Presenting ‘Revival’ an exhibition of eight artists at Cambridge’s All Saints Church, Jesus Lane.
Ralph Anderson, Dominic Beattie, Cecilia Charlton, Will Cruickshank, Sophie Giller, Melania Toma, Imogen Wetherell, Anisa Zahedi
Opening: March 9th , 2 – 5 pm
Exhibition: March 10th – 24th March, Friday to Sunday, 1 – 5 pm
Revival draws inspiration from the spirit, aesthetic and craftsmanship of All Saints’, affectionately known as Cambridge’s ‘Painted Church’.
In the 1860s, its architect George Frederick Bodley employed fine artists and artisans for the furnishing and decoration of All Saints. Through his instruction, the interior is an eclectic example of applied arts in the Gothic Revival style of the time. Arts and Crafts figures William Morris, Philip Webb and Charles Eamer Kempe designed and fabricated the stained-glass. The church also features a window by Pre Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Maddox Brown. Morris and Bodley’s studios oversaw the painted wall decoration with application by F. R Leach & Sons, notably featuring hand painting by local artist David Parr.
Revival references the cyclical nature of art and architecture, as in recent years artists have looked to reinterpret and appropriate traditional craft techniques for contemporary expression. The title also nods to Bodley’s own Gothic Revival vision of medieval ecclesiastical design.
The Revival artists are in a modern re-skilling and handcrafting movement, where the act of making transcends conventional boundaries between applied and fine art.
New works made for the exhibition include paintings by Melania Toma and Imogen Wetherell. A woven frontal by Cecilia Charlton, a tufted pew cushion by Sophie Giller, in a design echoing the red pomegranate wall painting. And a piano quilt also by Giller, a piece that is representative of All Saints’ modern incarnation as a cultural space for concerts.
The art works in Revival exemplify Bodley’s ethos of artistic variety and individual expression: ‘I can’t say I care greatly for much strictness of rule or rigid uniformity, so long as all is dignified & solemn, &, from an art point of view, beautiful’.
Revival bridges past and present, fostering a kinship with the makers who came before, in celebration of the enduring legacy of Cambridge’s Painted Church.
