Quentin Bell and Olivia Sterling Exhibitions at Charleston, Lewes
In Lewes at Charleston, two exhibitions highlight the works of Quentin Bell (1910–1996) and Olivia Sterling. Bell, the son of Vanessa Bell and a biographer of Virginia Woolf, presents ceramics, drawings, and sculptures inspired by a magic show he witnessed at the age of nine. His collection features whimsical, vividly colored ceramics alongside poorly rendered drawings depicting myths and scenes, focusing on creativity rather than technical skill. Meanwhile, Sterling explores themes of race and power through her paintings, which blend vintage cartoons and food symbolism. Among her pieces is a large painting of corseted bodies, a woman depicted as a dining table, and a triptych that connects magic with power. Sterling's work is both vibrant and politically charged.
Key facts
- Quentin Bell (died 1996) was the son of Bloomsbury group painter Vanessa Bell and biographer of Virginia Woolf.
- Bell was inspired at age nine by a magic show in which a woman appeared to levitate.
- The exhibition includes five sculptures of levitating bodies: wire, wood and plaster works from the 1960s, bronze from the 1980s and painted ceramics from the 1990s.
- Bell's ceramics are humorous, brightly coloured and shiny, resembling rough takes on 18th-century rococo porcelain.
- His drawings and illustrations, covering Greek myths, biblical scenes, Cinderella and an imagined history of Sussex, are poorly executed.
- The work rejects the austere minimalism of potters such as Bernard Leach, European abstraction and surrealism, and interwar realism.
- Olivia Sterling's new paintings use cartoon and comic language, food symbolism and the body to critique race and power.
- A huge triptych shows a white body in a magician's sword box, one black woman pressing down and another plunging a sword in.
Entities
Artists
- Quentin Bell
- Olivia Sterling
- Vanessa Bell
- Virginia Woolf
- Bernard Leach
Institutions
- Charleston
- The Charleston Trust
- Bloomsbury group
- The Guardian
Locations
- Charleston
- Lewes
- United Kingdom
- Sussex
- Europe
- Cobbe House