It's been some time since we here at Hookedblog have been in Bristol and with our good friend Beau Stanton down in Bristol for his first European solo show it was the excuse we were looking for to return to the city. We last caught up with the Brooklyn based painter and muralist when we hooked him up with an East London wall last October when he visiting London (covered here).

Following completion of the mural on Pedley street, Stanton headed down to Bristol to scope out the venue which is now housing his new body of work. Beau teamed up with another of our friends Andy Phipps to bring his exhibition entitled 'Tenebras Lux' to Bristol. The exhibition has been installed as a temporary site-specific installation within the Crypt of Saint John the Baptist in Bristol. The collection of stunning stain glass works will be on display until the 5th October after which they will travel to London where they will go on show at StolenSpace Gallery. A collection of  new works on canvas will also go on show along with the stained glass in London. Check out a selection of image we took at the Bristol show opening below along with some extra information on the work from the exhibition press release.



"Tenebras Lux is a new body of work inspired by the imagery and techniques found in sacred spaces. Stained glass windows, elaborate oil paintings, and ornamented sacred objects create an immersive experience that references medieval art forms, ancient and modern religious iconography, and fetishized holy relics. The works re-imagine their original sacred function to inform the way we view the development of religious icons and enduring archetypes. 

While creating the work, Stanton employed classical, medieval, and 19th Century techniques alongside contemporary digital media achieving unconventional results within the vaulted crypt and tomb niches. This calculated manipulation of light and shadow results in vividly illuminated images achieved through panes of tinted glass as well as delicate layers of transparent paint film. 

These works are carefully concocted amalgamations that fuse archetypal symbols with familiar imagery from Classical Antiquity and Christian theology. The result is a visual orgy of light and ornament contrasting natural organic forms of ancient mythology with the macabre and grotesque images of martyred Christian icons."

'Tenebras Lux' at The crypt of St John the Baptist until the 5th October and then the show moves to London at Stolen Space Gallery from the 10th October. Stolen Space Gallery, 17 Osborn St, London E1 6TD.