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icon, n. a figure: image: a portrait ... a figure representing Christ, or a saint in painting.
The idea for this series of paintings came from drawing the Elgin Marbles, studying Italian religious paintings of the 13th & 14th century, and looking at action photographs of footballers. Although apparently unconnected a link gradually developed.
The Greeks worshiped the Gods in the form of man, the Christians
worshiped God in the form of a Man and today football and footballers are idolised with a religious
fervour
Drawing on his vast knowledge of renaissance art and a lifetime of painting Frank
examines the line of continuity between the idolisation of the Christ/religious figure and the modern football superstar.
Employing a style based in the classic methods of 14th century Italian icon painters a remarkable symmetry emerges.
Reflections of strength and power sit alongside angelic innocence and grace, even the ‘costumes’ help to create, the presentation of a thoroughly modern subject matter in a classic form. The subtle mixture of images leaves the viewer questioning both their perception of the religious icon and the media’s presentation of the modern football superstar.
Frank Stanton
Painter in oil and water-colour of still life and figure subjects; theatre designer and teacher. Born and lives in London.
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art, 1949-52. His tutors included William Coldstream, Robert Medley, John Piper, Edward Ardizzone and John Minton.
Frank worked and designed for the theatre including La Scala, Milan - The City of London Festival - Group Theatre - Tower Theatre. Designed and executed decorative panels for several London hotels; designed tiles for a public swimming pool in South London; designed communion rail kneelers for All Saints, Kenton, Suffolk and this work was included in Beryl Dean’s Designing Ecclesiastical Textiles; started and ran the Leigh Underhill Gallery. He became Head of Art at St Dunstan’s College, Catford.
He has exhibited regularly in mixed shows at the following galleries:- Canonbury Bookshop
Gallery (Exhibited with Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell) - Contemporary Portrait Society - Islington Art Circle(In London and Holland) - All Hallows-by-the-Tower - Millinery Works - Royal
Academy (Geometric abstracts and plant forms) - Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours.
One-man shows held at All Hallows-by-the-Tower - Canonbury Bookshop Gallery - John Jones Gallery - Salford City Art Gallery. Private collections in Britain and abroad hold examples of his work.
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