The gallery, which occupies a converted former BT telephone box, achieved national publicity when it first opened in 2009 as probably the world’s smallest art gallery. Exhibitions over the past 17 years have featured works by national known artists, such as photographer Martin Parr, local school children and most famously Queen guitarist Brian May, who showed a collection of Victorian 3D photographs in the autumn of 2010, soon after the gallery opened.
The new exhibition, titled Gilding the Letter is by Kathryn Finter, a Canadian artist whose work seeks a better understanding of how medieval European artists created some of the world’s most exquisite illustrations.
Kathryn has a particular ongoing interest in materials and techniques of manuscript illumination and egg tempera panel painting with a focus on artwork from the 15th century, that get incorporated into her works of art.
This exhibition features 34 small fine art prints with 23K gold leaf hand-illuminated letters from an exhibition at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario which featured framed works executed on animal skin parchment using 23K gold leaf, paint and ink.
The original letters completed over several years combine a variety of master copies created to study techniques as well as adapted manuscript motifs along with original designs. The illuminated letters are in a variety of decorated styles ranging from medieval to modern. Some of the letters are from a series that began as individual works for exhibition but evolved into a more ambitious project of developing a guide showing in detail the stages of design, painting, and illumination that goes into producing each letter.
For more information on Kathryn’s techniques see www.illuminations.ca