Church Times - Art review: Tanya Ling: Worship Paintings (The Mayor Gallery, London)

My latest exhibition review for Church Times is on 'Worship Paintings' by Tanya Ling at The Mayor Gallery:

'She views all of life as worship (essentially, in the way described by St Paul in Romans 12.1). As a result, she “understands painting not as an object of veneration, but as an act of worship — a channelling of something beyond the self, offered through repetition and restraint”. Therefore, “these paintings are not images of worship, but the result of it.”'

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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Delaney Bramlett - Sweet Inspiration.

The Small House and more ...

The Small House - Art Installation by Richard Woods

Southwark Cathedral has commissioned a major art installation, entitled The Small House, by the artist Richard Woods. Richard’s work appears across the UK and at various sites globally.

“The Small House is a simplified facsimile of a normal terraced house. It is a 2D cartoon depiction of a terraced house, the architecture of everyday. Standing at 7.5 metres tall and positioned directly in front of the magnificent Great Screen of Southwark Cathedral, The Small House aims to spark up a conversation with the transcendental architecture of the Cathedral. I see it as a meeting of the architecture of the everyday and the grandeur of the Gothic architecture that is something beyond the everyday,” said Richard.

The Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Andrew Nunn, said, “Ask a child to draw a house and they will probably draw something that is similar to the house that all of us have drawn. Our images of a house are iconic. But whilst we will draw such a house few of us live as comfortably, with a smoking chimney, a picket fence, outside space and roses round the door. ‘The Small House’ invites us to think about our concept and fantasy of house and home and to ask the serious questions about why so many live in sub-standard housing or on the street. Richard Woods’ ‘The Small House’ sits in the big house, the house of God, iconic in its own right – the abiding with us God, who opens the door of the divine house and invites us in to find a home.”

Opening times are 9am – 5pm daily and The Small House is on display from Saturday 6 August through to Wednesday 31 August. Admission is free.

Summer at Bankside Gallery has original artworks by contemporary painters and printmakers of the Royal Watercolour Society and Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. Check out Anne Marlow with Two by Two and Arks and Rainbows, Raphael Appignanesi with Babel (with Thunderword from Finnegans Wake, and Peter S. Smith with St Bride's from Bankside.

Also check out Zi Ling, who is among the Winners | Award Winning Artists 2020-2022 at Mall Galleries with her HRH Princess Margaret, In the Middle of Pink is the Burning Silence.

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Ricky Ross - Bethlehem's Gate.

Zi Ling: Royal Cambrian Academy & Ken Griffiths Bureau

 

Great to be with Zi Ling on Wednesday for the PV of HRH Princess Margaret 20 Years 20 Artworks.

Zi Ling RI is taking part in two mixed exhibitions in January and February. The first exhibition:

The Royal Cambrian Academy

8 JAN 22 – 26 FEB 22
ANNUAL OPEN ART EXHIBITION 2022

Featuring 200 stunning pieces of artwork selected from over 600 entries. Every year, members of the public are invited to submit artwork to this renowned show. The exhibition celebrates a broad range of painting, drawing, print, photography, textiles, sculpture and film. Successful entrants come from across Wales, the UK and beyond. Ling has two pieces selected, ‘Holiday’ and ‘King Lear’

https://rcaconwy.org/exhibitions/annual-open-art-exhibition-2022-1

The second exhibition:

HRH Princess Margaret 20 Years 20 Artworks

9 – 20 FEBRUARY 2022

On a historically significant date, February 9th, the 20th anniversary of HRH Princess Margaret’s death, we will present 20 artworks celebrating the iconic photograph taken in 1985 by Ken Griffiths. Unpublished until the Princess’ death, on the 9th of February 2002, when it appeared on The Telegraph’s front cover, the image made a comeback in 2020, when a copy of the pillow was made for the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown.

An incredible array of 22 national and international artists, including Zi Ling RI, has been invited to reinterpret the photograph in line with their own vision and style, exposing a different narrative which they have carved from beneath the picture. ​

A book detailing the interpretation made by each artist and retracing the history of the image and its rebirth in the contemporary art world will be released on the opening night.

Visit at 15 Bateman Street, in Soho, London. The exhibition will remain open to the public until the 20th of February 2022.
https://www.kengriffithsbureau.co.uk/exhibitions-hrhprincessmargaret-20-years-20-artworks

For more information also check out this diary piece for Artlyst - https://www.artlyst.com/reviews/marvellous-icons-the-london-jesuit-centre-revd-jonathan-evans/ 

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Karen Peris - Superhero.

Zi Ling: Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 209th Exhibition

I'm looking forward to seeing new work by Zi Ling this week in the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 209th Exhibition at Mall Galleries - 20 - 29 May 2021.

Zi Ling (b. 1985, HuangShan, China) is a visual artist based in Bristol. She was born to the Chinese painter HuiTao Lin, a pioneer of the 85 New Wave Movement. Since the age of four, she received formal training from him in drawings.

She has studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Chelsea College of Arts and Central Academy of Fine Arts China.

Her work of etchings, watercolours, drawings, video art and mixed medium have been displayed at many prestigious venues and exhibitions. She received the Cass Art Prize (2019), DAC Beachcroft Space Prize (2018), Frank Herring Easel Award (2018), First Prize of Leathersellers Award (2016), and the Rosemary & Co. Prize (2015) from the Princess Michael of Kent.

She is a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the co-Artistic Director of the theatre company Eldarin Yeong Studio.

See Ling's work here and here. 

During her early years she focused mainly on etching, fascinated with mark making of abstract figures. Now the relationship between brush, colour and paper is what excites her in portrait painting using watercolour as her medium. Ling observes people and also finds emotional moments from photographic images as inspiration. With watercolour, she trusts her intuition before making any marks. She thinks each portrait is a result of whatever truth one feels at the very beginning. Colour is important to her because for her it represents different personalities and realities.

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 Joni Mitchell - Song For Sharon.

Zi Ling: Sunday Times Watercolour competition & RWA 168 Annual Open Exhibition

Zi Ling's painting ' Two Faces' has been selected for this year's Sunday Times Watercolour competition. The exhibition will be open at the Willis Museum, Basingstoke.. 

Three other paintings: 'Spinning World', 'Red Desert and Black Forest' and 'The soul of Masks' have been selected for RWA 168 Annual Open Exhibition.

Ling has illuminated the meaning behind her intriguing works:

"Here is some thought from my paintings: Truths float around us invisibly, illuminating my own way with them through the surrounding reality. I paint as I feel, not I see. I paint confrontations which take place between the truth and my fantasy. Through this journey, I was unconscious, I was lost, I was found."

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Bruce Springsteen - The Power Of Prayer.

Zi Ling: Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 208th Exhibition & Wiltshire Creative Summer Open 2020

Looking forward to seeing Zi Ling's work in the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 208th Exhibition at Mall Galleries.

Zi Ling is a visual artist based in Bristol. She was born to the Chinese painter HuiTao Lin, a pioneer of the 85 New Wave Movement. Since the age of four, she received formal training from him in drawings.

She has studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Chelsea College of Arts and Central Academy of Fine Arts China.

Her work of etchings, watercolours, drawings, video art and mixed medium have been displayed at many prestigious venues and exhibitions. She received the Cass Art Prize (2019), DAC Beachcroft Space Prize (2018), Frank Herring Easel Award (2018), First Prize of Leathersellers Award (2016), and the Rosemary & Co. Prize (2015) from the Princess Michael of Kent.

She is a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the co-Artistic Director of the theatre company Eldarin Yeong Studio.

She also has work in the Wiltshire Creative Summer Open 2020. This exhibition celebrates the creativity that is flourishing within the artistic community by providing a platform for artists at any stage of their career, who are based in Wiltshire or adjoining counties. It showcases 80+ artworks in any medium across 2D and wall-hung shallow relief - such as painting, drawing, photography, textiles, wood, mixed-media, ceramics, glass etc.

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Over The Rhine - All My Favourite People.

Zi Ling - Singulart interview

Zi  Ling has been interviewed by Singulart. In the interview she says:

'I am really interested in using watercolour and collage as my method. However, using pure watercolour as media challenges me a lot. Because the very moment when brush meets paper and paint, it simultaneously produces marks. For me, it is the most organic and direct way of expressing myself. I enjoyed the simplicity and purity of the process. Watercolour is a very sensitive media. You need to balance between the controlled and the uncontrolled, making your own marks on paper and playing with the ‘accident’. It is both challenging and exciting for me.'

Singulart is an online gallery for contemporary art that allows collectors and art lovers alike to buy works of art in complete security from nationally recognized artists. From abstract canvases, figurative paintings, drawings or even street art and graffiti, we offer an international selection of work in a variety of styles and techniques. Singulart is also helping emerging artists from around the globe to sell their works to art lovers.

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Arcade Fire - Put Your Money On Me.

Dry Room, Inside Job and King Lear

Dry Room is a cross-disciplinary piece about childhood trauma, friendship, and redemption. Following its successful premiere at the World Stage Design Quadrennial 2017, the show will be given its UK premiere at the Brighton Fringe before moving on to the Old Fire Station Oxford. 

This weekend (6 - 8 April), however, the associate film Dry Room is being displayed at Tate Modern in Inside Job, which presents works by 135 employees from Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, including painting, photography and sculptures. Tonight I was at the PV with Director & Co-Designer, Zi Ling, and Story writer & Producer, Eldarin Yeong.

Ling had a double reason for celebrating tonight as her watercolour King Lear won The Frank Herring Easel Award in her first exhibition as a Candidate Member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. It is her fourth exhibition with the Institute since 2015 and she has four new paintings in the exhibition at Mall Galleries.

In addition to Dry Room, the following are also well worth looking out for at Inside Job: Ed Hadfield's ‘Affirmative 1’; Izna Bandey's ‘There Are No Words’; and Kyriaki Mitsou's 'TETRALOGY: PRAY LOVE TRY HOPE'.  

Inspired by Surrealism art and the Story Stem technique - used by psychologists to study children's inner world, the story of Dry Room follows three adopted children who are the survivors of childhood trauma. Natalie, a victim of child neglect and sexual abuse; Christopher lost his parents in an accident; Jack suffered domestic violence from his alcoholic parents. To escape from their haunting experiences, they embark on a journey of self-discovery and encounter many demons of the past.

Set in a Magritte-styled room, this performance installation gives an intriguing cinematic perspective to a narrative dance, by combining live music and conceptual art. Dry Room is directed and co-designed by Ling and the emerging designer Tong Zhao (Royal Shakespeare Company, Harper's Bazaar 150th Anniversary exhibition, Paris Fashion Week). Live music is played by the talented Spanish experimental cellist Carolina Bartumeu (Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmoniker). Dry Room features Italian minimalist composer Giovanni Sollima's heartbreaking cello solo, Alone, and improvised music by Carolina Bartumeu.

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Giovanni Sollima - Alone.

Zi Ling & Eldarin Yeong

This year, Zi Ling has been accepted as a Candidate Member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 206th Exhibition at Mall Galleries will show a diversity of styles and techniques, from traditional uses of the medium to more experimental and innovative paintings. Works on display are produced by members of the RI and other artists whose pictures have been selected to hang alongside these by the RI Council, including many young painters using water-soluble media in often new and exciting ways. This is Ling's fourth exhibition with the Institute since 2015. She will have four new paintings included in the exhibition. 

This weekend, in a remarkable first, staff from all four British Tate galleries are to display their own artistic creations at Tate Modern in London. The exhibition, entitled Inside Job, will present works by 135 employees from Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, including painting, photography and sculptures. Staff whose work will be displayed include curators, art handlers, guards, shop assistants, visitor assistants and people from the finance, restaurant and marketing departments. The exhibition has been partly financed by the Tate Social Fund.

Jing Eldarin Yeong joined the Tate in May 2017 and is showing Dry Room, an associate dance video of a cross-disciplinary piece that she wrote and produced last year for the World Stage Design Quadrennial. It is a collaboration between her Studio and the videographer Jevan Chowdhury. She says: 'To make it an independent piece from the theatre production, we used London cityscape as the backdrop and tried to capture the sense of isolation, self-estrangement and social meaninglessness. It is also about breaking the boundary of theatre, responding to the environment, and exploring non-conventional space.'

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Lizz Wright - Speak Your Heart.

Zi Ling and Bridget Adams

Zi Ling is one of 26 artists shortlisted for the 2018 Royal Arts Prize Award. Her work can be seen, with that of the other shortlisted artists, until 9 March at La Galleria, Pall Mall, 5b Pall Mall, 30 Royal Opera Arcade, London, SW1Y 4UY. 

The aim of the Royal Arts Prize Exhibition and Award is to search out for and showcase artworks by artists that have embraced their individual exegesis in art, artworks that are a product of an inner balance in a world full of diversity and often chaos. The prize is awarded to artists that present works that are the product of this emotional connection between dream and reality; the organisers welcome contemporary art that shows the force driving individuals to express and affirm their personality and ego, through today’s modern art landscape.

Ling has also had four new paintings selected for the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 206th Exhibition at Mall Galleries from 6 to 21 April. Showing a diversity of styles and techniques, from traditional uses of the medium to more experimental and innovative paintings. Works on display are produced by members of the RI and other artists whose pictures have been selected to hang alongside these by the RI Council, including many young painters using water-soluble media in often new and exciting ways. This exhibition is an annual survey of how contemporary artists are using this age-old medium.

Having visited the Royal Arts Prize Exhibition this evening, I was also interested to see the work of Bridget Adams. Adams has been inspired Kahlil Gibran’s book called ‘The Prophet’ where she found a way through and endeavoured to live her life with his words as a guide. She says that his words, 'made sense to me and I always refer to them for strength.'

She continues:

'My first influence has been byzantine art in all its decorative and moral wonder. To me it is a beautiful way to convey the good and sacrifice that we all make at different stages in our lives. I enjoy the 2 dimensional aspects of some religious orthodox art which offers a way to communicate innocence and basic non-judgemental qualities that we have in bucketful’s when we are young and vulnerable. This is also in the oldest and narrow minded of us. Our views can become twisted and cynical and sometimes our wonder at the world and the people who belong to it, are overwhelmed with being the best they can be. To stand back and appreciate ourselves and each other has to be a positive contribution however small it feels.

My love of pattern, texture, colour and my great respect and admiration for many artists and craftspeople whether they are from a different century or practising artists is also a way to express and focus on celebration, wisdom, feelings and joy. It is a tool that I use to reflect passion in all its forms and in a healthy and spiritually fulfilling way.'

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Damien Rice - On Children.

Exhibitions update

“Between Friends” is an art exhibition organised by the Arts Centre Group (ACG) at St Stephen Walbrook. “Between Friends” will feature works from over thirty ACG members and friends in the fantastic surroundings of a 17th Century Wren church in the City of London. The exhibition will be open daily from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 February. About one third of the works on show are from ACG’s friends at Morphe Arts, an organisation for post graduates who are at the start of their professional journey as Christians working in the Arts. The exhibition promises to be exciting and stimulating, with work from well established artists who have been practising for many years, alongside work produced by emerging artists not long out of art college. The exhibition is curated by Julia Alvarez, director of Bearspace art gallery in Deptford and Ally Gordon, director of Morphe Arts. Preview evening 12 February. There will also be a chance to see works featured in the Exhibition on a special Facebook page later in the month.

Christopher Clack is one of over 120 artists who will be showing sculptures, installations, site-specific interventions, videos and performances when the entire West End is pedestrianised for Chinese New Year. ‘Embracing the Underdog’ is an exhibition by The London Group that will take place right at the very centre of the celebrations for the Year of the Dog, in Chinatown (Q-Park Chinatown, 20 Newport Place, Gerrard Street, WC2H 7PR). The exhibition will feature a surprising diversity of works with contrasting scales and materials with many stretching creative experimentation to the limit. ‘Embracing the Underdog’ aspires to be supportive of the underdog in numerous ways. In this compelling, large-scale exhibition the artists will be coming together to exhibit with a real sense of solidarity and a belief in the enduring power of art in these confusing times.

As a shortlisted artist for the Royal Arts Prize Zi Ling has work in the V. Edition of the Royal Arts Prize Exhibition at La Galleria Pall Mall from 26th February - 9th March 2018. Opening Times - Monday - Friday: 10.30am - 6.00pm, Saturday - Sunday: 12.00pm - 4.00pm. Preview Evening: Monday 26th February, 6.00pm - 8.30pm. The aim of the Royal Arts Prize Exhibition and Award is to search out for and showcase artworks by artists that have embraced their individual exegesis in art, artworks that are a product of an inner balance in a world full of diversity and often chaos. The prize will be awarded to artists that present works that are the product of this emotional connection between dream and reality; we welcome contemporary art that shows the force driving individuals to express and affirm their personality and ego, through today’s modern art landscape. ​This exhibition presents the shortlisted artists for the Royal Arts Prize 2018, one artist will win a two week solo exhibition in one of our galleries in 2019.

'From February-May Southwell Minster will be host to an inspiring major art exhibition which will encourage visitors to explore, through art, two key Christian themes: crucifixion and resurrection. Crossings: Art and Christianity Now is a two-part exhibition which will fill the Minster with 100 new works of art by 36 significant artists, twice! 

The first half of the exhibition, Crucifixion Now, will be on show during Lent from 9th Feb-21st March, and the second part, Resurrection Now, during Easter from 1st April-10th May, Ascension Day. There will also be education work tied-in to the exhibition with school visits and a full programme of supporting events for all to enjoy. Crossings is unique to Southwell and will not be seen anywhere else.

The artists will each present two new works made especially for Crossings, one for each half of the exhibition, and part of the artists’ brief was to explore the two themes in a new way, refreshing visually our engagement with suffering in our world today (crucifixion) and the hope of new life in the world today (Resurrection).

Crossings is free for all visitors to see, and is generously supported by a full-colour publication which all visitors are encouraged to buy (£5), this 52 page Exhibition Guide includes all of the artworks on show in both halves of the exhibition, as well as information about the artworks and artists to help visitors get the most out of viewing Crossings, and also presents a special exhibition essay written for us by Dr Alison Milbank, our Canon Theologian at Southwell Minster.

The 36 artists involved have been hugely supportive of this project and it is with thanks for their contributions and excellence that Crossings enables the Minster to present an exhibition of both National and International significance. Artists include: Sophie Hacker, Nicholas Mynheer, Mark Cazalet, Iain McKillop, Susie Hamilton, Chris Gollon, Biggs and Collings, Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Paul Benney, Kaori Homma, Siku, Ian Adams, Jean Lamb, Enzo Marra, Matthew Krishanu, John Newling, Lee Maelzer, Jennifer Bell, Derek Sprawson, Sarah Shaw, Ray Richardson, and many others.

As part of Crossings artist John Newling will be installing a series of works on paper within the 36 niches of the Chapter House, showing examples of his Nymans Language (an alphabetic font with each letter being shown as a plant or a leaf). This will fill the Chapter House with a significant modern work which will respond and set in dialogue a direct conversation with our famous medieval leaf carvings. It’s a rare moment, and it is worthy of special mention as we move forward with our HLF project to preserve and interpret our ‘Leaves of Southwell’ for the next generations. Do take some time to explore these works in this unique meeting of images over many centuries.

It is our hope that visitors to this exhibition will be enabled, and inspired, to take the opportunity to encounter not only world-class art but also to reflect anew on the Christian themes of suffering and new life for our lives today; on how these open-up for us through art the possibility of a fresh encounter with God, who is life, and enable us to find healing through the love and care that has gone into the making and offering of these artworks.'

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The Rembrandts - I'll Be There For You.

Foyer display: Alice Bree & Zi Ling

St Martin-in-the-Fields is home to several commissions and permanent installations by contemporary artists.

We also have an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions, as well as a group of artists and craftspeople from the St Martin’s community who show artwork and organise art projects on a temporary basis.

One of the initiatives from this group is a changing display of work by the group members. Each month a different member of the group shows an example of their work, so, if you are able, do return to see the changing display.

This month’s artists, Alice Bree and Zi Ling have begun exhibiting together as a result of the artists and craftspeoples group. Both have work at the Mall Galleries from 4 – 9 July, as part of the Society of Women Artists Summer Exhibition 2017.

Also at St Martin's from today is CARAVAN's I AM exhibition:

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Arcade Fire - Signs Of Life.

SW3 & Resurrection exhibitions

SW3, by Alice Bree, Zi Ling and Brian Mears

This exhibition, curated by Eldarin Yeong Studio, showcases the works of three inspiring artists responding to the theme of 'Delight'. The exhibition is open for public view until Saturday 18 March 2017 at Chelsea Gallery, Chelsea Library, Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Road, SW3 5EZ. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9.30am to 7.30pm, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm. 

Alice Bree is a ceramic artist trained at the Central School of Art and Design in the 80s. She taught ceramics in the Drawing Schools at Eton College and the University of Hertfordshire for over ten years. Her work has been influenced by Gordon Baldwin with whom she worked at Eton. Her earthenware decorated with engobes produces an organic and colourful surface structure in a distinctive style.

Zi Ling is a visual artist trained at the Chelsea College of Arts and Central Academy of Fine Arts China. Her watercolour portraits and figurative works have been presented at the Royal Insititute of Painters in Water Colours, Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, Columbia Threadneedle Prize, Society of Women Artists, and the National Art Museum of China.

Brian Mears is a self-taught watercolour artist who started painting after his retirement from the Merchant Navy as an engineer. Apart from nature, he has also been inspired by the works of Caspar Friedrich. His watercolour landscapes, capturing the English countryside with delicacy and detail, have been featured in exhibitions at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields and at the Menier Gallery,



Resurrection exhibition

The Hurtado Centre’s Resurrection Exhibition has at its heart the ambitious goal of inviting people into an experience of the Resurrection itself, to taste what it is like to be restored in the fullness of humanity. If it succeeds even to some extent, it will have been more than worthwhile. 

Artists from many different Christian and artistic backgrounds have contributed works that convey the history of salvation of which the Resurrection is the culmination. They hope that the richness of their work will give a felt sense of the beauty of the Resurrection. Art has a special vocation to show forth truths which words alone are inadequate to express. As Pope Benedict XVI said: ‘Reason alone as it's expressed in the sciences can't be man's complete answer to reality, and it can't express everything that man can, wants to, and has to express. I think God built this into man. Art along with science is the highest gift God has given him.” (Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1997, p. 47)

The Hurtado Jesuit Centre in partnership with Farm Street Jesuit Church, and St Patrick’s Art Studios. Entry to the exhibition is free and many works are for sale. It is billed as being the largest exhibition of contemporary Christian art in the Capital for over a decade with over thirty artists exhibiting and more than seventy pieces on display. Artists include Andrew White, Francis Hoyland, Penny Warden and Marcia Scott as well as other established and up and coming figures.

The Resurrection Exhibition will be open on the following dates

The Hurtado Jesuit Centre, 2 Chandler Street, E1W 2QT - 19.00-21.30 21st April-2017: Private Viewing 10.30-17.30 22nd and 23rd April 2017: Open to the Public

Farm Street Church, Mayfair: 19.00-21.30 28th April-2017: Private Viewing 10.30-17.30 29th and 30th April 2017: Open to the Public

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U2 - Desire.

SW3: Delight - Alice Bree, Zi Ling & Brian Mears

SW3 by Alice Bree, Zi Ling and Brian Mears

​EXHIBITION DATES 7 March - 18 March 2017

Chelsea Gallery, Chelsea Old Town Hall London

Opens from Mondays to Saturdays 09:30am - 05:00pm, Sundays 01:00pm - 04:00pm

This exhibition, curated by Eldarin Yeong Studio, showcases the works of three inspiring artists responding to the theme of 'Delight'.

Alice Bree is a ceramic artist trained at the Central School of Art and Design in the 80s. She taught ceramics in the Drawing Schools at Eton College and the University of Hertfordshire for over ten years. Her work has been influenced by Gordon Baldwin with whom she worked at Eton. Her earthenware decorated with engobes produces an organic and colourful surface structure in a distinctive style.

Zi Ling is a visual artist trained at the Chelsea College of Arts and Central Academy of Fine Arts China. Her watercolour portraits and figurative works have been presented at the Royal Insititute of Painters in Water Colours, Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, Columbia Threadneedle Prize, Society of Women Artist, and the National Art Museum of China.

Brian Mears is a self-taught watercolour artist who started painting after his retirement from the Merchant Navy as an engineer. Apart from Nature, he has also been inspired by the works of Caspar Friedrich. His watercolour landscapes, capturing the English countryside with delicacy and detail, have been featured in exhibitions at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields and at the Menier Gallery, London.

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Carleen Anderson - Maybe I'm Amazed.

Hidden St Martin's

Artists and craftspeople from the congregation at St Martin-in-the-Fields speak about their 'Hidden St Martin's' exhibition for the 2016 Patronal Festival. The exhibition reflects on the theme from a variety of different perspectives using ceramics, drawings, films, paintings, photographs, text and textiles. The exhibition ends on Sunday 27 November 2016.
We have been inspired by:

• St Martin, who noticed the destitute man at the gate of the city of Amiens.
• Jesus suggests that giving and praying can be done in secret away from the public gaze (Matt 6). Many of the images of the kingdom use seemingly insignificant and often unnoticed things such as a mustard seed (Mark 4) and yeast (Luke 13) and yet both eventually have dramatic effects. 
• The Celtic idea of a thin place, a place where the veil between heaven and earth is thin so what is hidden becomes seen.
• Artists “notice things that other people don’t notice.” (Grayson Perry)

Ali Lyon reclaims hidden aspects of St Martin's recent past with a lectern fall and a photograph of an altar cloth from the period during the Renewal Project when St Martin's was 'on tour'. The fall uses material left after the ‘living stones’ which cover the altar cloth have been cut from the cloth. The fall gathers up the leftovers that would have been thrown away. In God's economy nothing is too hidden or insignificant to find its place and to be of use.

Photographs of St Martin's taken by Jonathan Evens hint at a hidden beyond, by using an object in the foreground to frame a background image. Black and white matt bowls by Alice Bree highlight overlooked or under-appreciated objects through their depiction of stones from a Cornish beach. Vicky Howard’s drawings in lined notebooks or on pamphlets derive from a similar impetus. Vicky uses the lines or text as a guide to the patterns that she makes. Through the organic, shifting, ever-changing structures of her drawings she is searching for the form of the shelter in which God will hide us (Psalm 27).

Jon Sandford depicts the divine or heavenly as being hidden at St Martin's in the form of our East Window. The message of Jon's image is hidden in its symbolism, waiting to be decoded. Brian Mears’ explores the invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature in his painting entitled ‘The Fourth Day’. In Rosalind Beeton’s paintings light, as flecks and dashes of colour, veils the subjects and objects bathing all in divine light. The veil that once hid the divine has been removed and all that was once independent and distinct is now embraced by divinity. Her poetry also explores mystery as in 'The Gatherer', written this year on Patmos, the island of revelation.

St Martin’s has an ongoing ministry of supporting homeless and vulnerably housed peopleacross the UK. Zi Ling’s painting ‘Hope’ from her homelessness series brings to our view people who are often overlooked on our streets. Lightspirit has contributed a poem from the streets, while the ‘Palm Tree’ painted by Rosida Simrick is a reminder of the hidden home that she can no longer see. Our inspiration for this ministry with those who are homeless is the story of St Martin. Jonathan Evens’ collage with a torn meditation on St Martin is a visual reminder of the cloak which St Martin tore to give half to the man at the gate of Amiens.

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Van Morrison - The Beauty Of Days Gone By.

Hidden St Martin's

This exhibition for the Patronal Festival of St Martin-in-the-Fields by artists and craftspeople from the congregation reflects on the theme of 'Hidden St Martins' from a variety of different perspectives using ceramics, drawings, film, paintings, photographs, text and textiles.

We have been inspired by:

• St Martin, who noticed the destitute man at the gate of the city of Amiens.
• Jesus suggests that giving and praying can be done in secret away from the public gaze (Matt 6). Many of the images of the kingdom use seemingly insignificant and often unnoticed things such as a mustard seed (Mark 4) and yeast (Luke 13) and yet both eventually have dramatic effects. 
• The Celtic idea of a thin place, a place where the veil between heaven and earth is thin so what is hidden becomes seen.
• Artists “notice things that other people don’t notice.” (Grayson Perry)

In his 360• film, Jonathan Kearney enables us to explore parts of the Church which are usually hidden from view. His other film reveals the beauty of small details which we normally overlook in our busyness or inattention to our surroundings. Photographs of St Martin's taken by Jonathan Evens hint at a hidden beyond, by using an object in the foreground to frame a background image. Black and white matt bowls by Alice Bree highlight overlooked or under-appreciated objects through their depiction of stones from a Cornish beach.

Ali Lyon reclaims hidden aspects of St Martin's recent past with a lectern fall and a photograph of an altar cloth from the period during the Renewal Project when St Martin's was 'on tour'. The fall uses material left after the ‘living stones’ which cover the altar cloth have been cut from the cloth. The fall gathers up the leftovers that would have been thrown away. In God's economy nothing is too hidden or insignificant to find its place and to be of use. Vicky Howard’s drawings in lined notebooks or on pamphlets derive from a similar impetus. Vicky uses the lines or text as a guide to the patterns that she makes. Through the organic, shifting, ever-changing structures of her drawings she is searching for the form of the shelter in which God will hide us (Psalm 27).

Jon Sandford depicts the divine or heavenly as being hidden at St Martin's in the form of our East Window. The message of Jon's image is hidden in its symbolism, waiting to be decoded. Brian Mears’ explores the invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature in his painting entitled ‘The Fourth Day’. In Rosalind Beeton’s paintings light, as flecks and dashes of colour, veils the subjects and objects bathing all in divine light. The veil that once hid the divine has been removed and all that was once independent and distinct is now embraced by divinity. Her poetry also explores mystery as in 'The Gatherer', written this year on Patmos, the island of revelation.

St Martin’s has an ongoing ministry of supporting homeless and vulnerably housed people across the UK. Zi Ling’s painting ‘Hope’ from her homelessness series brings to our view people who are often overlooked on our streets. Lightspirit has contributed a poem from the streets, while the ‘Palm Tree’ painted by Rosida Simrick is a reminder of the hidden home that she can no longer see. Our inspiration for this ministry with those who are homeless is the story of St Martin. Jonathan Evens’ collage with a torn meditation on St Martin is a visual reminder of the cloak which St Martin tore to give half to the man at the gate of Amiens.

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Leonard Cohen - Travelling Light.

Hidden St Martin's

Hidden St Martin’s is an exhibition for the Patronal Festival of St Martin-in-the-Fields by artists and craftspeople from the congregation will reflect on the theme of ‘Hidden St Martin’s’ from a variety of different perspectives using ceramics, drawings, film, paintings, photographs, text and textiles. The things that are hidden are often the most significant. We are inspired by the story of St Martin, who noticed the destitute man at the gate of the city of Amiens, and by the church building, which after many centuries of worship and prayer becomes a ‘thin place,’ where what is hidden becomes seen. 

The exhibition features work by: Rosalind Beeton, Alice Bree, Jonathan Evens, Vicky Howard, Jonathan Kearney, Lightspirit, Zi Ling, Ali Lyon, Brian Mears, Jon Sandford and Rosida Simrick.

At 5.00pm on Sunday 13 November, we celebrate our Patronal Festival The Art of St Martin's and mark the 1700th anniversary of the birth of St Martin of Tours, 800 years of there being a church of St Martin’s on our site, and the climax of our 15-year arts programme.

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Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields - Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost.

The Revolutionists

THE REVOLUTIONISTS

A presentation of the research and development of a performance installation on Revolution, Democracy, Identity and Power. Inspired by the works of John Milton, Charles Dickens, Friedrich Schiller, Jean Genet and Albert Camus.

Wednesday 2nd November 7pm, The Broadway Theatre, Barking, London.

The Revolutionists is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the award-winning visual artist Zi Ling, emerging theatre director & producer Eldarin Yeong, established lighting designer Justin Farndale, and emerging scenographer Tong Zhao. Inspired by the works of John Milton, Charles Dickens, Friedrich Schiller, Jean Genet and Albert Camus, they will create an immersive installation art, combining architecture, digital technology, visual arts, and performance, reflecting the themes of violence, democracy & sexuality.

After its critically acclaimed Told Look Younger and sold-out Bound Feet Blues, Eldarin Yeong Studio aims to produce another controversial work.

The project is generously supported by the Arts Council England and Broadway Theatre Barking.

Art Consultant Zi Ling
Designers Tong Zhao & Justin Farndale
Cast Joanne Gale | Amy Newton | Edward Saunders | Amy Tobias
Director Eldarin Yeong
Choreographer Maria Ghoumrassi
Designer Assistant & Stage Manager Jenn Shahid

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John Milton - Let Us With A Gladsome Mind.

Zi Ling & Sunday Times Watercolour Competition

Today I was at the Private View for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition exhibition at the Mall Galleries to see Zi Ling's Anniversary (2016), one of her watercolour series on older couples.

Ling creates portraits or explorations of relationships by working from photographs with which she feels an intuitive connection. Previously Ling has had work in the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours 2016 Exhibition (where she won the Leathersellers First Prize of £1000 to a young artist with her painting 'Rikishi'), Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2016, Columbia Threadneedle Prize exhibition, the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition exhibition 2015, and Society of Women Artists (where she won the Rosemary & Company Art Prize); all at the Mall Galleries. Click here to see examples of Ling's work.

I also liked Adrian Baynes' Falling Angel in the Derwent Prize exhibition.

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Moby - Saints.

Exhibitions update: Zi Ling, Rob Floyd & Tim Harrold

Zi Ling has won the Leathersellers First Prize of £1000 to a young artist with her painting 'Rikishi' at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours 2016 Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. The exhibition is the 204th by the RI and continues until Saturday 16th April. 

Ling creates portraits or explorations of relationships by working from photographs with which she feels an intuitive connection. Previously Ling has had work in the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2016, Columbia Threadneedle Prize exhibition, the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition exhibition, and Society of Women Artists (where she won the Rosemary & Company Art Prize); all at Mall Galleries. Click here to see examples of Ling's work.

‘Stations of the Resurrection’ is an exhibition by Rob Floyd in The Well and Other Areas of Liverpool Cathedral until 15th May 2016, 09:00 – 18:00 (each day).

Rob Floyd brings his distinctive painting style to Liverpool Cathedral in this specially commissioned exhibition that follows on from the acclaimed ‘Stations of the Cross’ cycle previously displayed at Manchester Cathedral.

Speaking ahead of this exhibition, Rob said, “The Stations of the Resurrection is far less well known or, indeed, established than the Stations of the Cross, perhaps this extra layer of mystery appealed. Certainly Liverpool Cathedral being the Cathedral Church of the Risen Christ made the idea of the project feel right.”

The impressive art series has been created with the artist’s preferred medium, oil on canvas. Rob said, “For me oil paint has a visceral, living, even mystical property which I feel has an incredible power and, indeed, life of its own.”

“Painting has always been my means with which to attempt to engage with the Divine. From as early as I can remember I have always felt that the world is inherently full of meaning and I’m thankful that I have never been touched with that modern ‘existential angst’ of being all alone in a meaningless universe. Having the opportunity to directly engage in producing a Stations of the Cross cycle and now the Stations of the Resurrection has been an incredible opportunity and an amazing journey, both in terms of my artistic and spiritual development. I have been shown great kindness and support from the cathedral which has been quite overwhelming.”

The Perceptualist Eye is an exhibition by Tim Harrold at The Wellhouse Gallery from 15 May to 10 June 2016.

Tim defines ‘Perceptualism’ as ‘the place where the conceptual and the metaphysical meet’, and comes from the word ‘perceive’. The Perceptualist Eye is therefore about a way of seeing, a worldview, a certain perspective.

Informed by his Christian Faith and inspired by his pilgrimage through life with Jesus, many of Tim’s pieces are in some way ‘visual parables’ – they have meanings that work on a number of levels.

Working mostly with mixed media, Tim brings together ‘found objects’ and rearranges them into new contexts, scenes and stories. Tim often incorporates words in the images he creates. This reflects his loves of graphic design and writing, especially ‘found poetry’.

Methods used by Tim are:

• Assemblage – 3-dimensional pieces and ‘worlds in boxes’
• Photomontage – collages using images and words from printed materials
• Photography – using primarily the iPhone Hipstamatic app which allows in-camera treatments
• Installation – larger, conceptual ‘pop-up’ works that have an interactive element, which can include sound

Tim’s repertoire covers the commercial and the not-so-commercial. His art is not just about the intrigue of the visual but also the idea behind the image.

From 9 July Tim will also be part of a joint exhibition with John Espin, as part of Thurrock Art Trail, in the small but perfectly formed ancient pilgrimage church St Mary the Virgin Parish Church in Little Thurrock, Grays. Both shows will feature new work, and the latter will hopefully show some larger pieces that have not been previously seen before in public owing to space.

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Blessid Union of Souls - Peace And Love.