"WRITING THE LIGHT" Byzantine Icons Exhibition.

Byzantine icons by the hand of Fr Justin Venn.

The Icon exhibition will be held in Liverpool and Wallasey (near Liverpool) in UK.

The exhibition includes over thirty contemporary icons painted by Fr Justin Venn, an iconographer and Orthodox priest.

During the opening evening, Fr Justin will deliver a brief talk about the creation and purpose of icons.

Dates & Opening times:

26th June 2022, at 18:00 (running through until the 4th of July). Liverpool Parish Church Old Church Yard, Liverpool, L2 8TZ, UK.

14th July 2022, at 18:00 Orthodox Church of St Elisabeth the New Martyr, Wallasey, CH45 5DR, UK.

About the Artist

Fr Justin Venn

Fr Justin is an Orthodox priest and iconographer from South Africa who now lives in the United Kingdom.

He spent several years travelling Europe after finishing school, during which time he became acquainted with the Orthodox Church and traditional iconography.

Although he longed to return to South Africa, he was also keen to learn the true craft of icon painting.

There was no formal course or detailed training available in the West at the time, so he connected himself to a French iconographer, Fr Jean-baptiste Garrigou, who was a direct and long-time disciple of Archimandrite Zenon.

Although he would have liked to spend more time with him, circumstances kept them apart; yet, the building bricks he gave him have served him well ever since.

Following him, he spent a year in a French monastery learning to paint with some of the monks there.

When he felt sufficiently formed to fend for himself, he went to South Africa and founded "Studio Sanctus," a company that creates icons and frescoes for local clients and churches.

Despite the fact that his practise grew back home, my family and he felt forced to leave South Africa for a variety of reasons.

He now lives in England, near Liverpool, with his wife and two children, where he continues to serve as both a priest and an iconographer.