JOY WOLFENDEN BROWN
THE MEETING PLACE
1
T h e D r awing 2
oil on paper
101 x 47 cm
Introduction
The Meeting Place is Joy Wolfenden Brown’s first
In fact, with a developed sense of confidence we witness a
exhibition at Millennium. I have, however, had the
marked development in scale. Much larger works on board
pleasure of working with her on numerous occasions
brush shoulders with the more familiar small scale paintings
whilst Director at Goldfish Contemporary Fine Art.
on oil soaked paper. The presence of these larger pieces is imposing as well as intimate. Their inclusion enforces
Her work is made in her tiny studio set in an attic room
her stature.
at the top of her house. The ceilings are pitched, and relatively low, so she works mainly around or on the paint
So much contemporary figurative painting makes cultural
splatted floor. The studio feels like an inner sanctum. I’m
reference, analysing the society that we live in – often
not sure if anyone else is allowed in to the space but a visit
taking an external vantage point or ‘third person’
has that sense of rare priveledge. It feels totally hers. Her
perspective. What is rarer is to see work that speaks so
paintings extend the experience.
truthfully about the human condition in such an unguarded personal way – from the core – the result is timeless.
There remains
something so extraordinarily fragile
within her paintings. Even the rawness of the application
The German Expressionist artist Kathe Kollwitz once
suggests a vulnerability; these are works that leave
urged us to ‘look at life with the eyes of a child’. For me
nothing for the artist or the viewer to hide behind. It is totally
the power of Wolfenden Brown’s painting is to remind us
appropriate to attribute that often over used term ‘honesty’
of the child who lurks within all of us. The autonomous
to Wolfenden Brown’s work.
solitary state that we find ourselves in behind our own imposed screen is laid bare, and the attempt to come to
Early on in her career, part of me nervously anticipated,
terms with that and to share ourselves is both the struggle
that as her reputation grew (as it has), that this essence in
and goal. I relate to these paintings wholeheartedly, I
her work could evaporate in the glare of recognition or
never tire of them.
acclaim. It never has. Joseph Clarke. 2010 3
“There is a river of life all around. But you can’t push it. Try softer” John Ortberg
In many ways if I speak about my work I could just say that I paint pictures and that I would be very sad if I had to stop. In fact, I think I would be filled with grief. All speaking can be difficult and contains risk. When we speak aloud we may select what we show of ourselves according to who we are and who we are with. In the quiet of my studio I find a meeting place where silent conversations unfold. They flit to and fro like little birds carrying messages or flow like a river that gently awakens a dormant heart. For every life there are things that remain unspoken. If they could be photographed they might be caught in the light as flashes or fragments of no especial significance but they would record a life unseen or a conversation otherwise unheard. A passing scent may stir a longing for something precious that is hard to identify and thought lost. Sometimes when I paint my heart races or flutters as if I am uncovering a secret love. In showing my paintings I hope that they offer the viewer a meeting place for their ‘unspoken’, and I always hope that the viewer will feel free to take from the paintings whatever they will.
Joy Wolfenden Brown. 2010 3
Evening
oil on board
122 x 106 cm
5
S h e H i d es a n d She Seeks 6
oil on paper
19 x 53 cm
H e S ees H er Gentle Madness
oil on paper
51 x 23 cm 7
8
H e r M o ther’s Room
oil on board
122 x 61 cm
9
N i g h t Watch 10
oil on board
62 x 40 cm
T h e Lane
oil on board
62 x 40 cm 11
A Q u i et Town 12
oil on paper
26 x 39 cm
T h e O r a ng e Bridg e
oil on paper
21 x 35 cm 13
N ew B aby 14
oil on paper
35 x 32 cm
L o s t Wisdom
oil on paper
55 x 44 cm 15
H er Fa mily 16
oil on paper
78 x 24 cm
S eeing
oil on paper
129 x 35 cm 17
U n s p o ken
18
oil on board
138 x 104 cm
19
U n h ea rd 20
oil on paper
15 x 17 cm
C anute
oil on paper
14 x 27 cm 21
D r es s Rehearsal 22
oil on paper
29 x 35 cm
T h e Play
oil on paper
30 x 21 cm 23
T h e C a ke Stall 24
oil on canvas
46 x 61 cm
H e r Mother
oil on paper
100 x 28 cm 25
C h i l d i n a Pi nk Cardi 26
oil on paper
39 x 28 cm
L i ttle Face
oil on paper
9 x 12 cm 27
H e i r l o oms 28
oil on paper
13 x 19 cm
H eiress
oil on paper
85 x 39 cm 29
30
T h e M eeting Place
oil on board
121 x 123 cm
31
A n E ch o i n g Bark 32
oil on paper
32 x 35 cm
T h e Harbour
oil on paper
26 x 36 cm 33
H e r G a r den
34
oil on board
84 x 41 cm
35
36
S a f e Home
oil on board
122 x 61 cm
37
B l a ck b ird 38
oil on paper
29 x 20 cm
T h e B i r d s and the Bees
oil on paper
35 x 24 cm 39
T h e I s l and 40
oil on paper
37 x 34 cm
T h e Boat
oil on paper
29 x 46 cm 41
T h e T i m i d Dog 42
oil on paper
28 x 22 cm
S te p p i ng Stones
oil on paper
29 x 26 cm 43
Girl 44
oil on paper
33 x 15 cm
T h e G ood Girl
oil on paper
27 x 22 cm 45
T h e G u es t Room
46
oil on board
122 x 61 cm
47
Born in 1961 Stamford Lincolnshire. Living in Cornwall. Education 1980 - 1981 1981 - 1984 1985 – 1986
Foundation Art, Lincoln College of Art Fine Art Degree, Bretton Hall College / Leeds University Post Graduate Diploma, Art Therapy, Hertfordshire College of Art & Design
Selected Biography 1982 – 1984 1983 – 1984 1984 – 1985 1986 – 1989 1989 – 1993 1995 1999 2000
Stanley Royd Mental Health Hospital, Wakefield – assisting in Art Therapy department M.I.N.D. Barnsley - volunteer Brookside Young People’s Unit, Goodmayes Mental Health Hospital, Essex. - full time as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a psychodynamically run residential therapy unit. Ingledene, Church of England Children’s Society, Altrincham, Cheshire. - Full time Senior II Art Therapist /Residential Social Worker. Stockport Health Authority Community and residential learning disability/mental health teams - Full time Senior I Art Therapist. Full time Mum to two boys. Moved to Bude, Cornwall (area where grandparents/mother had lived). Started to paint again
Solo Exhibitions 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Somerville Gallery, Plymouth Inside Out, Goldfish, Penzance Letting Go, Goldfish, Penzance Still Waters, Goldfish, Penzance Brief Visitor, Goldfish, Penzance New Paintings, Beaux Arts, Bath Simple Truths, Goldfish, Penzance Sparrow, Beaux Arts, Bath The Meeting Place, Millennium, St. Ives
Selected Mixed Exhibitions 2002 – 2003 2003 - 2008 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
South West Academy, Exeter Phoenix - Awarded Somerville Gallery painting prize Continued representation, Goldfish, Penzance London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Work acquired for permanent exhibition at The Anthony Pettullo Outsider and Self Taught Art Collection, Milwaukee, USA Art Now Cornwall?, Goldfish, Penzance FORM Art Fair, Olympia London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Summer Show, Beaux Arts, Bath Margins, Sherborne Open 07 - Awarded First Prize Winner Art London, Royal Hospital, Chelsea Move, Goldfish at Vyner Street, Lime Wharf, London London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington The Figure Show, Jill George Gallery, London Art London, Royal Hospital, Chelsea Mixed Winter Exhibition, Millennium, St. Ives London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington The Figure Show, Jill George Gallery, London Chichester Painting Prize (Shorlisted) Art London, Royal Hospital, Chelsea Mixed Winter Exhibition, Millennium, St. Ives London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington The House of Fairy Tales, Millennium, St. Ives
Selected Press Coverage / Features: The Guardian, The Observer, Cornwall Today, Devon Today, Inside Cornwall, Galleries, Cornishman, Western Morning News
Published by Millennium to coincide with the exhibition ‘The Meeting Place’ by Joy Wolfenden Brown All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers
Printed by St Austell Printing Company (www.sapc.co.uk) ISBN 978-1-905772-36-0
“Then there was one small chamber – a very small, carefully guarded place, deep inside. It was the most sacred, and they had a beautiful name for this: the Holy of Holies... and there was room there for only one person and God.”
John Orthberg
MILLENNIUM Str eet-an-Pol St. Ives Cornwall 01736 793121 m a i l @ m i l l e n n i u m g a l l e r y. c o . u k w w w . m i l l e n n i u m g a l l e r y. c o . u k