“The paintings from The Phoenix Series are contemporary oils of stunning colour, size and power and speak of the unpredictability, anguish and mystery of human experience.”
The Revd. M. Vernon, Holy Trinity, Guildford.

“The impact of the panels upon the Chapter House was enormous.  Without doubt the Phoenix Paintings are amongst the most impressive that we have seen for some time. It has been a joy and privilege to have them here in Wells.  They are of the highest calibre and ought, if at all possible, to be exhibited as widely as possible.”
Canon Dr Geoffrey Walker, Wells Cathedral

“They are fine pieces of art which speak eloquently of a distinctly Christian theme in a new and imaginative fashion.”
Bishop J. Inge, formerly of Ely Cathedral.

The suffering and anguish expressed in these panels is without doubt very moving.  Penny has succeeded in her quest.
The Blackburn Artists Society

Evocative, provocative! That this space allows the peace and quiet to rest is wonderful; that it encourages profound contemplation is extraordinary.  How brave.
Blackburn Cathedral

“What I admired so much about these pictures is their unflinching honesty.  There’s no sentimentality or sanitising…  You paint the heart of the mystery – the physical brokenness and the enveloping light; the crucifixion and the resurrection.  They have the luminous richness of stained glass.”
Reverend Dr S. Barnden, Haberdashers Girls’ School, Monmouth.

“We are shown figures that dance, that float, that glide, that hang poised, with everlasting arms opened wide. Uneasy figures, disturbing figures…  Here the whipped and stripped Christ shows his injuries before us as a figure of rags and patches.  A figure that releases tremendous vitality, in paint flicked and spattered and scumbled.  The sense of the great physical energy of the artist and her feeling for her God: you can’t paint like this without getting your hands dirty, without getting caught up in the action.”
Rev K. Rumens, Rector of St Giles Church, The Barbican, London.

You have captured the pain and agony of Calvary and yet the use of vivid colours shows the hope beyond the suffering.  Thank you.
Worcester Cathedral

Agony, drama and life in every picture.  Just wonderful.
Gloucester Cathedral

The paintings exude great character, intelligence and warmth and were not in any way intimidated by the power of the cathedral.
Dr P H Cattermole, Leicestershire

There is a passion about them which is very gripping - almost hypnotic.
Mr S Pearce, Norwich

PHOENIX PAINTINGS ON TOUR OF ENGLISH CATHEDRALS


Bristol Cathedral

Penny writes about The Phoenix Paintings:

"Within the Phoenix Paintings there is a deliberate resonance with the Christian image of suffering and death, but I try to translate what I feel about this familiar image into a new arrangement of colour and form. I work almost life size so that the viewer can enter into my paintings and identify more fully with them. The paint is flicked and splattered and destroyed again and again. This way I am more likely to produce figures that disturb, uneasy figures, figures that show their injuries and suffering.

Yet at the same time because of the absence of the cross in the paintings, I hope to convey that suffering is not only caused by external factors or socially imposed by others, but is also an inner experience inseparable from life. The paintings try to speak of the anguish of human existence, and of our feelings of abandonment and alienation. For as Kierkegaard wrote: "Deep within every man there lies the dread of being alone in the world, forgotten by God, overlooked among the tremendous household of millions upon millions."

The absence of a cross, together with the vibrancy of the colours used, also aim to express that which survives the desolation and destruction - the human spirit. St Paul writes: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians Chapter 4 v. 8.

Like the ancient Egyptian mythological bird the Phoenix, which destroyed itself only to rise again from the ashes, the paintings point to the hope of resurrection and immortality."

St Giles Church, The Barbican

SOLO EXHIBITIONS OF THE PHOENIX PAINTINGS TO DATE:

  • Guildford Cathedral: Lent – Easter 2005
  • Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford: Lent 2004
  • St Paul’s Cathedral: February 2004
  • Norwich Cathedral: 2003
  • Bristol Cathedral: July - August 2003
  • Gloucester Cathedral: May – June 2003
  • Worcester Cathedral: Lent - Easter 2003
  • Blackburn Cathedral: February 2003
  • Lichfield Cathedral: July- August 2002
  • St John’s Waterloo: May – July 2002
  • Coventry Cathedral: Lent - Easter 2002
  • Wells Cathedral: July - August 2001
  • St Giles Church, The Barbican: Spring 2001
  • Ely Cathedral: Lent - Easter 2001
  • Holy Trinity, Guildford: Lent - Easter 2000

Guildford Cathedral, Lent – Easter 2005

Wellington College Chapel

The Chapter House, Wells Cathedral