I finished teaching full time in September 2025. As a result, I became very reflective. I started to ask myself why I had experienced so much open opposition to the practice of painting within some sections of academia. Was this a form of intellectual snobbery?
Traditionally, research has been about writing
Traditionally, research has been about publications. However, this poses a problem for people who are practitioners inside a word-based academic culture. Therefore, my practice falls outside conventional academic formats.
Non-traditional outputs
Non-traditional outputs like painting are not of a lower quality. My work flows from my creativity and I feel strongly that I should be trusted to express, explore and share my practice-based work / research. This should not be treated as second-best because it’s not words.
Context
In September last year, I started to reflect on the context. Historically, the image has not always been respected in England. I was shocked when I started to research English iconoclasm. I started to process this in my paintings.
The English Reformation
I was drawn to the scholars and philosophers who focussed on the iconoclasm of the English Reformation. From 1540 to 1660, the English crown, church and parliament violently destroyed the beautiful images in our churches. As a result, we lost fourteen centuries of visual creativity.
Vandalism
Our nation was subjected to 120 years of vandalism. Roaming vigilantes burnt and pillaged our English spiritual history in bonfires of books, paintings, sculptures, stained glass, tapestries and more. Free thinkers were burnt at the stake. This was a savage act of vandalism, obliterating the power of images.
Stripped of much of our heritage
Our beautiful English heritage was suppressed, removed and lost. I find myself grieving for this loss. Could this spirit still exist? Does it bubble up? Could it be the reason for the discomfort that I have felt for so long? Is it possible for an artist pursuing their vision to feel entirely at ease within our education system?
Passion drawings
As I knew my exhibition was coming up, I started to make some vital connections. I returned to my love of Shakespeare. I felt saddened by the dark cloud of iconoclasm that eventually closed his theatre.
Closure of English creativity
Between the 1300s and 1500s, there was so much creativity in England. I started to research and read the medieval poets, plays, contemplatives and mystics who had been inspired by their magnificent visual heritage: paintings, drawings, sculptures, tapestries, theatre, stained glass and buildings. And yet, this heritage was destroyed and closed down. It’s tragic that we lost most of the visual references that had inspired the Romance Poets, the mystery / morality / miracle plays, Langland, Gower, the author of the Gwain poem and Chaucer; and mystics like Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe.
My quest
Whilst teaching at the Slade in the 1990s, I realised that my students needed to understand how to use colour. How could we expand our understanding of this universal human language?
In order to help the students, I choose to embark upon my own quest into colour. For me, it became a systematic investigation of this most ancient of human languages: painting, paint and physical colour. This is practice-based, non-verbal, non-written.
Research outcomes
I felt under pressure for written outcomes to justify my role as an academic. My research outcomes are not in words or texts, but in paintings, prints, drawings, stained glass and sculptures. Surely, the painting should stand alone to represent a thought or opinion? I shouldn’t need to intellectualise about it if I don’t want to.
All debate is welcome
Please note, I am not discounting the ability of a maker to discuss their art. I love this interaction (e.g., artist interviews, debates or vivas) – a space where extraordinary depths can be revealed. The teacher or mentor can ask questions with empathy and gentleness. This is how we can all articulate our thoughts and learn about ourselves. As many artists are dyslexic, it’s definitely the kindest approach! When you are taught by a painter, you are learning to read paintings and dissect them meaningfully and aesthetically, like music, on many levels. This is how we can make sense of our paintings and their historical context, NOT by being judged on how well an essay is written.
The art of making is to do with expressing feelings through our bodies. It takes discipline, practice, skill and determination to become fluent in this visual neural language.
Iconoclasm and the rise of AI
Why is iconoclasm relevant today? Now more than ever, we need to defend the embodied arts. With sufficient resources, AI will produce evidence indistinguishable from reality. It will erode artistic integrity and truth. Almost any use of generative AI to produce art (like films, images and books) means fewer creative decisions, less creative input and the erosion of our ability to solve problems. Ultimately, all trust and truth in any digital media will dissipate. Soon, we will only be able to trust something we fully experience in the real world. This is why we need to defend the embodied arts.
I reject all artistic expression generated by AI
I reject all artistic expression generated by AI. I believe that we need to fight for the continuance of teaching painting as an embodied practice by practitioners. Join me to defend painting as an ancient, pure and universal human language – have hope for the future of painting in education.
What has iconoclasm got to do with the Passion?
My next solo show at Benjamin Rhodes Arts will open on 30th April. This will include some of my recent paintings about iconoclasm alongside my Passion drawings, including a book. On hindsight, I realise that these drawings are a statement about the damage that modern iconoclasm has had on me as a practising painter and teacher of 40 years. By making them, I have told my story through His story, making sense of my passion through His passion.
Finally, it’s a sobering thought that if I had made these drawings between 1440 and 1660, I could have been outlawed, arrested or even burnt at the stake.
Exhibition
Passion Drawings & English Iconoclasm opens at Benjamin Rhodes Arts, London, on Thursday 30th April and runs until Saturday 27th June 2026.
Publication
Passion, Richard Kenton Webb, will be published by Benjamin Rhodes as a beautifully bound book on 30th April.
Foreword by Dr Richard Davey
Essay by Professor Hugh Adlington
Retail price £30.
ISBN 978 1 9194264 0 2
Advance information here.
