Today I had the opportunity to visit Piano Nobile at King's Place which is "presenting a collection of paintings, sculpture and stained glass by contemporary artist Greg Tricker, Revelation ~ Sacred Art, Sacred Music explores moments of divine manifestation and the power of visionary illuminations. A series of inspirational figures upon whom Tricker works in cyclical series, such as Maria, Mother of God, John the Divine, St Francis of Assisi, Joan of Arc and Anne Frank, draw us into intimate contemplation, these iconic images become beacons of light and hope.
Tricker's profound and sincere style of work is deeply entwined with the sacred artistic tradition, for which the artist has gained international recognition. Recent series of work have been exhibited at Westminster Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Peterborough Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral and, most recently, Rhiems Cathedral in 2013.
Revelation ~ Sacred Art, Sacred Music runs in conjunction with a series of performances of John Tavener’s compositions as part of the Minimalism Unwrapped musical programme. Like Tricker, Tavener turned to sacred iconic imagery, believing that when an iconic image is seen with the ‘eye of the heart’ rather than the intellect the icon can speak to something deep within us. His compositions in music could at times be seen as creating an icon through sound.
Tricker and Tavener have both been repeatedly drawn to the presence of the eternal feminine. For Tavener, the Mother of God, the inspiration for such masterpieces as The Protecting Veil, is the ultimate representation of the eternal feminine: nurturing, gentle, noble, generous and divinely beautiful. In Tricker’s work, the eternal feminine is revealed through a legacy of reverent and spiritual women; Maria, Bernadette of Lourdes, St Bride, Joan of Arc and Anne Frank embody for Tricker the pure essence of the eternal feminine. It is through these devout figures that Tricker sounds a visionary trumpet-call in a world in turmoil, his works are icons of light speaking of the innate dignity within each one of us."
In my review of Tricker's The Christ Journey for Art & Christianity, I wrote:
"Greg Tricker has described his work as an uncovering of latent images with these emergent images being discovered and freed as he carves or paints. Inspiration, for him, is like “being handed down buckets of fire from above,” that must be passed on. Quietly listening, he sees into his materials sensing the arrival of images as he reaches “a threshold, a possibility point, between what becomes broken and discarded, and a discovery that brings a sense of purpose, shapes reality.”
With these origins it is probably no surprise that his images have been understood as developing the mystical tradition in modern British art pursued by Eric Gill, Cecil Collins and others in the last century. For me, the style and spirit of Marc Chagall and Ken Kiff more readily come to mind."
"Greg Tricker has described his work as an uncovering of latent images with these emergent images being discovered and freed as he carves or paints. Inspiration, for him, is like “being handed down buckets of fire from above,” that must be passed on. Quietly listening, he sees into his materials sensing the arrival of images as he reaches “a threshold, a possibility point, between what becomes broken and discarded, and a discovery that brings a sense of purpose, shapes reality.”
With these origins it is probably no surprise that his images have been understood as developing the mystical tradition in modern British art pursued by Eric Gill, Cecil Collins and others in the last century. For me, the style and spirit of Marc Chagall and Ken Kiff more readily come to mind."
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Victoria Williams - Why Look At the Moon.
