Crucifixion
St Peter and St Paul's
Buckingham Parish Church
The Crucifixion
2018 - 2021
"The scale of the challenge resides in both the weight of religious art and the great paintings of Velasquez, Titian, and Rembrandt. Prompting a response and challenge to a their supreme form and content allied to a carefully considered response to both the physical structure and nature of space and the human condition."
Gino feels the notions of schism between faith and science to be an important reason to make this painting. He asks are they parallel or do they intersect?
Art Installation, Artsday and
Stations of The Cross in Three Acts
Gino created a one off installation and exhibition and a sound and visual performance collaboration with pianist Maria Sappho and author Professor Robert Cumming
Stations of the Cross is a three act concert including music, conversation, performance, live drawing, sound and light. Act 1 and Act 3 premieres the depiction of the Stations of the Cross in a collaboration between Gino and New York pianist Maria Donahue (Sappho). Act 2 takes the form of a conversation where Gino and Professor Robert Cumming discuss Mathias Grunewald and Diego Velazquez Crucifixions and there meaning to a modern audience.
During the conversation Asked by a member of the audience, "What relevance does the Crucifixion have today?"
Gino related Grunewald's plague depicted Jesus and the potential for a widespread virus to occur at any time in the future, irrevocably changing the world. A few months later the world was in the middle of a Covid pandemic where fearful and frightened societies across the world began shutting down.
During Artsday Gino demonstrated his process for beginning a portrait . Anne Exelby a volunteer and longstanding parishioner at the church sat for the demonstration. Later Anne visited Gino's studio where he finished the portrait. Albeit wiith a long break between the first few sittings and the last due to the Covid pandemic.
Painting the Crucifixion 2020 -2021
Gino started his painting for the chancel in the summer of 2020 by this time he had decided on many aspects of the painting. Gino worked from imagination and used his many years of drawing the human figure to decide on the tensions he wanted in and out of the figure in the painting. Although figurative this is a conceptual work which adopts profound beliefs and uses the science of colour and light to articulate the pain and suffering experienced. The background colour is the robes of authority used as both a way to mock and as power to destroy belief. Jesus is Mediterranean, his moment of passing is one of understanding and recognition. In some way we are all here looking for meaning in life and death. From the Cross he sees us and we see him. Gino uses colour vibrations just as Matisse or Rothko might but his are imbued with notions of abstracted sound and frequency to code meaning and to offer song. This connects with the large organ situated next to in the painting. His colour vibrations are the opening and connecting notes of the atmosphere and light in the church.
The band of light running down the canvas is the presence of God, in the church, and the moment the thunder sounds out at Jesus' crucifixion. The light and dark of the human condition is represented in the nails and the landscape in the cross.
Due to the ongoing pandemic and a flood from the River Ouse on the early morning of Christmas Eve 2020 which inundated Gino's house and studio with flood water. The painting floated in time as it awaited resolution. With the painting rescued from the studio it was stored safely in Buckingham Parish Church until Gino could restart work and finish the painting which was August 2021.
Waiting To Be Raised
The Dedication
The Official Ceremony and dedication of the painting into the church by former Archbishop Carey took place on 27th June 2021
The Thunder Speaks
Listen to the
thunder speak and the moment of Christ's expiration and renewal.