Saturday May 19 2012
Art & Literature Archive
Village Art & Literature
Bearded Wonders
Posted on January 18 2009 at 4:47:18 0 comments
Local artist Thomas Genders shows his latest work at Artrix from Feb 18–March 22, in an exhibition called Bearded Wonders – the main theme is portraits of various types of facial hair, plus a separate section of landscapes, some of local scenes.
“I was experimenting with different areas of art, and one of these was portraiture,” says Tom, from Rowney Green.
“I believe it is important to keep challenging myself, and that is why I decided a portrait-themed exhibition would be good for me as it takes me out of my comfort zone and has forced me to approach people about being a subject for my paintings. I have also been able to develop my abilities; flesh is an exciting subject as it has many different modes and tones.
“I chose the subject of beards slightly by accident after painting a portrait of my friend Simon,” he continues. “I have been mainly painting people I know, but also a few people I just walked up to and asked for a photo. This leads to mixed reactions, but most people are happy enough to be photographed.
“I want to capture the quirky nature of facial hair alongside more serious topics. The many reasons for growing beards have been interesting to research: many traditional Sikh men believe that hair is a gift from God and therefore should not be cut.
There is also a tradition in Judaism for men to have beards – this is based on the Torah prohibiting the shaving of facial hair with a straight razor. Other common non-religious reasons range from ‘because my wife prefers it’ to ‘I grew it one year for a change and now I feel naked when I shave!’”
More info at http://www.thomasgenders.com; more details of the exhibition at http://www.artrix.co.uk
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