Literary Lions & Other Beasts
Paragon Gallery is delighted to announce Literary Lions & Other Beasts, a major new exhibition by acclaimed British artist PJ Crook, opening on Saturday 10th October and continuing until Saturday 7th November. The exhibition marks Crook's second solo show with the gallery and coincides with the town's annual Literature Festival, drawing together the worlds of narrative art and literature in a captivating new body of work.
“Because I so enjoyed my last exhibition, Byron’s Bear & Menagerie, here at the Paragon Gallery, I wanted to continue in a similar but different vein. So as this exhibition is once again tying up with the Literature Festival, I have opted for Literary Lions & Other Beasts. Sometimes the subject matter of the paintings is the actual animal companion of the writer, whilst others are the animals they are imagining and writing into their story.
Throughout history we find writers such as Saint Jerome sharing his library with the faithful Lion who he rescued by removing a thorn from his paw; through to Dickens who kept a raven called Grip whom he loved; he even taught it to speak in Cockney slang. When it died, he personally learned how to be a taxidermist as he couldn’t bear to be parted. In fact, he had three ravens one after another and they were all called Grip, also a canary, an eagle and cats. What is even more fascinating is another writer, in the USA, was so intrigued with the story that later when the stuffed Grip came up for auction, he purchased it and when you know it was Edgar Allen Poe, who wrote his famous poem The Raven, you realise what a profound effect it had on his writing.
Leo Tolstoy wrote one of the most moving and sorrowful stories about a Piebald horse called Strider, and Shakespeare has the most famous stage direction ever written "Exit, pursued by a Bear…” Then in 19th century fairy tales, Southey wrote a version of Goldilocks and the three bears where the three bears were all male but mine stay with the more traditional Mother, Father & baby bear.” PJ Crook.
Following her previous exhibition at Paragon, Byron's Bear & Menagerie, Crook once again draws inspiration from the literary world, and the artist's fascination with the rich intersection of storytelling, imagination and human experience, this time through the enduring relationship between writers and animals. In this engaging new body of work, animals emerge as both companions and characters, occupying a space between historical reality and literary invention.
Known for her distinctive figurative style, wit and keen observation of human behaviour, PJ Crook brings these literary beasts vividly to life. Her paintings weave together history, myth, narrative and humour, inviting viewers to rediscover familiar stories through fresh eyes. Whether depicting real animal companions or creatures born entirely from imagination, Crook's works celebrate the powerful role animals play in literature and in our collective cultural memory.
Literary Lions & Other Beasts will be on view at Paragon Gallery throughout October and into November, and offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience a new collection from one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary painters. Rich in narrative, character and curiosity, the exhibition promises an enchanting journey through the worlds of art, literature and the animal kingdom.
Crook is an artist of international repute, having dealers in Paris, Canada and New York as well as London. Her renown stretches as far as the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art in Japan and more locally, in the collection of The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum and the Museum of Gloucester.
Accolades:
MBE for Services to Art
Honorary Doctor of Art
Honorary Vice President, Gloucestershire College
Patron of the National Star College
Patron of Cheltenham Open Studios
Patron of ArtShape
Patron of LINC
President of Friends of The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum Cheltenham
Member of the Royal West of England Academy
Awarded the Tony Steel Prize by the Royal West of England Academy
