A New Name at the Cathedral
Date: 20th July 2012FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release
A New Name at the Cathedral
Not a new name but A New Name … the title of an exhibition by artist Alison Thistlethwaite. Created especially for Bradford the subject concerns the subject of identity – a topic we happily celebrate in this multi-cultural city of ours. The paintings are in the ‘abstract expressionist’ style in which the colours and brush marks allow us to enjoy the freedom of colour and gesture. We all know that there is more to us than others see, but we want to be known for ‘who’ we are rather than ‘what’ we are – and names are not always helpful. Frequently places and people are labelled negatively, and we have to see through the names to find out who people really are.
Recently Alison discovered some family history that seems symbolic of the theme. Her grandmother had been adopted and given a new name, but no one knew where she had come from. We now know that she was born to a seamstress in a little terraced house in Leeds, possibly in circumstances of shame. She was brought up by devout Quakers. Her inheritance lives on - the next three generations have all been good at sewing!
A New Name by Alison Thistlethwaite opens with a reception with the artist at 6.30pm on Thursday 26th July – all welcome: free entry, donations appreciated. The exhibition then runs until Friday 14th September. For more details please contact the Cathedral Office on 01274 777720.
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About the artist:
Alison Thistlethwaite was born in St Albans. Her grandfather was an illustrator and her great-uncle, whom she also knew well, was a noted flower painter. She went to St Albans College of art for her foundation year, and then switched to music, with singing training in London, a degree at Cambridge College of Arts & Technology (now Anglia Ruskin University), and a diploma in Music Therapy at London’s Guildhall School of Music. After practicing music therapy in psychiatric hospitals in Oxford and Cambridge, Alison recovered her interest in art and had exhibitions in Cambridge of landscapes and flower paintings in watercolour. The full integration of music and art came when she began painting abstracts around 1995, and particularly after moving to the Cotswolds where she and her husband have a small music room next to their garden studios. Living in a place of remarkable peace and beauty, Alison has been able to reflect on and paint some of the great themes of life, and she hopes that some of this tranquillity will be ‘exported’ as a quality of her paintings.
Recent exhibitions:
York Minster ‘In the Presence’ February-March 2011*
Worcester Cathedral ‘In the Presence’ September 2011
*‘The exhibition was a real success.The work seemed to stir something inside our visitors and many connected with its spirituality, finding peace and comfort within it.It provoked a sense of reassurance and calming in what have been very difficult times both politically and economically’.Vicky Harrison, Collections Manager, York Minster.
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Yours : Faithfully
Bradford Cathedral, Stott Hill, Bradford, BD1 4EH
T: 01274 777720 F: 01274 777730