Broomfield: Rosemary Rutherford, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Huxley-Jones

Earlier this week I made a return visit to St Mary with St Leonard Broomfield as part of preparing for the talk on 'Rosemary Rutherford's Religious Art' that I will giving there in November, together with Kathy Rouse. 

Rosemary Rutherford was a deeply religious artist and her spirituality guided her artworks. While a degree of awareness exists for her work in stained-glass, her religious paintings remain little known and under-appreciated.

While at St Mary's, I was also able to see the gravestone for Broomfield's two other significant artists, sculptors Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Huxley-Jones, who were wife and husband. St Mary's is also fortunate to possess a lovely prayer stall created by Gwynneth Holt.

For more on the artists of Broomfield, all whom are commemorated there with blue plaques, see here, here, here and here.  

As part of a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in Essex, I have written a poem on Broomfield and its artists which is due to be published shortly in International Times. The first poem in the sequence, 'Runwell', has been published by Amethyst Review and will also appear shortly in the new anthology Thin Places and Sacred Spaces by Amethyst Press. The remaining poems in the sequence - 'Bradwell' and 'Pleshey' - will be published by International Times and Amethyst Review respectively. 

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

Lleuwen Steffan - Ebeneser (Dyma Gariad Fel Y Moroedd) (Ton Potel).
 

Church Times - Art review: Monadic Singularity by Anish Kapoor (Liverpool Cathedral)

My latest review for Church Times is on Monadic Singularity by Anish Kapoor at Liverpool Cathedral:

'We see from a range of perspectives to look beyond, whether into the depths or up to the heavens, and, therefore, are asked by the artist to experience what the architect asked us to experience in first visualising and then creating this building. That experience is ultimately why this exhibition is so apposite as a celebration of this cathedral’s anniversary. Scott used 20th-century materials and techniques to create pointed arches that lead our eyes heavenwards, generating awe through light, space, and height. Whether directing us to the depths or heights, Kapoor mirrors Scott’s intent in his choices of works for this sacred space.'

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.

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

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Joy.

Art Unbound at Painswick Rococo Garden

Painswick Rococo Garden is the country's sole surviving complete rococo garden. Designed in the 1740s as a fanciful pleasure garden for Benjamin Hyett and his guests, this hidden valley offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and intriguing garden buildings.

Art Unbound is a curated exhibition of contemporary sculpture designed to complement this exquisite Garden’s unique history. This is a brand-new partnership between the Rococo Garden Trust and renowned curator Anna Greenacre which sees 18 fantastic sculptors working in a variety of media, showing their work in this little piece of paradise in Gloucestershire.

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

Prince - Paisley Park.