Stilte/Silence is being shown alongside paintings by Julian Bell, Nick Bush, Jane Griffiths, Gala Hills and Jamie McKendrick. This is the first show I have curated....Story Painters, Picture Writers, at St John’s College’s Kendrew Barn Gallery, borrows its title from Aubrey Beardsley’s 1894 polemic against the narrative conventions of 19th century academic art – a tongue-in-cheek appropriation given the story-telling thread that ties the show together.
Curated by Sarah Shaw, Bod Street Gallery , Brighton . Over 80 artists showing work in response to Brian Patten's poem:
The Stolen Orange
When I left I stole an orange
I kept it in my pocket
It felt like a warm planet
Everywhere I went smelt of oranges
Whenever I got into an awkward situation
I'd take out the orange and smell it
And immediately on even dead branches I saw
The lovely and fierce orange blossom
That smells so much of joy
When I went out I stole an orange
It was a safeguard against imagining
There was nothing bright or special in the world
