'Separation' An Exhibition of Paintings by the Artist Celia Paul

In Chichester Cathedral's North Transept

Saturday 6th October to Tuesday 20th November 2012

Open daily with free entry

The artist Celia Paul (b. 1959) was student, model and muse of the late Lucian Freud; she is also the mother of his son Frank, who is also an artist. Paul featured in several paintings by Freud including 'Naked Girl with Egg' (1981), 'Girl in a Striped Nightshirt' (1985) and 'Painter and Model' (1986 - 87).  Paul was taught by Freud when she studied at the Slade School of Art from 1976 to 1981.  Celia Paul is also sister-in-law to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and is the daughter of the former Bishop of Bradford, Geoffrey Paul, who died in 1983. Paul's work has been exhibited all over the world and her paintings can be seen in many public collections including The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Madonna & Child

Whilst not actively religious herself, a sense of spirituality pervades Paul's work and her paintings have been noted for their 'emotional intensity'.  The 14 paintings to be displayed at Chichester Cathedral are titled 'Separation'.  Based on the Stations of the Cross, these paintings are intimate and other-worldly, beautiful and haunting.

Interestingly, Paul describes these 14 paintings as differing from her work to date.  Recently, she has been particularly moved by some of the early religious paintings in the National Gallery and she describes her 'Separation' series in the following way: 'I think the theme of 'separation' has been subtly present in my work all along but I suddenly felt driven to express it in a more explicit way.  These are the only images I have painted from my imagination rather than from life, and the nearest thing to expressionist paintings I've ever done.  There are 14 because I wanted them to be a sort of Stations of the Cross.  They vary greatly in size according to whether the image is intimate or dramatic'.

This exhibition coincides with a partner exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester: 'Gwen John and Celia Paul: Painters in Parallel'.  This partner exhibition runs from 6th October 2012 to 27th January 2013.  Pallant House Gallery is just five minutes' walk from Chichester Cathedral.  For further information click here.

To hear Celia Paul talking about the exhibition on Radio 4 Woman's Hour click here.
To read about Celia Paul and the exhibition in The Independent click here.
To read about Celia Paul in the Guardian click here.