Sister Wendy Beckett RIP

My latest piece for Artlyst is an appreciation of the life and writing of Sister Wendy Beckett who has died aged 88:

'I first encountered Sister Wendy Beckett in the pages of ‘Modern Painters’, the art magazine founded by the art critic Peter Fuller which ‘celebrated the critical imagination; stood up for aesthetic values and had a particular focus on British art.’

An early piece would have been a review of an exhibition by Norman Adams in which she suggested that a mystical sense of oneness was making itself visible in his work. In ‘The Way of the Cross and the Paradise Garden’ she noted a radiance of joy conveyed by ‘angels somersaulting through a dazzle of colour bars, crosses of light, that proclaims the marvellous oneness of the Death of Christ and His Rising.’

My other Artlyst articles and interviews are:

• Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
• Guido Guidi: Per Strada Flowers Gallery London
• Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
• 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
• Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
• 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
• Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
• Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
• Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
• Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
• 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
• Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
• Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
• Polish Art In Britain Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
• Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields;
• Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar;
• 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; and
• Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Civil Wars - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

Dora Holzhandler RIP

The Guardian's obituary of Dora Holzhandler starts in the following way:

'“The beginning of a picture is very important,” said the painter Dora Holzhandler, who has died aged 87. “You have to be in quite a meditative state. It’s magical. When I paint something I’ve seen 50 years ago, it’s the same moment recreated. The moment is the truth.”

Such mystical intimacy characterises her oils of naked lovers embracing in psychedelically patterned rooms; darkly flourishing gouaches of icon-like mothers and children, or rabbis meditating; and free and luminous watercolours of, say, a skateboarding teenager or a woman sweeping a floor. The art critic Sister Wendy Beckett, a close friend in later years, called Dora “an artist with a beautiful secret … that makes all things luminous … a precious gift in this confused and violent world”.'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile (Come Up & See Me).

Andrez Kuhn and Dora Holzandler

Goldmark Gallery have announced the death last week of gallery artist, Andrzej Kuhn. They write, 'His paintings, deceptively naive yet highly sophisticated, have brought warmth and comfort to all those who have set eyes on them. He will be greatly missed by all of us at the gallery and all who knew him.'

In the essay 'Kuhn at Eighty' his work is described as follows: 'Flat, mythical scenes, in a rich palette of colours and subtle textures, are always peopled by strange and wonderful characters; weary travellers, resting angels, benevolent moons, lions, lovers, fishermen and musicians. For Kuhn, these are real people, real events, their images arriving, fully formed, in his imagination pulled from the reservoir of human experience.'

The Gallery's current exhibition is Dora Holzhandler A Celebration. Philip Vann writes, 'A mystical note resounds in her vibrant portrayals of lovers emparadised in each other’s arms in opulently patterned bedrooms, of mothers and children in Eden-like gardens, of families endearingly observed as they gather in celebratory attitude, and in ethereal, luminous images that capture everyday life with spontaneous joy and clarity.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jon Foreman - Southbound Train.

Recent exhibitions: Kindred Spirits and Dora Holzhandler

Kindred Spirits was an exhibition by Natalia Dolgova and Peter Whiteman at The NorthLight Gallery  featuring their highly accomplished paintings rich in mythology and spiritual landscapes. The NorthLight Gallery has a mission:

• To encourage and celebrate creativity, hospitality and the Christian faith.
• To provide a welcoming space to enrich friendships, families and to develop community.
• To encourage learning and enjoyment through, the arts and heritage.
• To honour the original vision for the charity as established by William Brooke in 1912.

Natalia Dolgova was trained in monumental art in Magadan and St Petersburg. Her work has always been inspired by the spirits and legends of the places she has lived from the Chukchi of Siberia via the sophistication of St Petersburg to the calm of northern Denmark and now to the Yorkshire countryside.

Peter Whiteman is best known for his work creating costumes and items in films such as Harry Potter, Gladiator, Braveheart and The Mummy and for his designs for stage and exhibitions. Here he returned to his first love, painting, presenting some 40 works embodying the spirit of music. Each piece is inspired by different music and the "spirit" may be seen as a physical presence in the piece or as an atmosphere visible in the painting.


Sylvester Fine Art recently held a solo exhibition by Dora Holzhandler featuring oils and works on paper.
The exhibition was in association with The Goldmark Gallery and was opened by David J Glasser, Chairman of the Ben Uri Gallery.


Dora Holzhandler, born in Paris in 1928, is acclaimed in Britain and overseas for her enchanting, richly decorative paintings of everyday, often specifically Jewish, life. Rooted in a mystical perception of reality, her pictures are non-academic in perspective and depict the timeless Jewish world, her own childhood in Paris and London, and more general celebrations of humanity: lovers embracing, motherhood, religious contemplation.

Sparkling with innocent humour, her paintings draw no distinction between the sacred and mundane and are renowned for intricately detailed patterns - typically squares and floral motifs - which are reminiscent of Polish folk-art, Persian miniatures and Byzantine mosaics.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff Tweedy - Be Not So Fearful.