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Monday, 2 February 2026

Artlyst: The Art Diary February 2026

For the February 2026 Art Diary for Artlyst begins with the contrasts of light (Lakwena Maciver) and dark (Tracey Emin), before highlighting exhibitions at the National Gallery, Auckland Castle, St Andrew’s Wickford, St Peter’s Nottingham, and Elizabeth Xi Bauer that explore these themes in relation to spirituality. A further series of exhibitions featuring the Quilters of Gee’s Bend, Titus Kaphar, and Yinka Shonibare explores aspects of black culture and heritage. Exhibitions at Studio Voltaire, Wimbledon Museum, Dorchester Museum & Art Gallery and Chappel Galleries examine the poetics of everyday actions, while exhibitions featuring work by Sean Scully, Leiko Ikemura, Yona Verwer, Brian Whelan, and Hady Boraey explore the relationship between human beings and the natural world.

For more on Lakwena see here, here and here, on Roger Wagner see here and here, on David Sowerby see here, on Jean Lamb see here, on the Quilter's of Gee's Bend see here, here and here, on Titus Kaphar see here, on Sean Scully see here and here, on Brian Whelan see here.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Monthly diary articles -

Articles/Reviews -

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Raphael Ravenscroft & Tenebrae - Forgiveness.

Friday, 16 January 2026

Church Times - Art review: Jean Lamb: An Urban Passion (St Marylebone Parish Church and then St Peter’s, Nottingham)

My latest exhibition review for C hurch T imes is on 'Jean Lamb: An Urban Passion' (St Marylebone Parish Church and then St Peter’s, Nottingham):

'JEAN LAMB has a track record for reimagining the Stations of the Cross in new and challenging forms.

Her carved sculptural Stations of the Holocaust, besides illustrating the Passion narrative, included images from the Holocaust showing the Jewish people as they were forced into ghettos, humiliated, tortured, and executed. This thought-provoking set of Stations was described as being a brave work that offered fraught and disturbing links between Christianity and Judaism.

Her latest set of Stations — An Urban Passion — is essentially an act of protest.'

Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here. My writing for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Artlyst are here, those for Seen & Unseen are here, and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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Josh Caterer - Hallelujah! He Is Risen.

Thursday, 26 April 2018

commission4mission's creative retreat 4

The worship at commission4mission's creative retreat included poetry readings using poems by Pierre Jean Jouve, Edwin Morgan and John O'Donohue. Jean Lamb and I also shared poems we wrote during the retreat. I also brought poetry by John F. Deane, David Gascoyne, Jouve and Gabriela Mistral to read while on the retreat.

Edwin Morgan is an interesting poet, who 'had his own disagreements with organised Christianity, both in its Protestant and Catholic forms' but who, nevertheless found that 'the powerful persona of the Jesus of the gospel narratives continued to niggle him, and to fascinate by his difference.' This led him, in the year 2000, to write a trilogy of plays on the life of Jesus, entitled AD. Morgan was a concrete poet, like Ian Hamilton Findlay and Dom Sylvester Houédard (aka dsh).

I finished reading Deane's Give Dust A Tongue, in which he shares aspects of his life and work which influenced his faith and his poetry using a combination of memoirs and poems. The culminates with meditations on Christ's question to his disciples, 'Who do you say that I am?', which Deane explores through an edition of Poetry Ireland Review and a sonnet sequence entitled 'According to Lydia'.

Our retreat ended with a special Communion Service at St Peter's Chapel led by Revd Brigid Maine which had Mary Fleeson's 'Remember Me' as it's centrepiece.

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Live - Heaven.

Monday, 8 January 2018

The witness of John the Baptist

Here is the reflection I gave at the lunchtime Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields last Wednesday:

Here, in five short verses, we have the testimony of John the Baptist regarding Jesus. Who does John say that Jesus is?

Firstly, John says that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The image of Jesus as the lamb that takes away sin reminds us of the story of the Exodus and the Passover. Death was coming to the entire land of Egypt and those saved were those who sacrificed lambs and daubed the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes. John was saying that when Jesus died his sacrifice would affect the entire world not just the people of Israel and would do so by taking away our sin for which the punishment is death.

Next, John says that Jesus ranks ahead of him because he was before him. John the Baptist was a great prophet. So much so, that Jesus compares him to Elijah referring to the prophecy in Malachi 4:5 that God would send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. Despite the greatness of John’s role and ministry (and despite the fact that he is the elder of the two), Jesus is the one to whom John bows the knee (the strap of whose sandal he is not worthy to untie) because, as we hear at the beginning of John’s Gospel, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was Jesus. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

John then says that Jesus is the one on whom the Spirit remains. The Spirit “came upon” such Old Testament people as Joshua (Numbers 27:18), David (1 Samuel 16:12-13) and even Saul (1 Samuel 10:10). In the book of Judges, we see the Spirit “coming upon” the various judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel from their oppressors. The Holy Spirit came upon these individuals for specific tasks. What happens with Jesus is different, as the Spirit remains with him. In Jesus the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – can be fully expressed, therefore the Spirit remains with Jesus in a way which had not been possible until then. All of Jesus' ministry, "must be understood as accomplished in communion with the Spirit of God".

Fourthly, John says that Jesus is the one who baptises others with the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit remains with Jesus, so she also remains with those who are his followers. The New Testament teaches the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20). When we place our faith in Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. The Apostle Paul calls this permanent indwelling the “guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Finally, John sums up his testimony by saying that Jesus is the Son of God, a title that implies His deity (John 5:18) because it is one of equality with God. This title has many facets, including showing that He is to be honoured equally with the Father (John 5:22-23), that He is to be worshipped (Matt. 2:2, 11, 14:33, John 9:35-38, Heb. 1:6), called God (John 20:28, Col. 2:9, Heb. 1:8), and prayed to (Acts 7:55-60, 1 Cor. 1:1-2).

John was sent as a man of God expressly to prepare the way for and to testify regarding the Christ, so the people would believe in Him. He plainly said that Jesus was the One for Whom He was preparing the way. He said Jesus would have pre-eminence, that Jesus was the Christ, that He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and that He was the Son of God. John lived his life to introduce others to Jesus Christ and his testimony is a model of Christian witness to Jesus.

John believed in the Christ and his great faith prepared him for hardships, but it kept him steadfast on his course until the time when he could say as he saw Jesus approach, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). As believers, we can all have this steadfast faith. John is also a model of Christian discipleship in his humility, a key characteristic of discipleship in this Gospel. We see this because, even when he is asked to testify concerning himself, he points to Jesus. Therefore, we can find in John the Baptist a powerful example of humility, single-mindedness and witness. We will do well to follow in his footsteps.

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The Southwell Minster Choir - On Jordan's Bank, The Baptist's Cry.

Friday, 27 March 2015

Modern art in City churches

Modern and contemporary art which has been commissioned by churches is often under-publicised and therefore often overlooked. Despite the many tourists who visit, this is really no less the case in the City of London than elsewhere as tourist guides often focus on other aspects of the heritage found in the City's churches.

As I visit the City churches I hope to be able to photograph some of the modern and contemporary art which is to be found. I have already posted a photograph of the sculpture by Jean Lamb which is at St Mary Woolnoth and have, of course, posted about the artworks at St Stephen Walbrook. More recently I have photographed the stained glass window by Nicola Kantorowicz which is at St Botolph without Bishopsgate. This window was presented to the church in 1997 by the Worshipful Company of Bowyers to mark the restoration of the church after the St Mary Axe and Bishopsgate bombs.

The artist runs her own studio designing and making windows for both secular and ecclesiastical settings. Other examples of her work can be found in churches in Kent, Oxfordshire, Suffolk and Berkshire. She writes that her work is "always abstract in style" and for church commissions she draws "on inspiration from theological themes and using symbolism and colour to express spiritual concepts." She has developed a personal style, "mixing techniques to create unusual surfaces and detail."

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Nickel Creek - When In Rome.

Saturday, 7 February 2015

Stations of The Cross and Holocaust

Work by Christopher Clack features again in the second Stations of The Cross exhibition to be held at St Marylebone Parish Church. Art Below presents an exhibition of 16 artists’ representations of the Passion of Christ in London’s St. Marylebone Parish church to coincide with Lent, in support of the Missing Tom Fund.

Stations of the Holocaust is an exhibition of hand carved and painted sculptures on the theme of Jesus’ last hours juxtaposed with scenes of the Jewish Holocaust by another commission4mission member, Jean Lamb, which can be seen at Coventry Cathedral from Monday 16th February to Good Friday 3rd April 2015. There will be a preview of the exhibition from 5.00pm with the official opening at 6.00pm after Evening Prayer on Monday 16th February.

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Tribe of Judah - Sublime.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

commission4mission's January Newsletter

commission4mission's latest newsletter includes several exciting announcements and new partnerships:

New Day Dawning by Colin Joseph Burns

"The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy." Psalm 65:8

'This month we announce three new developments which we believe will serve to enhance the work of commission4mission in the coming year.

Good news! The Charity Commission has approved commission4mission’s application to become a registered charity. In order to complete the process, we need to hold a general meeting at which we agree our charitable objects with members.

We plan to do this as part of a wider Arts Event and Service to take place at St Stephen’s Church, 39 Walbrook, London EC4N 8BN on Saturday 14 March from 1pm to 4.30 pm. All are warmly invited.

The programme will include drawing workshops using various media, a series of on-screen meditations to dip into, and conclude with a service of thanksgiving celebrating the arts. Please rsvp if you would like to attend.

This year presents a new challenge for c4m’s secretary Rev’d Jonathan Evens, who is to become Priest for Partnership Development at two central London churches. He will be Priest-in-Charge at St Stephen Walbrook and also an Associate Minister at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

While Jonathan has said it will be a wrench to leave his post at St John’s Seven Kings and his friends in the Redbridge Deanery, he recognises that this new role offers a unique opportunity which involves all of his key interests in ministry: ‘This will include forming partnerships between the two churches as well as with businesses in the City of London and cultural organisations around Trafalgar Square. Both churches have significant cultural programmes and a history of artistic commissions, and I hope to play a part in promoting and developing their artistic engagement,’ he says.

We congratulate Jonathan on his new appointment, and hope his experience and continuing involvement with commission4mission will assist him in this aim.

Oasis Trust to be c4m’s chosen charity for the next three years, subject to annual review. Since 2009 we have donated ten per cent of the proceedings from commissions and sales to a different charity each year, usually one that supports work with children and young people. This year we were able to make a gift to Oasis Trust, and we now look forward to developing an ongoing relationship which will be of mutual benefit. While supporting Oasis, we believe this partnership will help to broaden the scope of commission4mission and open up further opportunities for our artist members.

St ations of the Holocaust by Jean Lamb at Coventry Cathedral.

Hand carved and painted sculptures on the theme of Jesus’ last hours juxtaposed with scenes of the Jewish Holocaust
more...

Monday 16th February to Good Friday 3rd April 2015. Preview from 5pm with official opening at 6pm after Evening Prayer.

Coventry Cathedral, 1 Hill Top, Coventry, CV1 5AB. Tel 024 7652 1200

We hope many Artist Members and Associates will be able to make the event highlighted above at St Stephen Walbrook on Saturday 14 March, when we will revisit c4m’s aims and purpose as agreed by the Charity Commission. It is a great opportunity to get together, and promises to be a good afternoon.

We would like to hear from Members who may be interested in organising a c4m event in their locality – in a cathedral, a church, gallery or elsewhere. In particular we are looking for a church willing to host a Big Draw event in October, and for Members to volunteer to take part.'

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Colin Burns - Linger Here.

Monday, 19 January 2015

Two sculptures: Jean Lamb and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones

Here are two sculptures, one from the area where I have been ministering and the other from where my ministry will primarily be in future. Jean Lamb's sculpture (top) is at St Mary Woolnoth, while the sculpture by Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones is in the churchyard of St Peter Aldborough Hatch and is part of a local art trail.

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Aaron Neville - I Know I've Been Changed.

Friday, 19 September 2014

Presence: Visualising the Numinous

I will be taking part in the next commission4mission exhibition which is entitled ‘Presence’ and aims to visualise the numinous. It will be held at St Stephen Walbrook, London, EC4N 8BN, from Monday 29 September to Friday 17 October, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm (closed on Saturdays and Sundays).

The opening night event will be on Monday 29 September, 6.30 – 9.00 pm, with Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford and Patron of commission4mission, as guest speaker. All are welcome. commission4mission’s AGM will be held that same evening at 6.00pm.

The exhibition includes work by Ross Ashmore, Ally Ashworth, Hayley Bowen, John Gentry, Clorinda Goodman, Jean Lamb, David Millidge, Janet Roberts, Francesca Ross, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb, among others. In addition to the exciting and varied work of commission4mission artists, visitors to the exhibition can view the splendour of this Christopher Wren designed building with its altar by Henry Moore and kneelers by Patrick Heron. For more information phone 020 8599 2170.

Our Inspire! show at St Stephen Walbrook last year was agreed by all to have been a success and we expect this year’s show to be better yet. The venue presents an excellent spur for the production of stunning new work, and our past experience of the scale of the space available will inform our decisions as to the size and nature of our submissions this year. The title of the exhibition, “Presence”, is a very comprehensive concept. As was the case last year, our original Christmas Cards will be on sale during the exhibition.

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Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters - Somebody There.

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Out and About

One Equall Light was an exhibition themed on the “Sermons and Holy Sonnets of John Donne” was held from 30th June - 20th July, 2014 at St Giles, Cripplegate and St James, Piccadilly. Christian Arts collaborated with Art and Christianity Enquiry on the exhibition organisation and the ACE International Conference was held during the beginning of the exhibition period. The exhibition coincided with the City of London Festival. The exhibition included selected work from Christian Arts members and work from invited artists, Susie Hamilton at St. James and Margot Perryman at St. Giles. Link to the exhibition catalogue here - Catalogue. I attended Sam Wells' talk on 'Art and the Renewal of St Martins' at St Giles Cripplegate (which was part of the ACE conference) with Jean Lamb and Wendy McTernan and then visited the St James Piccadilly half of the exhibition with Wendy again and Hayley Bowen.

Art and Life at Dulwich Picture Gallery: Ben and Winifred Nicholson were at the forefront of the Modern British movement and produced some of the most memorable works of the period. Discover ten years of artistic exploration by the couple in this exhibition curated by their grandson, Jovan Nicholson. It provides a rare opportunity to see their views of the same landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and portraits alongside pieces by contemporaries Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and the potter William Staite Murray. I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent show when I visited on Friday.

Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a Radio 4 comedy that mixes stand-up with re-enacted scenes from comedian Nathan Caton's family life. Regarded as one of the best young comics in the UK, Nathan's award-winning combination of personal and topical anecdotes has lead to appearances on BBC2's Mock The Week, BBC3's Russell Howard's Good News, BBC Radio 4's Now Show, News Quiz. I watched part of the recording of the third series with Paul Trathen.

The sheer variety of work presented each year is what makes the RA's Summer Exhibition an annual highlight of the cultural calendar. I went with Christopher Clack who has 'Teenage Boy', one of his portrait photographs, included in the show. Alongside Chris' marvellous image, in a room which also includes work by James Turrell, is a wonderful video by Everton Wright which was, for me, one of the best things in the show. I also particularly enjoyed work by John Bellany, Peter Freeth, Kaori Homma, Anselm Keifer and Wolfgang Tillmans.

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Gene Clark - Ship Of The Lord.

Friday, 24 January 2014

Hearts on Fire reports and photographs

Reports and photographs from ArtServe's Hearts on Fire conference, where Peter Banks and I spoke about The Secret Chord, can be found on ArtServe's website and in the current edition of their magazine.

Other features included in the magazine are a profile of Abby Guinness, the genesis of Jean Lamb's wooden sculpture of Christ the King, Rob Newton's visit to the Church of South India, and the winning entries in the Jack Clemo Poetry Award.

Click here for my posts on the conference.

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Abby Guinness - The Word of the Wives.

Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Reaching Beyond

Today I visited the Reaching Beyond exhibition at Bow Road Methodist Church and met Richard Smith, one of the artists and organisers.

Reaching Beyond is an exhibition celebrating the human spirit reaching beyond the mundane both through endeavour and an openness to something transcendent. The exhibition's title is intentionally open to a wide range of interpretation and the work shown by the 19 artists included invites those who see it to think afresh, and reach beyond their assumptions. The range of media and styles featured is also correspondingly broad with fabrics, icons, mosaics, paintings and sculptures all included. The recent renovation of the church makes it, among other things, an excellent exhibition space. The sculptures set on the exterior provide an arresting beginning to the show and certainly drew other visitors into the building over the course of my visit.

Richard Smith is one half of Smith and Moore (the other being David Moore). The pair have been friends and colleagues since 1966, and have been creating sculptures together since 1994. In their art they explore/question/challenge serious matters with humour, levity and a touch of incredulity. They bring to this their experience of living and working within poor communities, political and social engagement, and reflection on theology. David is a Methodist minister and runs Colloquy, an art and theology project which is part of the Methodist Church, from which the idea for the exhibition grew. Richard has had a varied career, ranging from research in physical chemistry to community development and management, with illustrating having been taken in along the way.

From early 2012 Smith and Moore sent their small, sturdy sculpture, the Visitor, on an uncharted journey via churches and other organisations through five London boroughs (Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest). People seeing the Visitor on its journey sent in photographs and notes of what happen, all of which are posted on the project's website and have been used in the exhibition along with the Visitor itself.

Other particularly strong work in the exhibition includes: Aaron Distler's abstract ‘Fire Drawings’ (using paper which has been treated and burnt to create extraordinary effects contained within frames which are themselves part of the work); Robert Koenig's monumental wood figures symbolising the artist’s ancestors as part of a search for ancestral and sculptural roots; Jean Lamb, an Anglican Priest living in Nottingham, who is a woodcarver in the storytelling tradition and is showing two casts from Stations of the Holocaust which follow the path of Christ to the Cross, each one including in the background images from the record of the Jewish holocaust during the Second World War; and Santiago Bell, a brilliant artist, educator, political activist and thinker imprisoned and tortured by the Pinochet regime in the 1970s, who expressed his insights and reflected on his experience in finely carved, imaginative, wooden constructions, such as Age of Emptiness.

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After The Fire - Joy.