2023 is the third year that Wycliffe Hall is participating in the Oxford Art Weeks exhibitions and we look forward to welcoming you to the College. This year we are featuring digital art, pottery and ceramics, bronze and clay sculptures, iconography, oil and acrylic paintings, pastels, watercolours, mixed media and drawings. We are also featuring the work of a digital artist for the first time. Some of our artists will be present to discuss their work with guests and visitors.
Theologian Abraham Kuyper stated that art is ‘one of God's richest gifts to mankind’ commenting that the best art is designed to inspire us with the good and beautiful, something our world has lost through the corrupting influence of evil and wrongdoing. The current world crisis, and the uncertainty and challenges facing us all give us pause to reflect upon his wise words. ‘Beauty will save the world’, to slightly misquote Fyodor Dostoevsky! The truth is that inspired art always has the power to move and motivate us, to communicate the power of love through creative beauty. The highest forms of art transcend the ordinary and mundane, pointing to a greater inspirational Light, encouraging engagement, thought, interaction and personal response. Pablo Picasso once described art as ‘a lie that enables us to see the truth’. The beauty and inspiration that artists bring to us is a profound strength, shining light and joy into our daily routines, the responsibilities and the difficulties that are an inevitable part of our lives. For this we are immensely grateful, particularly to the Oxford ArtWeeks team who work so hard to organise this wonderful annual event.