Like Grayson Perry’s, Qu Leilei’s art is enthused with a love of humanity. Last night Grayson’s Art Club focused on portraits. It was an exhibition of portraits by Qu Leilei titled’ Everyone’s Life is an Epic’ that kick-started a ten year journey to Brushstrokes in Time. Interviewed for the Meridian Society, I describe the impact it had on me.
https://www.facebook.com/TheMeridianSociety/videos/1141067562675489/
The catalogue doesn’t do the paintings justice. They were huge and the extent of the colour on the sides is missing. It drew your gaze into the subject’s eyes. For me eyes are the pathway to the soul.
Here’s another artist whose every brushstroke oozed with empathy – Rembrandt. And like Everyone’s Life is an Epic also on show at the Ashmolean Thanks to Simon Schama we can take a look behind those big blue firmly closed doors. When this Covid curtain begins to lift we will need Rembrandt’s love of the human https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000hqpj/museums-in-quarantine-series-1-2-rembrandt
The curator is Christopher Brown the Director on whose ‘watch’ the Ashmolean was transformed both physically and in its culture. When I cast him away on Oxtopia Rembrandt’s affectionate portrait of his father was Christopher’s Oxtopian choice to take to the island. Click on the PdF to see why. Christopher Brown
This pic was taken at the launch of Oxford Castaways which Christopher kindly opened. Seen here with the artist in residence Weimin He.
