ELISABETH FRINK: THE CANTERBURY TALES

We are thrilled to announce the exhibition of Elisabeth Frink: Canterbury Tales at our Kensington Gallery.

Elisabeth Frink’s 19 Etchings are an illustrative take on Geoffrey Chaucers’s raucous tales, told from a dissection of society as they made the pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket. From the clergy to the nobility and peasantry, the stories dip from vulgarity to morality. Frink cut and carved each copper plate, which was weathered and bitten by acid until the three-dimensional plane of stipelled surface picked up the ink. Frink’s style is primal, naturalistic, conveying the spirit of the story through the naked form, animals and elements. This contrasts to the societal hierarchies of the tale tellers - finding a modern lyricism in the works.

Dame Elisabeth Frink R.A. (b.Suffolk 1930-1993) was a sculptor and printmaker. Born in Suffolk, Frink studied at the Guildford School of Art (1946–1949), under Willi Soukop, and at the Chelsea School of Art (1949–1953). She became a part of British sculptors dubbed the Geometry of Fear School that included Reg Butler, Bernard Meadows, Kenneth Armitage and Eduardo Paolozzi. Frink sculpted and drew men, birds, dogs, horses and religious motifs, but very seldom any female forms - which is why the Canterbury Tales is so refreshing. Her working practice drew on archetypes of human strength, and vulnerability, a true post-war artist.