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Showing posts with label h. thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label h. thomas. Show all posts

Tuesday, 4 November 2025

Artlyst - The Art Diary November 2025

My November Art Diary for Artlyst begins with exhibitions by artists (including Lakwena Maciver, Hannah Rose Thomas, Tuli Mekondjo, and Paul B. Kincaid), about which I’ve written previously or with which I have worked, and venues with similar connections, mainly with a link to spirituality. Then, there are exhibitions of work by significant artists who have had or have spiritual inspirations, including Stanley Spencer, Sister Corita Kent, Sean Scully, and Edmund de Waal. I conclude with several environmentally themed exhibitions at The Arc, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Nevada Museum of Art, as well as an exhibition in Mexico City on the theme of failure:

'Welsh sculptor, Paul. B. Kincaid’s work can be found at the Courtyard Gallery in Hereford. His background as a Catholic and his continuing faith are manifested in all his sculptures, from a monumental depiction of St. David in the Vallée des Saints in Brittany, to Adam and Eve; Christ on the Cross; and much more. He also has work on public display in the National Botanical Garden in Wales; Newport in South Wales; Rohan in Brittany and the Carmarthen School of Art. When describing his sculptures, he likens them to angels, as “difficult earth-born images”. Not the soft feathered Seraphim of familiar thought instead” a heavy, muscular manifestation that pushes out of a dark concentrate, a kind of rich physical loam that contains the seed of life” – “Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return.” These are fixed objects that will not rest; images of sex and death; a paradox of stone that would be flesh.'

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

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Emmylou Harris - Light Of The Stable.
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Wednesday, 2 October 2024

ArtWay.eu: A Powerful Resource for Faith and the Arts



ArtWay.eu has been hailed "a jewel in the crown of work in Christianity and the arts," and having come under the custodianship of the Kirby Laing Centre, the much-loved publication is entering an exciting new chapter in its story with the launch of a new website in September. 

Since its founding, ArtWay has published a rich library of materials and resources for scholars, artists, art enthusiasts and congregations concerned about linking art and faith. Founded by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker in 2009, ArtWay's significance is reflected in its designation as UNESCO digital heritage material in the Netherlands. 

In the video above, the ArtWay team recounts the history of this much-loved resource and looks ahead to an exciting future for ArtWay.

Back in 2018, I interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker for Artlyst on the legacy of ArtWay itself. I have written frequently for the site with my most recent piece being an interview with British artist Hannah Rose Thomas, who is also an author, human rights activist and a UNESCO PhD Scholar at the University of Glasgow. 

My visual meditations for ArtWay include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Jake Flood, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, Gwen John, Lakwena Maciver, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Sidney Nolan, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Nicola Ravenscroft, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton, Anna Sikorska, Alan Stewart, Jan Toorop, Andrew Vessey, Edmund de Waal and Sane Wadu.

My Church of the Month reports include: All Saints Parish Church, Tudeley, Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, St Michael and All Angels Berwick and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

Blogs for ArtWay include: Congruity and controversy: exploring issues for contemporary commissions; Ervin Bossanyi: A vision for unity and harmony; Georges Rouault and André Girard: Crucifixion and Resurrection, Penitence and Life Anew; Photographing Religious Practice; Spirituality and/in Modern Art; and The Spirituality of the Artist-Clown.

Interviews for ArtWay include: Matthew Askey, Sophie Hacker, Peter Koenig, David Miller, Belinda Scarlett and Hannah Rose Thomas. 

I have also reviewed: Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace, Kempe: The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe and Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals for ArtWay.

Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here.

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Otto Bam - The Gift. 

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Thursday, 11 July 2024

ArtWay: Tears of Gold: “The invisible light that radiates from the other” – Jonathan Evens interviews Hannah Rose Thomas

My latest interview for ArtWay is with British artist Hannah Rose Thomas, who is also an author, human rights activist and a UNESCO PhD Scholar at the University of Glasgow:

"I have come to perceive portrait painting as a gift of attention, a way for the subjects to feel ‘seen’ and heard, that they may perhaps have never experienced before. ‘What is indispensable for this task,’ Weil asserts, ‘is a passionate interest in human beings, whoever they may be, and in their minds and souls; the ability to place oneself in their position and to recognize by signs thoughts which go unexpressed; a certain intuitive sense of history in process of being enacted; and the faculty of expressing in writing delicate shades of meaning and complex relationships.’ The time-consuming early Renaissance egg tempera and oil painting methods, and gilding that I use are how I seek to attend to, and honour the stories I have heard. The time taken with the women whom I have painted, listening to their stories and cultivating relationship through the art workshops, is extended through the time spent painting their portraits."

See also my Artlyst interview with Hannah here, a Church Times review here, a HeartEdge workshop involving Hannah here, and posts about Hannah's exhibition at St Stephen Walbrook here.

My visual meditations for ArtWay include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Jake Flood, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, Gwen John, Lakwena Maciver, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Sidney Nolan, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Nicola Ravenscroft, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton, Anna Sikorska, Alan Stewart, Jan Toorop, Andrew Vessey, Edmund de Waal and Sane Wadu.

My Church of the Month reports include: All Saints Parish Church, Tudeley, Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, St Michael and All Angels Berwick and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

Blogs for ArtWay include: Congruity and controversy: exploring issues for contemporary commissions; Ervin Bossanyi: A vision for unity and harmony; Georges Rouault and André Girard: Crucifixion and Resurrection, Penitence and Life Anew; Photographing Religious Practice; Spirituality and/in Modern Art; and The Spirituality of the Artist-Clown.

Interviews for ArtWay include: Matthew Askey, Sophie Hacker, Peter Koenig, David Miller and Belinda Scarlett. I also interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar Rookmaaker for Artlyst.

I have reviewed: Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace, Kempe: The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe and Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals.

Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Church Times can be found here. Those for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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Tim Hughes - We Won't Stay Silent.
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Saturday, 16 March 2024

Hannah Rose Thomas: Tears of Gold


Last night I was at Exhibition Launch for 'Tears of Gold' at Garden Court Chambers. This exhibition by the artist, author, and human rights activist Hannah Rose Thomas features portraits of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram and Fulani oppression. Hannah’s most recent portraits depict survivors of the re-education camps in Xinjiang, China, and of conflicts in Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

With these artworks, along with the associated publication Tears of Gold, Thomas bears witness—painting by painting, relationship by relationship—to the singular stories shared by each individual, and by extension the trauma and recovery experienced by their communities.

This body of work not only serves as a reminder to remain concerned about the ongoing persecution of people around the world based on their backgrounds and beliefs, but also reflects on the complexities and limits of empathy as we look to pursue justice more compassionately.

Hannah Rose Thomas demonstrates the potential of caring and creative practices that take time to listen, learn, and focus a prayer-like attention on the suffering of others and in the process reveal a sense of interrelatedness, common vulnerability, and shared humanity that allows for healing and hope.

Hannah Rose Thomas is a British artist and an UNESCO PhD Scholar at the University of Glasgow. She has previously organized art projects for Syrian refugees in Jordan; Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity in Iraqi Kurdistan; Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps and Nigerian women survivors of Boko Haram. Her paintings of displaced women are a testament to their strength and dignity. These have been exhibited at prestigious places including the UK Houses of Parliament, European Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Lambeth Palace, Westminster Abbey, the International Peace Institute in New York and The Saatchi Gallery.

Her exhibition Tears of Gold was featured in the virtual exhibition for the UN’s Official 75th Anniversary, “The Future is Unwritten: Artists for Tomorrow.” Hannah was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 2019 Art & Culture; shortlisted for the Women of the Future Award 2020 and selected for British Vogue Future Visionaries 2022. Hannah’s debut art book Tears of Gold: Portraits of Yazidi, Rohingya and Nigerian Women was published in 2024, with a foreword by HM King Charles III.

The book also presents Thomas' stunning portrait paintings of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram violence, alongside their own words, stories, and self-portraits. A final chapter features portraits and stories of Afghan, Ukrainian, Uyghur, and Palestinian women.

These portraits, depicting women from three continents and three religions, are a visual testimony not only of war and injustice but also of humanity and resilience. Many of the women have suffered sexual violence; all have been persecuted and forcibly displaced on account of their faith or ethnicity.

Hannah Rose Thomas met these women in Iraqi Kurdistan, Bangladeshi refugee camps, and Northern Nigeria while organizing art projects to teach women how to paint their self-portraits as a way to reclaim their personhood and self-worth. She gives women their own voice both by creating a safe space for them to share their stories and by using her impressive connections to make sure their stories are heard in places of influence in the Global North.

Thomas uses techniques of traditional sacred art – early Renaissance tempera and oil painting and gold leaf – to convey the sacred value of each of these women in spite of all that they have suffered. This symbolic restoration of dignity is especially important considering the stigma surrounding sexual violence. Hannah’s work attests to the power of the arts as a vehicle for healing, remembering, inclusion, and dialogue.

Long after the news cameras have moved on to the next conflict, this book shines a spotlight on the ongoing work of healing and restoration in some of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities around the world.

Hannah's essay from the book can be read here. My interview with Hannah for Artlyst can be read here. My Church Times review of her UN75 exhibition is here. Hannah exhibited at St Stephen Walbrook in 2017 and posts about that exhibition are here and here. Hannah also participated in a HeartEdge workshop on 'Art and Social Change' which can be viewed here.

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Tim Hughes - We Won't Stay Silent.
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Tuesday, 2 January 2024

Artlyst: January Art Diary

My January Art Diary for Artlyst looks at the work of Emrys Williams and Richard Kenton Webb (including his links to Milton), William Blake, Markéta Luskačová, Oksana Kondratyeva, Maciej Hoffman and Hannah Rose Thomas:

'Kenton Webb has written about his experience of working on this series in an essay, which, together with an interview and nine of his works, is included in a new book ‘Milton Across Borders and Media’ demonstrating the breadth of response to John Milton’s work: “For the last ten years, Milton has been a companion like Virgil to Dante guiding me through the narrative of my own life. I started this collaboration with an imagined drawing of Milton the Blind Poet, considering the problem of evil. I ended my journey with a portrait of myself, acting as a companion piece to the long journey about good, evil, and everything in between that we had taken together. Milton is a great English poet who gives hope, which in itself is a creative act for these difficult times.”'

Follow these links for more on Kenton Webb, Luskačová, Hoffman, and Thomas.

Interviews -
Monthly diary articles -
Articles/Reviews -


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Sufjan Stevens - Everything That Rises.
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