COPTIC LIGHT – OIL PAINTING BY THE CONTEMPORARY BRITISH ARTIST, GILLIAN LEVER
Figure 1: Coptic Light by Gillian Lever (Oil on canvas 90cm x 90cm).
Gillian Lever is a contemporary British artist. She was born in Northampton, England, in 1963, and after graduating from Reading University with BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art, Reading University, she obtained Post Graduate Diploma in Art Therapy, St Albans College of Art. She is concerned with art as a language for the soul. Her biography says she approaches painting in an intuitive way, using abstract compositional structures to allow the language of colour to speak. Emotionally charged, her work is the product of a contemplative process, celebrating the mystery of the unknown.[i] And she writes about herself:
“My primary interest is in using colour to express a range of basic human emotions.
Although my work is abstract, there are often suggestions of doorways or openings, passing places from the known to the unknown.
Music that evokes a spiritual realm through the abstract language of sound has provided me with a rich source of inspiration in recent years. I search for the expression of such mystery through the physicality of paint.“[ii]
I guess Gillian Lever was inspired by Morton Feldman’s piece of music, Coptic Light, in producing this interesting painting that carries the same title. I simply draw the attention of my readers to yet another beautiful work of art that is, directly or indirectly, connected to the Copts and their culture.
DIOSCORUS BOLES ON COPTIC NATIONALISM 