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Art - Norman
Adams
Provence to Paradise, an exquisite exhibition of muted and
vibrant watercolours by Norman Adams, opens on Monday at the
Star Gallery and is a real gem. The outer world of Norman
Adams’ ‘Provence’ paintings – large,
impressive landscapes from the 1980s which have never been
shown publicly before - draw a huge contrast with his better
known ‘Paradise’ paintings which give an insight
into his inner world and include the well-known ‘Dark
Madonna’, ‘Humility Has Bright Wings’ and
‘Silent Meeting’, all of which were shown at the
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2000/2001.
Best known for his spiritual and biblical paintings, Adams
often called himself ‘a freelance agnostic’ and
despite never aligning himself publicly with any religious
movement, his work is sprinkled heavily with religious imagery
and Christian motifs. Indeed, most of his paintings have a
spiritual essence and translucent splendor. Among Adams’
celebrated ‘spiritual’ work is a mural in St Anselm’s
Church in Kennington, London (1971); his illustrations for
the Oxford University Press for parts of the Old Testament
(1967) and his 14 Stations of the Cross for St Mary’s
Church in Manchester (1994). Provence to Paradise is hugely
impressive and will win Norman Adams new fans and delight
those already appreciative of his great work. This is the
first major exhibition of Adams’ work commissioned since
his death, at the age of 78, on 9 March 2005 and provides
a timely retrospective into his body of work. KA
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