About the artist.
Norfolk born artist Gloria Dean began her career as an artist during the late 1970’s when she opened a small art gallery, representing her own and other carefully selected artist's work. During this time she held private art classes for both children and adults, and her easy, yet enthusiastic style soon established her a loyal following.
Since then her work has spanned sculpture, book illustration, stage sets and the design and restoration of lacquered furniture and Chinoiserie, including work for The Fitzwilliam Museum and The Ashmolean Museum.
She has produced commissioned large scale works of up to 17 ft for private museums and collections.
Animals feature strongly in her work, including the Iberian horse. Whilst travelling to Portugal to study the Lusitano in his home environment, she pursued her own studies in classical riding, under the tutelage of Lord Henry Loch.
Since then she moved to Coimbra, Portugal and has gone on to produce the dramatic, bold and powerful charcoal studies of Bulls that she has become so well known for ... bulls at peace and at rest.
She also took part in community projects by local artists.
Demonstrated in these portrayals is her mastery of the art of draughtsmanship which is seen throughout her work, from the large scale dramatic works, to studies of dancers and the relaxed sketches of passers-by.
She has returned to England and now works from her small home based studio in Norfolk, UK.
Her work is based solidly on Romantism with allegorical influences since following a return to oils.
Always a keen writer she has had articles published in magazines and has recently created interest with her own growing collection of children’s books.
Her other interests include: Tai Chi Chuan, Classical Riding, Sailing and Flying.
Gloria’s work is exhibited throughout Europe and is held in private art collections worldwide.
Exhibition List;
UK.
Century Galleries, Henley –on- Thames (solo show)
Doric Arts Gallery, Holt (gallery artist)
Mistral Gallery, Dover Street, London
Equus Gallery, Newmarket (solo show)
Grove Cottage Art Gallery, Norfolk
The Mall Galleries, London, with:
The Pastel Society &The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours
The Deane Gallery, Co Cork
The Condon Gallery, Theatre Royal, Norwich (solo show)
Chimney Mill Gallery, Bury St Edmunds
Art in the Park, Croxton, Norfolk
The King of Hearts Centre for the Arts, Norwich (solo show)
Norwich Castle Museum. (Vision and Reality) 2011
Appleyard and Co, Norwich. (solo show) 2013
The T Lounge, Ber Street, Norwich ( solo show) 2013
Royal Norfolk Show 2013/14/15/16/17/18/22
Norwich Cathedral, Harefest & Christmas 2018
Wymondham Arts Centre, Good Hare Days 2018
Portugal; Gois Arte, 2006 2007
Live Arte,2006
Spain. International Oroso, 2006 2007
New York. Annual Print Exhibition, Arts Centre of the Capital Region, Troy, NY.
2013/2014/2015 /2016/ 2017
Becketts Chapel, Wymondham 2024
Hard Pressed, Harrods of Hingham 2024
Artist's statement from the 'Motion from Stillness' exhibition'
I like to draw from life, making lightning sketches to capture the essence, body language and mood. I use this as the basis of every painting.
Because I am fascinated by the body language of people and animals, I strive to represent this boldly and as fearlessly as I can in my work: Life encompasses movement, music, bearing, joy, love, passion, compassion, melancholy, it is there to be seen, in all genres and so it has been my intention to capture these qualities as I perceive them in any particular subject.
Growing up on my grandparents farm, I saw that our huge bulls could be lying apparently at ease, still and rooted, then explode into sudden action, the effect was and still is so paralysing to me, the onlooker.
This quality has always impressed me, and I see similar composure and potential in a great dancer who holds one spellbound.
In the end my paintings are not simply about the subject alone, but the purity of line, the absence of line, the emergence of form from light and shade, emotion from colour and attitude and of course…motion from stillness.
