Current
Torr Vale Mill – Derbyshire Open Arts festival 2013
Sexton will exhibit a selection of drawings and paintings loosely based around his recent project – A matter of Unsustainable Weight
Invited by New Mills Arts for the Derbyshire Open Arts festival 25th – 27th May 2013
At Torr Vale Mill, Torr Vale Road, New Mills, SK22 3HS
11am – 5pm
For more information about the paintings View
Recent events
The Big Egg Hunt 2013
Leonard Sexton’s egg entitled A binary pair – container for the union of opposites was created exclusively for The big egg hunt 2013
View
Acceptance by the tribe does not always lead to universal good will
Leonard Sexton’s triptych from the series A LONDON ROOM
is currently showing at the Ranelagh Art Festival 15th – 30th Sep 2012 View
Self
Leonard Sexton’s self portrait is currently at Garter Lane Arts Centre Waterford Self
Images From the Life of a Dancer
Six canvases were selected from this recently completed series of paintings, ‘Images From The Life of a Dancer’, for an issue on addiction for HESA inprint magazine in Finland. This is a link to their website. The article is also in our news section.
The Working Drawings
A selection of working drawings from the project ‘Images from the Life of a Dancer’ can be viewed by clicking here.
Artist’s Note: Images from the Life of a Dancer
Locked in the dance forever? Possibly a dancer’s dream. Firstly, perhaps the paintings are for them, movement and experience are all the one here the dancer performs forever. The coils and changes within the paintings, make reference to the dancers emotional state while performing. It’s the presence of the dancer that’s elusive, they seem to me to be a cauldron of moving expression, with constant re-alignment they’re caught up in an ever evolving state, power and mystery?
The paintings are a look at the personality of the dancer, their deep belief and involvement, the paintings make reference to the fact that they constantly question their movement, their commitment is deep. The paintings then battle to express this emotional state that drives them through a beautiful process.
The paintings are set up to champion the battle of the dancer, mental, physical and emotional.
Socially they are forced to walk around in real time like the rest of us, but like all artists fight furiously not to let this social state over ride their belief and determination to dance, that’s their politic. The spirit of the dancer fights to be heard. I attempt to portray the ‘mind set’ that exists in the moment of performance. I can’t or won’t show what they do, as I consider it weak, a stealing, a near grave robbing, their task. I’ll make reference to it but mainly deal with what I met, which is being in the presence of this wonderful thing, the mental and physical strength, the Dancer.
They physically do what Séamus Heaney wrote all artist mentally always do, ‘boulders hurled through unchartered space.’
These paintings are perhaps difficult to understand, the dancer is then impossible to understand, but it is all perfectly clear when they dance.
It’s important because we know there is so much about us that we can not put words to, the dancer understands this ephemeral other need to communicate, in them it is a must, they know its importance but can only make reference to it when they dance. It is more than enough I think.