Faith - Russell Haines

Faith is a fine art exhibition by portrait artist Russell Haines. His vision is to create an art event that explores people who have faith and those who have none by focusing on their personal beliefs and stories. Essentially aiming to bring all cultures and faiths together to dispel myth, breakdown barriers and create unity. 

"Even as a person with no faith I find it fascinating to discover and explore the beliefs of others" Russell Haines 

This interfaith art exhibition and project consists of 35 large oil portraits, filmed personal interviews and film recordings of group discussions between people of many different faiths and none. The exhibition features portraits of people from the many diverse faiths that coexist in the communities that make up the City of Gloucester. It includes Christians from different denominations (Anglican and Catholic), Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikh, Rasta, Pagan, Buddhist, Wicca, Druids, Bahá'í and Atheists. The discussion events hosted to form part of the exhibition have already created a large amount of interest with people of all faiths and none. 

The exhibition is being shown in Gloucester Cathedral from 14 January - 26 February 2017 before moving on to other venues. The University of Gloucestershire’s Senior Lecturer in Film Production, Mike Parker, is putting together a television documentary about the project. After it’s time at Gloucester Cathedral the exhibition will move on to be a key part of The Christian Arts Festival based in Cheltenham and Gloucester in April, before moving again to the Gloucestershire College for one month.

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Violent Femmes - Faith.

still small voice: creating sacred space

My latest exhibition review for the Church Times is of still small voice at The Wilson in Cheltenham. The collection of British biblical art currently on show there 'begins with the Nazarene and Pre-Raphaelite styles of William Dobson and William Bell Scott, and continues, with Eric Gill as the bridge between Modernism and the earlier Arts and Crafts movement, through the inter-war period of the 1920s and 1930s, the Second World War, the post-war era, and the later 20th century, into the early 21st century.'

Included is a stunning Craigie Aitchison piece: 'Completed just a year before his death, Body of Christ (Red Background) is an example of the spiritual depths of modern art, with its full-on expressive use of colour combined with the stripped-back minimalism of its imagery. Christ is the cross, the cross is the wound at the heart of the canvas, and this gash in the blood-red background is the point at which light enters the space ...

this is art that creates sacred space by taking you "somewhere beyond yourself and outside of your own little world".'

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Krzysztof Penderecki - St. Luke's Passion.

still small voice: British biblical art in a secular age

still small voice: British biblical art in a secular age at The Wilson in Cheltenham is an exclusive opportunity to see major works by influential 20th century British artists including Stanley Spencer, Eric Gill, Jacob Epstein, Barbara Hepworth, Edward Burra and Graham Sutherland. Exploring ideas around creativity, crisis and the human experience, this is a major exhibition for 2015.

The works on show are normally held in an international private collection, and this is the first time this exhibition has been displayed in the UK. It explores a diverse range of media, including major paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture by some of the most important and beloved 20th century British artists, some of whom are also shown in The Wilson's own collection.

Dr Chloë Reddaway (Ahmanson Fellow in Art and Religion at The National Gallery) will speak at The Wilson during the exhibition on Speech and Silence, Word and Image (5.30pm on 22 April). In this talk she will discuss the relationship between Christian language and image making, the challenge of painting God incarnate, and the theological potential of silence, empty spaces, and dissemblance in indicating the dual nature of Christ.

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Charles Ives - Psalm 90.