LESLIE GLENN DAMHUS
& JULIEANN WORRALL HOOD
Renaissance Menagerie
LESLIE GLENN DAMHUS
& JULIEANN WORRALL HOOD
Renaissance Menagerie
RENAISSANCE MENAGERIE
Paintings by LESLIE GLENN DAMHUS
and sculpture by JULIEANN WORRALL HOOD
Lane House Arts Gallery, Bath
December 2016 - February 2017
LESLIE GLENN DAMHUS
"My creative practice reflects my interest in devotional imagery. Appropriating the work of Renaissance artists, I look to blur the lines between the historic and the contemporary. Often, symbolism in devotional imagery is playful. I strive to reflect this in my own work. What allegorical secrets are contained in fruit? Or plants? I am interested in double meanings of symbolism: how a bird, for example, may signify a prophet in one painting and the Devil in another, or both at once, suggesting that nature can be simultaneously serene and menacing.
Increasingly, I am interested in the textures and finishes that come out of the processes I use to create the work, a paradoxical combination of the 'look' of fresco paintings and multilayered oil techniques. For me, part of the process of making new work out of appropriated imagery is deciding what to leave in and what to leave out. By bringing the richness of devotional imagery into the contemporary art space, I am expressing my own sense that such imagery is still somehow relevant to modern life.”
Leslie Glenn Damhus' childhood home in Pennsylvania, USA, was an apartment directly above that of the renowned artist Paul Bransom, who illustrated the 1913 edition of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows. He taught Leslie how to draw animals, and this influence, coupled with her passion for Renaissance religious painting, can be seen in her present work.
In keeping with Renaissance custom, Leslie's paintings capture the spirit of how symbolism is adaptive to changing social values. The playful signs and symbols in her Marian portraits represent concepts that remain, even today, sacred and wonderful.
In 2009 Leslie gained a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the University of the West of England.
She is currently based in Frome, Somerset.
Read more about the artist here
JULIEANN WORRALL HOOD
There is an essence of things that are common to all in the longing for home that extends beyond any one place, people or time. Wiltshire based sculptor Julieann Worrall Hood is interested in this intangible notion of home, a home that may no longer exist, but a place of solace and hope that we each carry within us.
The poet Emily Dickinson, who rarely left her home, alluded to universal experiences by distilling the essence of what was around her into a few words. Julieann seeks to evoke this essence of home and exile and has found that, as in poetry, strength can be found in simplicity.
The idea of little mementoes of home inspired her to make these small sculptures that evoke the permanent and the fleeting. It is said that during the Second World War Alberto Giacometti made only sculptures small enough to carry with him in his overcoat pockets and this is the notion Julieann’s pieces embody.
Julieann has recently completed an MFA at Bath Spa University where she also lectures part time. With work in public and private collections nationally and internationally, commissions include pieces for the V&A, Denver Museum of Childhood, The Conran Shop and Chanel.
Read more about the artist here
There is an essence of things that are common to all in the longing for home that extends beyond any one place, people or time. Wiltshire based sculptor Julieann Worrall Hood is interested in this intangible notion of home, a home that may no longer exist, but a place of solace and hope that we each carry within us.
The poet Emily Dickinson, who rarely left her home, alluded to universal experiences by distilling the essence of what was around her into a few words. Julieann seeks to evoke this essence of home and exile and has found that, as in poetry, strength can be found in simplicity.
The idea of little mementoes of home inspired her to make these small sculptures that evoke the permanent and the fleeting. It is said that during the Second World War Alberto Giacometti made only sculptures small enough to carry with him in his overcoat pockets and this is the notion Julieann’s pieces embody.
Julieann has recently completed an MFA at Bath Spa University where she also lectures part time. With work in public and private collections nationally and internationally, commissions include pieces for the V&A, Denver Museum of Childhood, The Conran Shop and Chanel.
Read more about the artist here
