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BROTHERHOOD OF RURALISTS, GRAHAM OVENDEN England 1975
The Communion of the Trees
2007 - 2008
Oil on canvas laid on board
Dimensions: 122.00 cm x91.50 cm
Signed and dated 2007/8 on the reverse
Fugue, the flight of the parts. Within the severest architectonic structures we may find the greatest spiritual freedom. Thus the intertwining pillars of the trees act as the portals, which having past through, lead on to the greater Eden. The luminous depths of the night sky, the symbol of our human quest which seeks to reveal even to the basic matter, the creation of life itself. The moon and her surrounding attendants of veiling cloud shows not only as the symbol of purity, but also, by reflection, is given life by Sol thus making whole our true sensuality. The lower evening sky that holds our perspective. The ever longing for the distant horizon which can never be wholly attained, so we journey onward to the edge of anguish. The green sward which grows from the shadows of Pan’s domain, the eternal garden of Grace. As with the moon, unsullied yet fecund. “Viriditas, the greening of the soul.” Graham Ovenden

The artist


Ancient Landscapes - Pastoral Visions: Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists, Southampton City Art Gallery, April-June 2008; then touring Victoria Gallery Bath, Falmouth Art Gallery and Cube Gallery Plymouth until 19 December 2008

Exhibition Catalogue no, Page no, Illustration no. Institution/Venue People From To
Graham Ovenden - Recent Works Peter Nahum At The Leicester Galleries
December 2008 March 2009

Anne Anderson, Robert Meyrick, Peter Nahum, Ancient Landscapes - Pastoral Visions: Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists, Southampton, page 127, catalogue number 135