Tokarska exhibition: Private View

We had an excellent Private View at the Tokarska Gallery tonight. As part of the evening Colin Burns performed guitar instrumentals from his forthcoming CD. Andrew Vessey read three poems that, like several of the paintings he is exhibiting, explore encounters and travels in well-known biblical stories but set into the context of contemporary landscapes of Suffolk and Gower. Peter Webb spoke about creativity as the essence of God in his introductory remarks and Jonathan Evens read his poem on the creative process entitled 'The Mark'.

Anglicans invite artists back to church

Marisa Martin is a Christian, conservative political activist, practicing artist of over 30 years, and writer of the 'True Colors' column on WorldNetDaily. Her most recent piece - 'Anglicans invite artists back to church' - is a feature on commission4mission, including our current exhibition at the Tokarska Gallery.
In her article, Martin notes that commission4mission works to keep alive the Anglican Church tradition of inspiring, commissioning and installing new art but "uses contemporary and decidedly nontraditional art" to do so. She highlights particularly the work of Peter Webb and Christopher Clack, describing Webb's Supper at Emmaus as "something like a cross between Jack Levine's and Franz Hals' group scenes" and Clack's Descent II as "visually riveting, although spiritually neutral."

The question that commission4mission poses, she suggests, is whether "new and contemporary symbols be found for the traditional images and doctrines of the Christian faith?"

Tokarska Gallery: commission4mission exhibition

Our Christmas exhibition at the Tokarska Gallery opened today and features a variety of c4m artists working in a variety of media (ceramics, concept drawings, fused glass, paintings, painted wooden reliefs), styles (abstract, conceptual, figurative, semi-abstract) and content (biblical scenes, landscapes, portraits, still life, symbolic scenes).

Contributing artists include Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Ally Clarke, Valerie Dean, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska, Janet Roberts, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton, Joy Rousell Stone, Andrew Vessey and Peter Webb.

1 - 31 December 2011, Thursday - Saturday, 12 noon - 7.00pm.

PRIVATE VIEW 3 December 2011, 6pm - 9pm.

Tokarska Gallery 163 Forest Rd., Walthamstow, London E17 6HE Tel: 020 8531 5419. Email: info@tokarskagallery.co.uk.

How to find Tokarska Gallery: Victoria Line to Blackhorse Road Station. Buses: 123, 158. Map.

Opening Hours Thursday - Saturday, 12pm - 7pm or by appointment.

c4m artists update

Our most recently completed commission - etched windows by Henry Shelton and Richard Paton at All Saints Hutton - is to be dedicated this Sunday.

Janet Roberts is to have an exhibition at South Woodford Library from 3rd to 12th December.

Our next commission - a holy water stoup by Mark Lewis at St Margarets Great Ilford - has been granted a faculty.

Tokarska hang: Day 1 photographs

_ commission4mission _ 1 - 31 December 2011   PRIVATE VIEW 3 December 2011 6pm - 9pm

Contributing artists include Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Ally Clarke, Valerie Dean, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska, Janet Roberts, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton, Joy Rousell Stone, Andrew Vessey and Peter Webb.

An exhibition designed to encourage the commissioning of contemporary Christian art opens in the Tokarska Gallery on Thursday 1st December 2011. commission4mission artists will show work in a variety of media, including concept drawings, fused glass, paintings, pottery and reliefs. With much of the work exploring Christian themes, this exhibition will be of particular relevance and interest in the preparations for Christmas. Jonathan Evens, secretary of commission4mission, explains: ‘This exhibition demonstrates some of the ways commissioned art can be used to enhance a place of worship and add another dimension to a church’s mission.’

Tokarska Gallery 163 Forest Rd., Walthamstow, London E17 6HE Tel.: +44 (0) 20 8531 5419 info@tokarskagallery.co.uk   How to find us Victoria Line to Blackhorse Road Station Buses: 123, 158 Map Opening Hours Thursday - Saturday 12pm - 7pm or by appointment Follow us on:

Creative Spirit

Creative Spirit is a new resource for the Church based on the Methodist Church Collection of Modern Christian Art. It consists of eight study sessions on disc with DVD and PowerPoint resources. A 48-page booklet includes leader's notes, colour reproductions, prayers, and bible readings related to the paintings. Forty works of art, by a range of international artists are featured, with eight works selected for special presentation. 

Creative Spirit is compiled and written by Sarah Middleton, Elizabeth Moore, David Hollingsworth and Neil Thorogood: artists and educators from within the Methodist Church, Church of England, and The United Reformed Church.

Who is it for?

• House groups
• Works very well for Lent bible study
• Local Preachers and leaders of worship
• Retreat and Quiet Day leaders
• School and youth groups 16 +
• Individuals wanting a fresh, art-based approach to personal devotion

How does it work?

Each DVD case contains a booklet and two discs:

• A DVD for TV use, featuring almost the full Collection of Modern Art – new works are still being acquired.
• A Powerpoint slideshow CD of the same material designed for projection onto a large screen.
• A 48-page booklet which contains:
• Notes for leaders, questions helping viewers to explore the paintings, prayers, bible readings, outline study sessions, comments from visitors to exhibitions of the Methodist Art Collection, information on the eight artists featured, and colour reproductions of these selected 20^th/21^st century works of art from the Methodist collection:
• 1)      Dalit Madonna by Jyoti Sahi
• 2)      Nathaniel (asleep under the fig tree) by Mark Cazalet
• 3)      Storm over the lake by Eularia Clarke
• 4)      The pool of Bethesda by Edward Burra
• 5)      The healing of the lunatic boy by John Reilly
• 6)      Aimez-vous les uns les autres (Love one another) by Georges Rouault
• 7)      The cross over the city by Michael Edmonds
• 8)      Untitled-Pentecost by John Brokenshire

Session material in the booklet may be photocopied for one-off use.

The price is £9.99 plus £2.50 p&p and there are three ways to order: includes works by Graham Sutherland, Elisabeth Frink and many other renowned artists. It is a living collection, and It has been seen and appreciated by thousands of people, and now you can also experience it on this website; most of the images are accompanied by expert commentary: http://www.methodist.org.uk/static/artcollection/.

• - Online: http://www.ourmagnet.co.uk/
• - by phone: 0844 736 2524
• - by post: PO Box 10378, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 9FT. Cheques payable to Magnet Resources.

The Methodist Church Collection of Modern Christian Art

December exhibition

commission4mission
1 - 31 December 2011
Private View
3 December 2011
6pm - 9pm

An exhibition designed to encourage the commissioning of contemporary Christian art opens in the Tokarska Gallery on Thursday 1st December 2011.

commission4mission artists will show work in a variety of media, including concept drawings, fused glass, paintings, pottery and reliefs. With much of the work exploring Christian themes, this exhibition will be of particular relevance and interest in the preparations for Christmas.

Jonathan Evens, secretary of commission4mission, explains: ‘This exhibition demonstrates some of the ways commissioned art can be used to enhance a place of worship and add another dimension to a church’s mission.’

Contributing artists include Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Ally Clarke, Valerie Dean, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska, Janet Roberts, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton, Joy Rousell Stone, Peter Webb and Andrew Vessey. Much of the work is for sale, and enquiries are invited. The exhibition will also include examples of some completed commissions and information about the commissioning process.

The exhibition continues each day until 31st December, Thursday – Saturday, 12.00 noon - 7.00pm. Private View: Saturday 3rd December from 6.00pm. RSVP jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

Andrew Vessey

The Revd Canon Andrew Vessey is an artist-priest who, while believing it important that Christian art connects with wider society as well as church members, thinks the particular duty of the artist who is a Christian is to develop images and symbols that stretch the meaning of our inherited biblical visual vocabulary.
His own major oil or gouache paintings grow from within particular landscapes in which he has come to see and feel the presence of saints and angels, to the point of becoming a setting of a particular biblical story in a contemporary setting. These studio works are supported by poems, written to explore the same theme both before or after the painting takes place. Other pictures will directly record in ink or pastel the changing light, impact of seasonal differences and the weather, especially around the woods and fields and along the estuaries of northern Suffolk.

Andrew trained at the Chelsea College of Fine Art and Bishop Otter College of Education. His ordained and parish ministry was in Suffolk, Worcestershire and Swansea. He has exhibited at Bury St Edmonds (1968/70), Bath (1975/76), Salisbury (1983), Worcester (2003), and Swansea (2008/11).

New blog - Run with the Fire

Run with the Fire is an arts project for the London 2012 Olympics organized by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church’s Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner.

Run with the Fire aims to celebrate creativity, cultural exchange and hope for the future by providing a virtual exhibition of international artwork for use in Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012.

Run with the Fire will provide a virtual exhibition of international artwork available on DVD, for display on large scale HD TV or monitor, or for projection using a digital projector. This digital exhibition can be presented as part of Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012 plus arts events or exhibitions organized by local churches.

The Run with the Fire DVD will come with an electronic resource package, to accompany the virtual exhibition, which will give ideas for churches on how to organize and facilitate community/arts events.

The Run with the Fire resources (virtual exhibition DVD & electronic resources package) cost £50.00 and can be ordered by contacting Jonathan Evens on 020 8599 2170 or jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

 

Latest news of Run with the Fire can be found on our blog at http://runwiththefire.blogspot.com/. Two recent articles about the project can be found at: http://www.artway.eu/content.asp?id=1043&lang=en&action=show and http://www.artway.eu/artway.asp?id=225&lang=en&action=show&type=current.

c4m newsletter No. 9

The Bishop of Barking dedicated Viki Isherwood Metzler’s mosaic

Newly completed commissions

Two mosaics, commissioned as part of the development of the community garden at St Johns Seven Kings, were dedicated in October by the Bishop of Barking. Envisaged as bold, bright works to catch the eye of passers by and draw them into the green space of the garden, Viki Isherwood Metzler’s Graffiti Love is displayed on the East wall of the church, while Sergiy Shkanov added a mosaic to the Trinity sculpture in the remembrance area of the garden. This design of circular and triangular lines connecting three granite shapes symbolises the constant exchange and interconnections within the Godhead.

A second set of etched windows have been installed at All Saint's Hutton completing our second commission at this church. These windows, as with the earlier commission, were etched by Richard Paton to designs by Henry Shelton. The windows feature symbols of the four Evangelists complementing the earlier set of windows in the opposite screen which features symbols of seven Saints.

The value of public art

The value of public art came under discussion at St Paul's Harlow during a study day, organised by commission4mission and supported by both Art and Christianity Enquiry and the Harlow Art Trust. Delegates heard from The Rt Revd David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking, and Benedict Read, Trustee of the Harlow Art Trust and Deputy Chairman of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association.

Bishop David argued that our towns and cities are increasingly dominated by multi-national brands and images that overtake communities visually and commercially. Within this context, "Public art helps to create the identity of a place by providing a rallying point around which people can be formed, as well as providing an opportunity to look beyond the humdrum in order to live better lives with more inspiration.”

Benedict Read summarised the history of public art in the West to set in context the outstanding collection of public art in Harlow: "In their context, Harlow's commissions placed an emphasis on restoring the social fabric. Sir Frederick Gibberd saw public sculpture as a sign of civilisation and much public art is about exploring what should be valued in society.”

Delegates visited the Gibberd Gallery to see the John Mills retrospective and the Frederick Gibberd Collection of British watercolours and drawings before taking a tour of the Town Centre sculptures. An art workshop for members of St Paul's was led by Dr Philip Jenson of Ridley Hall and commission4mission artist, Robert Enoch. Participants planned a freize for St Paul’s telling the big story of the Bible to which the congregation and the wider community will be able to contribute. We ended with a cream tea at St Mary's Little Parndon.

A127 Art Trail exhibition

Harvey Bradley curated the latest commission4mission exhibition held at St Mary Magdalen Billericay in September as part of the A127 Art Trail. The exhibition included work by Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton,  Joy Rousell Stone together with a number  of exciting sculptural works by Vin Harrop, founder of the Basildon Arts Trust and Heritage Director in Basildon.

Member profile: Anne Creasey

Anne Creasey is a textile artist and embroiderer working in a variety of styles from traditional to abstract and experimental. She is very interested in helping people discover their spirituality through the creative process. Her work includes traditional embroidery, appliqué with painted fabric and includes a large range of materials, from yarns and threads to plastic bags. If it can be sewn down, it can be used!

Run With The Fire

The 25 international artists participating in Run With The Fire have completed their works and the DVD displaying those works as a virtual exhibition is being compiled. The DVD will come together with a guide to setting up art events and will cost £50.00. Copies of the DVD can be ordered from Jonathan Evens – tel: 020 8599 2170 or email: jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

Christmas exhibition  

c4m will be exhibiting at the Tokarska Gallery in Walthamstow  throughout December - Thursdays – Saturdays,  12 noon – 7.00pm. The Private View will be from 6.00pm on Saturday 3^rd December. See http://tokarskagallery.co.uk/.