This exhibition is centred around and pays homage to Joan of Arc. Henry’s figurative
and landscape paintings and ceramics are objects of veneration to Joan and to nature.
The paintings exhibited are made in sequence, showcasing different sides to Joan of Arc, spliced in between with images of nature. Almost like a frieze of life, and with the addition of floral works that appear to create a church like arch structure within the space. Like adorning glass-stained windows, repeating this arc and alcove, pointing to the heavens. T he space worships Joan and nature. Glover’s recent body of work focuses on the story of Joan of Ark, after becoming bewitched by her story as a child. As a child, he understood it as if it was a fairytale, and based all of his assumptions from Luc Besson’s film, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. As he grew up, his fascination of Joan and her story grew and he continues to feel a lucid connection to her life. Consequently, Glover has utilised her story as an inspiration for compositions in his paintings. In its simplest form, the works look at a young woman who is not content with her life, she longs to be elsewhere, somewhere better. Exploring themes of devotion, purpose, the embrace, and dreams.
Henry Glover is an oil painter and ceramist based in London. His work explores the interplay between the physical sensations of materials and the raw emotions he experiences in his daily life and personal relationships. His recent work focuses on his shared feelings of introspection that have arisen during the recent pandemic and proven to catalyse the impacts of rumination and loneliness on the soul and psyche. Glover’s work draws upon the early medieval period and British folklore in providing subjects that are romantic but also comforting in their bold figurations and colourful origins. Recently, he has found a natural progression into painting landscapes that lack figures. These dreamlike landscapes reveal our aspirations, our desires and our fears. Glover’s work is ultimately diaristic, he finds a cathartic release in the process and discovering classic, Romantic and banal themes that can be shared with others. Henry is also listed as one of Saatchi Art’s Rising Stars (2020).