Joy Wolfenden Brown 'The Meeting Place

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J O Y W O L F E N D E N B R O W N

T H E M E E T I N G P L A C E

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The Drawing o i l on paper 101 x 47 cm

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The Meeting Place is Joy Wolfenden Brown’s first

exhibition at Millennium. I have, however, had the

pleasure of working with her on numerous occasions

whilst Director at Goldfish Contemporary Fine Art.

Her work is made in her tiny studio set in an attic room

at the top of her house. The ceilings are pitched, and

relatively low, so she works mainly around or on the paint

splatted floor. The studio feels like an inner sanctum. I’m

not sure if anyone else is allowed in to the space but a visit

has that sense of rare priveledge. It feels totally hers. Her

paintings extend the experience.

There remains something so extraordinarily fragile

within her paintings. Even the rawness of the application

suggests a vulnerability; these are works that leave

nothing for the artist or the viewer to hide behind. It is totally

appropriate to attribute that often over used term ‘honesty’

to Wolfenden Brown’s work.

Early on in her career, part of me nervously anticipated,

that as her reputation grew (as it has), that this essence in

her work could evaporate in the glare of recognition or

acclaim. It never has.

In fact, with a developed sense of confidence we witness a

marked development in scale. Much larger works on board

brush shoulders with the more familiar small scale paintings

on oil soaked paper. The presence of these larger pieces is

imposing as well as intimate. Their inclusion enforces

her stature.

So much contemporary figurative painting makes cultural

reference, analysing the society that we live in – often

taking an external vantage point or ‘third person’

perspective. What is rarer is to see work that speaks so

truthfully about the human condition in such an unguarded

personal way – from the core – the result is timeless.

The German Expressionist artist Kathe Kollwitz once

urged us to ‘look at life with the eyes of a child’. For me

the power of Wolfenden Brown’s painting is to remind us

of the child who lurks within all of us. The autonomous

solitary state that we find ourselves in behind our own

imposed screen is laid bare, and the attempt to come to

terms with that and to share ourselves is both the struggle

and goal. I relate to these paintings wholeheartedly, I

never tire of them.

Joseph Clarke. 2010

Introduction

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Evening o i l on board 122 x 106 cm

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

“There is a river of life all around. But you can’t push it. Try softer”

John Ortberg

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She Hides and She Seeks o i l on paper 19 x 53 cm

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He Sees Her Gent le Madness o i l on paper 51 x 23 cm

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Her Mother ’s Room o i l on board 122 x 61 cm

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Night Watch o i l on board 62 x 40 cm

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The Lane o i l on board 62 x 40 cm

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A Quiet Town o i l on paper 26 x 39 cm

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The Orange Br idge o i l on paper 21 x 35 cm

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New Baby o i l on paper 35 x 32 cm

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Lost Wisdom o i l on paper 55 x 44 cm

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Her Fami ly o i l on paper 78 x 24 cm

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Seeing o i l on paper 129 x 35 cm

Unspoken o i l on board 138 x 104 cm

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Unheard o i l on paper 15 x 17 cm

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Canute o i l on paper 14 x 27 cm

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Dress Rehearsa l o i l on paper 29 x 35 cm

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The Play o i l on paper 30 x 21 cm

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The Cake Sta l l o i l on canvas 46 x 61 cm

Her Mother o i l on paper 100 x 28 cm

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Chi ld in a Pink Cardi o i l on paper 39 x 28 cm

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Lit t le Face o i l on paper 9 x 12 cm

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Heir looms o i l on paper 13 x 19 cm

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Heiress o i l on paper 85 x 39 cm

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The Meet ing Place o i l on board 121 x 123 cm

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An Echoing Bark o i l on paper 32 x 35 cm

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The Harbour o i l on paper 26 x 36 cm

Her Garden o i l on board 84 x 41 cm

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Safe Home o i l on board 122 x 61 cm

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Blackbird o i l on paper 29 x 20 cm

The Birds and the Bees o i l on paper 35 x 24 cm

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The Is land o i l on paper 37 x 34 cm

The Boat o i l on paper 29 x 46 cm

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The Timid Dog o i l on paper 28 x 22 cm

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Stepping Stones o i l on paper 29 x 26 cm

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Gir l o i l on paper 33 x 15 cm

The Good Gir l o i l on paper 27 x 22 cm

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The Guest Room o i l on board 122 x 61 cm

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Born in 1961 Stamford Lincolnshire. Living in Cornwall.

Education

1980 - 1981 Foundation Art, Lincoln College of Art1981 - 1984 Fine Art Degree, Bretton Hall College / Leeds University1985 – 1986 Post Graduate Diploma, Art Therapy, Hertfordshire College of Art & Design

Selected Biography

1982 – 1984 Stanley Royd Mental Health Hospital, Wakefield – assisting in Art Therapy department1983 – 1984 M.I.N.D. Barnsley - volunteer1984 – 1985 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.1986 – 1989 Ingledene, Church of England Children’s Society, Altrincham, Cheshire. - Full time Senior II Art Therapist /Residential Social Worker.1989 – 1993 Stockport Health Authority Community and residential learning disability/mental health teams - Full time Senior I Art Therapist.1995 Full time Mum to two boys.1999 Moved to Bude, Cornwall (area where grandparents/mother had lived).2000 Started to paint again

Solo Exhibitions

2003 Somerville Gallery, Plymouth2004 Inside Out, Goldfish, Penzance 2005 Letting Go, Goldfish, Penzance2006 Still Waters, Goldfish, Penzance2007 Brief Visitor, Goldfish, Penzance New Paintings, Beaux Arts, Bath2008 Simple Truths, Goldfish, Penzance2009 Sparrow, Beaux Arts, Bath2010 The Meeting Place, Millennium, St. Ives

Selected Mixed Exhibitions

2002 – 2003 South West Academy, Exeter Phoenix - Awarded Somerville Gallery painting prize 2003 - 2008 Continued representation, Goldfish, Penzance 2005 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington 2006 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Work acquired for permanent exhibition at The Anthony Pettullo Outsider and Self Taught Art Collection, Milwaukee, USA 2007 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 2008 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington The Figure Show, Jill George Gallery, London Art London, Royal Hospital, Chelsea2009 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, Chelsea2010 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

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M I L L E N N I U M

“Then there was one small chamber – a ver y 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