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Shanti Panchal, born in India in 1951, has lived and worked in London since 1978. His palette is inspired by the dry landscape of his native village: 'ochres and reds and browns, all sand and mud-houses with red tiles'. He has said, "I'm very interested in working on the stillness in people, it's a timelessness in them." The male figures he portrays, with their shaven heads and expressively pronounced yet well-proportioned eyes, are set against shadowless backgrounds; he relates these to the pervasive childhood influence of Hindu and Jain monks, and also to his interest in Indian miniature painting.
The unspoken, ambiguous dramas of his resilient yet amazingly gentle male and female characters, set starkly against vibrant abstracted backgrounds, are heightened by his remarkable use of watercolour, applied layer upon layer to create chalky fresco-like textures, seemingly reverberating with impalpable inner meaning.
in Education International
An enigmatic atmosphere also enlivens the paintings of Julie Held, who was born in London in 1958 to German-Jewish immigrant parents. "I don't believe in verisimilitude in a painting," says Held. "There has to be an inner truth to the person or place you're trying to evoke." She is a painter rooted and enriched by traditions of western art, ranging from Rembrandt and Titian to Matisse and German Expressionism. Her vulnerable-looking
Sculptor's work Shanti Panchal
Comes back from the
Temple
Still life in the night 2003, Julie Held
2004, Mark Cazalet
2004, Mark Cazalet
AKI & LIJEKAJUKE
human figures also appear impressively vivacious. These lovers, swimmers, brides and grooms, even a woman trying on pairs of chic shoes, always seem on the verge of being inwardly transfigured. An oil painting of 'Still life in the night', with its pair of Jewish Sabbath candles so subtly luminous on a bloodred tablecloth, celebrates human generosity yet mourns human loss, though no individuals are actually portrayed.
Mary Comforts Judas' Mother 2004, Mark Cazalet
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'Mythic narrative' is what also characterises the painting of Mark Cazalet (in his own words). Born in London in 1964, he has been inspired by Medieval Mystery
in
Plays and also by "the idea of medieval space, where the space in a picture is tipped up towards you". His series of paintings on the life of the Virgin Mary has its roots in his interest in "the idea of seeing Mary as a contemporary girl East London". His small, orb-shaped pictures are rich in contemporary, everyday detail, bringing timeless Christian scenes poignantly and challengingly up-to-date, as in a picture of the bereaved Virgin Mary comforting the similarly bereft mother of Judas in the setting of a modest East London flat.
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