful Public Art: Vivien Lovell Interviewed
• Genesis Tramaine: A Queer Devotional Painter
• Lakwena Maciver: Review-Interview Hastings Contemporary
• Nicola Ravenscroft - Sculpture With A Peaceful Stillness
• Artist Hannah Rose Thomas – Tears of Gold – Interview
• Marcus Lyon: Human Atlas Explorations
• Elizabeth Kwant Interview
• Helaine Blumenfeld: Undulating Structures
• National Gallery Explores ‘Sin’ In New Exhibition – Interview Dr Joost Joustra Curator
• Betty Spackman: Posthumanism Debates
• Christopher Clack: Connecting The Material And Immaterial
• Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
• Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
• Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
• Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
• Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
• Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
• Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
• Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
• Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields
• Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar

ArtWay

• The things we carry – A collaborative exhibition by Neil Tye
• Painting the Life of Christ – an interview with Francis Hoyland
• “Giving identity to forms” – an interview with Marta Jakobovits
• Jonathan Evens in conversation with Roberta Ahmanson, Siobhán Jolley and Ben Quash
• Interview with Steve Whittle
• Paul Chandler and Brian Whelan: WHITE ROBE: An exhibition celebrating the life of Rev. Dr John Roberts among Native Americans
• TEARS OF GOLD: “The invisible light that radiates from the other” – Jonathan Evens interviews Hannah Rose Thomas
• Stations of the Cross in Hornsea: Jonathan Evens Interviews Artist Matthew Askey
• David Miller - "Form welcomes the formless home"
• Sophie Hacker - The Calling Window
• Peter Koenig interview
• Belinda Scarlett interview

Church Times

• Looking Up by Helaine Blumenfeld
• Proverbs of Micah Purnell, poster painter
• The Calling Window, by Sophie Hacker for Romsey Abbey
• Global Images of Christ: Challenging Perceptions at Chester Cathedral
• Betty Spackman: The art and the conversation

International Times

• 'Learning my language' - Jacquiline Creswell
• Touching the Void – Communicating with a loved one, post-mortem. An interview with Alexander de Cadenet
• Scrappy and unconventional and paradoxical. An interview with Spencer Reece
• Polyphony, poetry and publishing. An interview with Chris Emery
• Jago Cooper: Living art and urgent questions

Seen and Unseen

• Emily Young: the sculptor listening as the still stones speak
• Critics and curators are missing this about contemporary artists: An interview with Jonathan Anderson
• Interview: Alastair Gordon on the artist’s attention
• Art, AI and apocalypse: Michael Takeo Magruder addresses our fears and questions
• Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood
• How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview
• The Devil's perspective: Jonathan Evens interviews author Nicholas Papadopulos
• Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration: Shezad Dawood’s multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral
• Charm in tunes on the eastern edge: Musician and priest Rev Simpkins discusses how music is an expression of humanity and his faith

Art+Christianity

• Interview: Richard Kenton Webb by Jonathan Evens
• David Hawkins interviewed by Jonathan Evens

The Big Picture

• Meeting Christ in Sundry Places: Jonathan Evens in conversation with Francis Hoyland

Also see my interviews with artist Henry Shelton here and here and David Hawkins, former Bishop of Barking, here, here and here. I have also published an interview with artist, poet and writer Rupert Loydell, who has also interviewed Nick Battle and Steve Scott.

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Steve Scott - Not A Pretty Picture.

International Times: ‘Learning My Language’

My latest interview for International Times is with Jacquiline Creswell, who has worked as a curator with a number of Cathedrals in England and in that time has commissioned, curated and installed more than 80 exhibitions:

'It’s so interesting, as it usually takes about two or three years to do an exhibition, and what’s really amazing and fascinating is how the artist sees their work and themselves differently in that time. Somehow, they’ve actually embraced faith. I don’t necessarily mean in a Christian way but they have a new and different spirituality by that engagement. They talk to the Cathedral’s communities and there’s these backwards and forwards conversations, from which everybody’s learning. Everybody’s getting something from it. It’s bringing light to everybody.'

My reviews of exhibitions curated by Jacquiline Creswell can be read here, here, and here.

My earlier pieces for IT are: an interview with the artist Alexander de Cadenet; an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of:

• Michael Takeo Magruder -Reconstructed Landscape{s}
• The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s
• In Another World: The Four Seasons of Talk Talk
• Hulda Guzman: Please awake - asked Nature kindly' at Turner Contemporary;
• 'Devotions' by Lucy Caldwell and 'Catholic Modernism and the Irish ‘Avant-Garde’: The Achievement of Brian Coffey, Denis Devlin, and Thomas MacGreevy' by James Matthew Wilson;
• the 'Stations' project from Dunlin Press;
• 'William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy';
• Joseph Arthur in concert;
• installations by Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at Hayward Gsllery,
• U2's 'Days of Ash', Mumford and Sons' 'Prizefighter' and Moby's 'Future Quiet';
• 'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland;
• 'Lux' by Rosalía;
• 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere';
• 'Great Art Explained' by James Payne;
• 'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend;
• 'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins;
• 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson;
• 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art,
• albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey,
• also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku;
• 'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley;
• Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel;
• T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone;
• Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition,
• 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller;
• 'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt,
• the first Pissabed Prophet album; and
• 'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

Several of my short stories have been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

IT have also published several of my poems, including 'Spencer Reece at Bemerton' which is based on the visit that I made to Bemerton in 2026 with Spencer Reece, 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. My poems published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

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Seen and Unseen: Cathedrals, confessionals, and the strange allure of spiritual fiction

My latest article for Seen and Unseen is 'Cathedrals, confessionals, and the strange allure of spiritual fiction' about the return of Susan Howatch:

'These are novels that are infused with the great Christian themes of sin, repentance, forgiveness, redemption, resurrection, and renewal. They explore the Church of England and their central characters (based as these often are on actual individuals) with great rigour, energy, and creativity, both theologically and sociologically. In these novels, faith and science, mysticism and psychology, are interlinked and interwoven through the device of spiritual direction sessions. The importance to the spiritual life of having an effective spiritual director is put centre-stage in these novels as their characters crash and burn through the unexamined aspects of their life experiences before re-building lives and careers with the support of those able to accompany them with spiritual support.'

My first article for Seen and Unseen was 'Life is more important than art' which reviews the themes of recent art exhibitions that tackle life’s big questions and the roles creators take.

My second article 'Corinne Bailey Rae’s energised and anguished creative journey' explores inspirations in Detroit, Leeds and Ethiopia for Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album, Black Rainbows, which is an atlas of capacious faith.

My third article was an interview with musician and priest Rev Simpkins in which we discussed how music is an expression of humanity and his faith.

My fourth article was a guide to the Christmas season’s art, past and present. Traditionally at this time of year “great art comes tumbling through your letterbox” so, in this article, I explore the historic and contemporary art of Christmas.

My fifth article was 'Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration'. In this article I interviewed Shezad Dawood about his multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral where personal objects recovered from ocean depths tell a story of modern and ancient migrations.

My sixth article was 'The visionary artists finding heaven down here' in which I explored a tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds.

My seventh article was 'How the incomer’s eye sees identity' in which I explain how curating an exhibition for Ben Uri Online gave me the chance to highlight synergies between ancient texts and current issues.

My eighth article was 'Infernal rebellion and the questions it asks' in which I interview the author Nicholas Papadopulos about his book The Infernal Word: Notes from a Rebel Angel.

My ninth article was 'A day, night and dawn with Nick Cave’s lyrics' in which I review Adam Steiner’s Darker With The Dawn — Nick Cave’s Songs Of Love And Death and explore whether Steiner's rappel into Cave’s art helps us understand its purpose.

My 10th article was 'Theresa Lola's poetical hope' about the death-haunted yet lyrical, joyful and moving poet for a new generation.

My 11th article was 'How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview', exploring themes from Rosen's book 'What Would Jesus See: Ways of Looking at a Disorienting World'.

My 12th article was 'Blake, imagination and the insight of God', exploring a new exhibition - 'William Blake's Universe at the Fitzwilliam Museum - which focuses on seekers of spiritual regeneration and national revival.

My 13th article 'Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood' was an interview with Matthew Krishanu on his exhibition 'The Bough Breaks' at Camden Art Centre.

My 14th article was entitled 'Art makes life worth living' and explored why society, and churches, need the Arts.

My 15th article was entitled 'The collective effervescence of sport's congregation' and explored some of the ways in which sport and religion have been intimately entwined throughout history

My 16th article was entitled 'Paradise cottage: Milton reimagin’d' and reviewed the ways in which artist Richard Kenton Webb is conversing with the blind poet in his former home (Milton's Cottage, Chalfont St Giles).

My 17th article was entitled 'Controversial art: how can the critic love their neighbour?'. It makes suggestions of what to do when confronted with contentious culture.

My 18th article was an interview entitled 'Art, AI and apocalypse: Michael Takeo Magruder addresses our fears and questions'. In the interview the digital artist talks about the possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

My 19th article was entitled 'Dark, sweet and subtle: recovered music orientates us'. In the article I highlight alt-folk music seeking inspiration from forgotten hymns.

My 20th article was entitled 'Revisiting Amazing Grace inspires new songs'. In the article I highlight folk musicians capturing both the barbaric and the beautiful in the hymn Amazing Grace and Christianity's entanglement with the transatlantic slave trade more generally.

My 21st article was entitled 'James MacMillan’s music of tranquility and discord'. In the article I noted that the composer’s music contends both the secular and sacred.

My 22nd article was a book review on Nobody's Empire by Stuart Murdoch. 'Nobody's Empire: A Novel is the fictionalised account of how ... Murdoch, lead singer of indie band Belle and Sebastian, transfigured his experience of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) through faith and music.'

My 23rd article was entitled 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion'. The article explores how popular music conjures sacred space.

My 24th article was an interview with Alastair Gordon on the artist’s attention which explores why the overlooked and everyday capture the creative gaze.

My 25th article was about Stanley Spencer’s seen and unseen world and the artist’s child-like sense of wonder as he saw heaven everywhere.

My 26th article was entitled 'The biblical undercurrent that the Bob Dylan biopics missed' and in it I argue that the best of Dylan’s work is a contemporary Pilgrim, Dante or Rimbaud on a compassionate journey.

My 27th article was entitled 'Heading Home: a pilgrimage that breaks out beauty along the way' and focuses on a film called 'Heading Home' which explores how we can learn a new language together as we travel.

My 28th article was entitled 'Annie Caldwell: “My family is my band”' and showcased a force of nature voice that comes from the soul.

My 29th article was entitled 'Why sculpt the face of Christ?' and explored how, in Nic Fiddian Green’s work, we feel pain, strength, fear and wisdom.

My 30th article was entitled 'How Mumford and friends explore life's instability' and explored how Mumford and Sons, together with similar bands, commune on fallibility, fear, grace, and love.

My 31st article was entitled 'The late Pope Francis was right – Antoni Gaudi truly was God’s architect' and explored how sanctity can indeed be found amongst scaffolding, as Gaudi’s Barcelona beauties amply demonstrate.

My 32nd article was entitled 'This gallery refresh adds drama to the story of art' and explored how rehanging the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery revives the emotion of great art.

My 33rd article was an interview with Jonathan A. Anderson about the themes of his latest book 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art'.

My 34th article was an interview with 'Emily Young: the sculptor listening as the still stones speak'.

My 35th article was a profile of New York's expressionist devotional artist, 'Genesis Tramaine: the painter whose faces catch the spirit'.

My 36th article was a concert review of Natalie Bergman at Union Chapel - a soul-soaked set turned personal tragedy into communal celebration.

My 37th article was based on the exhibition series 'Can We Stop Killing Each Other?' at the Sainsbury Centre. In it I explore how art, theology, and moral imagination confront our oldest instinct.

My 38th article article was 'The dot and the dash: modern art’s quiet search for deeper meaning' in which I argue that Neo-Impressionism meets mysticism in a quietly radical exhibition at the National Gallery.

My 39th article was 'From Klee to Klein, Wenders to Botticelli: angels unveiled' in which I explore how, across war, wonder and nativity, artists show angels bridging earth and heaven.

My 40th article was 'When Henry Moore’s Madonna shocked Northampton' in which I explore how a modernist mother and child stirred outrage, then lasting wonder.

My 41st article was 'Turner and Constable: storms, salvation and the sublime' in which I discussed how Tate Britain reveals how rival visions shaped art and spirit.

My 42nd article was 'When converts cracked open the culture’s polished surface' in which I explored how faith’s outsiders disrupted the scene with unexpected force.

My 43rd article 'The Magdalene we rarely see' was about the painting 'Magdalene at the Base of the Cross' by Chris Gollon.

My 44th article was 'U2’s music shows surrender can still sound like joy' which explores the spirituality of U2

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The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral - How Shall I Sing That Majesty.

Artlyst - The Art Diary January 2026

For the January 2026 Art Diary for Artlyst I have highlighted my personal selection of upcoming exhibitions and installations throughout 2026. These reflect my regular interests in art that engages with creativity, ecclesiastical contexts, environmental concerns, reconciliation, relationality, remembrance, social justice, or spirituality. Venues featured include, among others, Guildford Cathedral, Two Temple Place, American Museum & Gardens, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Wiltshire Museum, Compton Verney, National Gallery, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, The Courtauld, Serpentine North Gallery, and Laing Art Gallery.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

• Michael Petry Discusses In League With Devils with Revd Jonathan Evens
• Sean Scully A Humility Towards Nature
• Winslow Homer: American Passage An Interview With Biographer Bill Cross
• Grayson Perry Tapestries On Show At Salisbury Cathedral
• Sidney Nolan’s Africa: Interview With Andrew Turley
• Ilona Bossanyi: Tate’s Ervin Bossanyi Stained Glass Window Mothballed After 2011 Redevelopment
• Louis Carreon: Sampling Art History
• Modus Operandi - What Makes Successful Public Art: Vivien Lovell Interviewed
• Genesis Tramaine: A Queer Devotional Painter
• Lakwena Maciver: Review-Interview Hastings Contemporary
• Nicola Ravenscroft - Sculpture With A Peaceful Stillness
• Artist Hannah Rose Thomas – Tears of Gold – Interview
• Marcus Lyon: Human Atlas Explorations
• Elizabeth Kwant Interview
• Helaine Blumenfeld: Undulating Structures
• National Gallery Explores ‘Sin’ In New Exhibition – Interview Dr Joost Joustra Curator
• Betty Spackman: Posthumanism Debates
• Christopher Clack: Connecting The Material And Immaterial
• Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
• Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
• Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
• Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
• Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
• Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
• Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
• Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
• Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields
• Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar

Monthly diary articles -

• The December Art Diary
• The November Art Diary
• The October Art Diary
• The August/September Art Diary
• The July Art Diary
• The June Art Diary 2025
• The May Art Diary 2025
• The April Art Diary 2025
• The Art Diary March 2025
• The Art Diary February 2025
• The Art Diary January 2025
• The Art Diary December 2024
• The Art Diary November 2024
• The Art Diary October 2024
• The Art Diary September 2024
• The Art Diary August 2024
• The Art Diary July 2024
• The Art Diary June 2024
• The Art Diary May 2024
• The Art Diary April 2024
• The Art Diary March 2024
• The Art Diary February 2024
• The Art Diary January 2024
• The Art Diary December 2023
• The Art Diary November 2023
• The Art Diary October 2023
• The Art Diary September 2023
• Jeremy Deller In Rennes And Brittany Post-Impressionism – August Diary
• The Art Diary July 2023
• The Art Diary June 2023
• The Art Diary May 2023
• The Art Diary April 2023
• The Art Diary March 2023
• The Art Diary February 2023
• Surveying New Exhibitions With A Spiritual Twist January 2023 Art Diary
• Christmas: The Art Of Faith December 2022 Diary
• Soulages And Strange Clay November 2022 Art Diary
• Alexander de Cadenet And Michael Forbes October 2022 Diary
• Spiritual Joseph Beuys Plus More: September Diary
• Holiday Snaps – End Of Summer Art Diary
• Art Search: August 2022 Diary
• Re-imagining Essex July 2022 Diary
• Art Illuminating spirituality June 2022 Diary
• Venice To London May 2022 Diary
• Jacob Epstein, Louis Carreon, Titus Kaphar, Betty Spackman – April 2022 Diary
• Audrey Flack Carlo Crivelli And Robert Indiana – March Diary
• My Art Diary And Other Thoughts February 2022
• And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021
• International Autumn Art Exhibition Reviews
• And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021

Articles/Reviews -

• Into Abstraction Meaning Connection And Hope Firstsite
• Nigerian Modernism Explored Tate Modern
• Can We Stop Killing Each Other? – Sainsbury Centre
• Millet Life on the Land National Gallery
• Lubaina Himid With Magda Stawarska Kettle’s Yard
• Arpita Singh Social Observations Serpentine North
• Siena: The Creative Achievement Of Christendom
• An Uncommon Thread Hauser & Wirth Somerset
• Michelangelo Leonardo Raphael At The Royal Academy Review
• Modern Art Oxford Reopens After £2million Redesign
• Leonora Carrington Still Relevant Firstsite Colchester
• Ken Currie, Kehinde Wiley, Susie Hamilton Three Exhibitions About Communities
• The Victorian Radicals And Other Related Exhibitions
• Cedric Morris And Arthur Lett-Haines Gainsborough House
• Lunar Lullabies, David Lock and Concrete Dreams Three Shows To See At Firstsite
• Tate Expressionists Exhibition Reveals Spirituality and Past Gender Disparity
• The Last Caravaggio National Gallery
• Issam Kourbaj Kettle’s Yard And Heong Gallery Cambridge
• Li Yuan-chia And Friends Kettles Yard Cambridge
• Antony Gormley Explores Self Awareness White Cube Bermondsey
• Holbein: Politics Religion And Draughtsmanship – The Queen’s Gallery
• R B Kitaj And Philip Guston: Figurative Painting Celebrated
• Paula Rego And Lord Harries Respond To Art And Religion
• A World In Common: Contemporary African Photography Tate Modern
• Chris Ofili Exploring Sin At Victoria Miro
• Ai Weiwei - The Artist of Resistance - The Design Museum
• Saint Francis of Assisi A Timely Exhibition - National Gallery
• Why Critics Have A Problem With The Pre-Raphaelites?
• Religion and Spirituality in Post Impressionism National Gallery
• Black Artists From The American South Royal Academy
• Donatello: The Divine Fused With The Human V&A
• Lucian Freud And His Circle Surveyed In Two London Exhibitions
• A Question Of Clay: Strange Clay – Hayward Gallery
• William Kentridge: Merging Politics With Aesthetics – RA
• Winslow Homer: Beyond The Sea – National Gallery
• Hidden Depths: The Woman in the Window – Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Heavenly Visions: Churches As Spaces For Contemporary Art
• In The Black Fantastic London’s Best Summer Exhibition
• Hew Locke And The Christian Roots Of Carnival – Tate BritainLes Lalanne, Schütte And Gursky London Spring Exhibition Highlights
• Sensuous Sickert and Philpot Two Major UK Solo Exhibitions
• Raphael The Human And Divine – National Gallery
• Damien Hirst The Visceral Reality Of Death
• Ali Cherri: Artist in Residence National Gallery
• Surrealism Outside The Usual Story – Tate Modern
• Marcus Lyon Creates Fields of Vision At St Martin-in-the-Fields London
• Van Gogh Self Portraits The Infinite And The Ordinary
• Marvellous Icons: The London Jesuit Centre
• Albrecht Dürer Travels Of A Renaissance Artist – National Gallery London
• Diasporan Identities: Life Between Islands Caribbean British Art – Tate Britain
• Isamu Noguchi: Socially Engaged Art – Barbican Centre
• Pablo Bronstein: A This-World Vision Of Hell
• Bosco Sodi: In The Beginning Of Wisdom
• George Condo Lockdown Works Hauser & Wirth
• Theaster Gates Clay As A Profound Metaphor
• Mark Rothko: Mesmerising And Intimate Works On Paper
• Roger Cecil: A Once In A Generation Welsh Painter
• Tino Sehgal: Location, Nature And Pandemic – Blenheim Palace
• Michael Armitage And The Power Of Art – Royal Academy
• Marie Raymond And Post-War Avant Garde Painting In Paris
• Rachel Kneebone: A Complex Tableau Of Organic And Geometric Forms
• Rodin: Suffering And Conflict – Tate Modern
• Barbara Hepworth: Symbols Of Art & Life – Hepworth Wakefield
• 20th Century Women Artists Challenging Conventions In Britain
• Chaiya Art Awards 2021 Gallery OXO
• Marc Chagall’s Exquisite Stained Glass Window Commissions
• George Gittoes Equal parts artist and warrior
• Keith Haring: Personal Spiritual Imagery
• Sean Scully: Philosophical Poetic Pastoral The 12 / Dark Windows
• Arthur Jafa: The Art Of Cutting And Pasting
• Blackpentecostal Breath: Spirit-Led Movement Jumps From Music To Visual Art
• Made in USA Ed Ruscha An American Perspective
• Robert Smithson: The Archetypal Nature Of Things
• If Jesus Is A Man Of Colour Why Did We Make Him Aryan?
• Cosmic Patches And Quilts Five Exhibitions
• Everyday Heroes: Southbank Exhibition Celebrates Low-paid Key Workers
• Entwining Spiritualism And Art – Three Shows
• Of Church And The Visual Arts
• Has The Word Master Reached Its Sell-By Date?
• The People Behind Community Is Kindness Billboard Campaign
• André Daughtry: Art, Rebellion And Racial Justice
• Salisbury Cathedral 800 Years Of Art And Spirit
• Home Alone Together Twenty Five Artists
• Botanical Mind Online: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree
• Salvador Dalí The Enigma of Faith
• Art And Faith A Time For Seeing
• Andy Warhol: Catholicism His Work, Faith And Legacy
• Kiki Smith: Embodied Art
• Art and Christianity Awards A Positive New Millennium Legacy
• Arnulf Rainer: 90th Birthday Exhibition Celebrated At Albertina Museum
• A Belonging Project And Exiles Loss and Displacement
• Robert Polidori: Fra Angelico Opus Operantis
• Art, Faith, Church Patronage and Modernity
• Contemplating the Spiritual in Contemporary Art
• Mat Collishaw Challenges Faith Perspectives With Ushaw Installation
• Waterloo Festival Launches At St. John’s Waterloo
• John Bellany Alan Davie Spiritual Joy and Magic
• RIFT Unites 17 Art and Science MA Graduates At Central St Martins
• Visionary Cities: Michael Takeo Magruder – British Library
• Van Gogh’s Religious Journey Around London
• William Congdon Holy Sites And The Kettle’s Yard Connection
• Mark Dean Premieres Pastiche Mass At Banqueting Hall Chelsea College of Arts
• John Kirby: The Torment
• Underlying The Civilised Facade
• Curating Spiritual Sensibilities In Changing Times
• Homeless Highlighted: New Beau Exhibition At St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Ken Currie: Protest Defeat And Victory
• Bosco Sodi: A Moment Of Genesis
• Bill Viola And The Art Of Contemplation
• Art In Churches 2018: Spiritual Combinations Explored
• Sister Wendy Beckett – A Reminiscence
• Guido Guidi: Per Strada Flowers Gallery London
• Peter Howson: The play is over – Flowers Gallery
• Camille Henrot: Scientific History And Creation Story Mash Up
• Nicola Green Explores Recent And Contemporary Religious Leaders – St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Art And The Consequences Of War Explored In Two Exhibitions
• Helaine Blumenfeld Translating Her Vision
• Sam Ivin: Physically Scratched Portraits Of Asylum Seekers Exhibited
• Sacred Noise: Explores Religion, Faith And Divinity
• Bill Viola: Quiet Contemplative Video Installation St Cuthbert’s Church Edinburgh
• The ground-breaking work of Sister Corita Kent
• Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
• Michael Takeo Magruder: De / coding the Apocalypse – Panacea Museum
• Giorgio Griffa: The Golden Ratio And Inexplicable Knowledge
• Arabella Dorman Unveils New Installation At St James Church Piccadilly
• Can Art Transform Society?
• Art Awakening Humanity Conference Report
• Central St Martins in the Fields Design Then And Now
• The Sacramental And Liturgical Nature Of Conceptual Art
• Polish Art In Britain: Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
• Refugee Artists: Learning from The Lives Of Others
• The Religious Impulses Of Robert Rauschenberg
• The Christian Science Connection Within The British Modern Art Movement
• Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition
• Art Impacted - A Radical Response To Radicalisation
• The Art of St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?

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Sister Ray Davies - Lindisfarne.

Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story

As part of our content partnership with Greenbelt this year St Martin-in-the-Fields will be launching 'Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story', an exciting new discipleship resource, with three exclusive ‘Inspired to Follow’ taster sessions. My colleague Alastair McKay has explained more in a post on the Greenbelt website - click here to read.

Alastair will be showcasing three sessions of ‘Inspired to Follow’ at GB17, in collaboration with Ayla Lepine an art historian and ordinand, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the festival. The sessions – a cross between workshop and educational event – are being offered in the new Canvas venue on the ‘other side of the lake’.

‘Inspired to Follow’ offers a space for us to explore together what it means to follow Jesus in today’s world. So there’s more questions than answers, as well as pointers to where answers can be found in God’s journey with us – through both the Biblical story and our journey in today’s world. Perhaps the best news is that all the materials for the 22-session course are provided free, in return for registering your details.

In addition, St Martin in the Fields will also be bringing Great Sacred Music to Greenbelt this year and I will be contributing to a session entitled Cathedrals and commerce: The challenge facing large churches. This will be in The Exchange, a new venue for 2017 that will be an oportunity to think together over the weekend about enterprise for the common good. On Bank Holiday Monday at 1.00pm, a panel chaired by Cliff Mills, will explore the reality that large churches are getting involved in enterprise activity to stay open and asking didn't Jesus turn over the tables of the money changers, so how can we find the right way through commerce and cathedrals? I will talk about these questions in relation to HeartEdge, together with The Very Revd John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral, Alison Inglis-Jones from the Trussell Trust, and Jonny Gordon-Farleigh from Stir to Action. 

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Pēteris Vasks - Lord,  Open Our Eyes.

Stations of the Cross: Art & Passion

Stations of the Cross: Art and Passion is an exhibition across London in 14 iconic destinations: A pilgrimage for art lovers. Experience the Passion: Lent 2016: 10 February (Ash Wednesday) - 28 March (Easter Monday).

On the day he died, Jesus walked the Via Dolorosa through the streets of Jerusalem, a holy city for Jews, which would later become sacred to Christians and Muslims. Jesus' journey is traditionally commemorated by the Stations of the Cross. Across the chasm of two thousand years, this tortured path resonates with current events for people of many faiths and cultures. In particular, it calls to mind the hazardous journeys of refugees from today's Middle East.

This unique exhibition — held in 14 stations across London — uses works of art to tell the story of the Passion in a new way, for people of different faiths. In this pilgrimage for art lovers, viewers will travel across London, mapping the geography of the Holy Land onto the streets of a ‘new Jerusalem.’

The Stations will weave through religious as well as secular spaces, from cathedrals to museums. The art on display will run the gamut from Old Master paintings to contemporary video installations. Artists will include Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists. Instead of easy answers, the Stations aim to provoke the passions: artistically, spiritually, and politically.

The Trail

1. Jesus is condemned to death by the mob and Pontius Pilate washes his hands.
King’s College London Chapel
Terry Duffy, Victim No Resurrection
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2. Jesus takes up his cross and begins his journey.
Parliament Square
Philip Jackson, Mahatma Gandhi, 2015
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3. Jesus falls the first time.
Methodist Central Hall
James Balmforth, Intersection Point, 2015
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4. Jesus meets his mother.
Westminster Cathedral (Catholic)
Eric Gill, Stations of the Cross (Station IV), 1915
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5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross.
Wallace Collection
Twenty-four Plaques after Albrecht Dürer's Small Passion Woodcut Series, Limoges, France, c. 1570- c.1625
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6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Cavendish Square
Jacob Epstein, Madonna and Child, 1950-52
With nightime image projection planned by Hannah Habibi
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7. Jesus falls for the second time.
National Gallery
Jacopo Bassano, The Way to Calvary, c. 1544-5
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8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
Notre Dame Refugee Centre/Notre Dame de France Church
Jean Cocteau, Our Lady’s Chapel, 1959
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9. Jesus falls the third time.
The Barbican & St Giles Terrace
G. Roland Biermann​

10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.
Salvation Army International Headquarters
Guler Ates will create a piece using children’s clothes collected from the Salvation Army in London, which she will mould into a sculptural form which connects the theme of Jesus’ torment with the experiences of refugees.
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11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
St Paul’s Cathedral
Bill Viola and Kira Perov, Martyrs, 2014
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12. Jesus dies on the cross.
Tower of London
Guy Reid, Crucifixion. Life-size (183 cm x 180 cm), lime wood

13. Jesus is taken down from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation).
St. Stephen, Walbrook
Michael Takeo Magruder will create a multi-media sculpture in the form of a tomb with walls displaying videos related to tragic contemporary events.

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Temple Church
Leni Diner Dothan, Crude Ashes: Three Faces for Death, Burial, and Resurrection

Events

The Passion in Art: From Old Masters to Contemporary Installations
Feb 8: Monday, 1–1.45pm
National Gallery (Sainsbury Wing Theatre)
Dr. Aaron Rosen, author of Art and Religion in the 21st Century (Thames & Hudson, 2015)
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/calendar/lunchtime-talk-8-february-2016

Contemporary Artists Take on the Passion
Feb 16: Tuesday, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Wallace Collection
Artists Leni Dothan & Michael Magruder in conversation with Dr. Aaron Rosen
Price: £7.00
http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/event/7412

In Conversation: Stations of the Cross
March 16: 1pm
National Gallery, Room 9
Artist Terry Duffy and National Gallery Curator Dr. Matthias Wivel

Does Religion Belong in Museums?
March 22: Tuesday, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Wallace Collection
Panel discussion with:
Dr Christoph Vogtherr, Director of the Wallace Collection
Rev Prof David Jasper, University of Glasgow
Mr Jonathan Ruffer, Chariman, Auckland Castle Trust
Dr Aaron Rosen, King’s College London
Price: £7.00
http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/event/7504

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U2 - Moment Of Surrender.