News

Thursday 6 January 2005

Degree of familiarity for father and daughter

When Norfolk painter Geoffrey Lefever completed his BA in Fine Art more than 20 years ago, he never thought his daughter, Jane, would follow in his footsteps and graduate with the same degree. Even more unlikely is the fact that he should follow her to Nottingham Trent University to embark on an MA in Fine Art, while she was still studying there.

Although Geoffrey studied for his degree in Norwich, he decided to come to Nottingham Trent on Jane’s recommendation. His time at the university has just come to a close – shortly after his daughter’s – with the end of year MA exhibition. The show featured work from 32 MA students studying fine art, fashion and textiles, graphic design, photography, designed environment and performance/live art.

Geoffrey was joined by Jane and his wife Maggie at the show’s private view, where he exhibited a number of non-representational works on paper and canvas. The pieces were made on location with a combination of fine tissue with acrylic paint, and were applied with natural materials found on site, such as seed heads, sticks or straw.

Geoffrey, who lives in Aylsham, commenced this series of works in Nepal and south west France. However, his latest pieces are to a larger scale and were made in Norfolk at Salthouse and Saxthorpe, with the large canvases made in the orchard behind his studio.

He said: “It is not easy to discuss the process of arriving at a point where the work appears to have a life of its own, a point where the action stops. I want to be surprised by the outcome. It is a question of recognition rather than design and planning. To work on location is important for me, and to have an awareness of the spirit of a place.”

He added: “I came to Nottingham Trent on Jane’s recommendation, but also as a result of the particular course on offer and the friendly, enthusiastic response to my initial enquiry. The exhibition is the end result of a two-year journey and will be the springboard for future work.”

The event was staged in Nottingham Trent’s 1851 and Bonington galleries and in the Bonington building.

 

ENDS

 

For further information please contact:

Dave Rogers, Press Office, on Tel: 0115 848 2650 or via email: dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk

Or Therese Easom, Media Relations Manager, on Tel: 0115 848 6589 or via email: therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk