The Baron Gilvan

The Baron Gilvan, is a painter, performer and animator. He trained at Kracow Academy of Fine Arts, University of Brighton and Central St Martins. The Baron has exhibited and performed extensively and was artist in residence at Glyndebourne Opera in 2019.. He has taught for over twenty years from Foundation to Degree level and illustrated many children's books. He lives in East Sussex.

The Baron grew up in Germany, the son of an opera singer: the rich, visceral experience of opera is his abiding influence. ‘It is the magnificence, the fraility and the epic nature I’m interested in, the elements of chaos.‘ He likens his paintings to visual opera or scenes in an act. ‘They are interlinked, a continuous narrative; sometimes they abut each other, sometimes they stand alone,’ he explains. ‘Landscapes are scenery, there is theatrical lighting and sometimes figurative aspects and cameo roles which exit the scene. The second aspect of my work is the pure joy of painting.’ His paintings are rooted in the motifs of medieval and Northern Renaissance. ‘‘The Baron is my creative self, a magnificent concert hall singer falling apart but with a lyrical quality.’

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