Doughnuts And Desire At Hiscox Art Projects

A new exhibition by Stephen Cornell
1 Great St Helen's, London, EC3A 6HX

STEPHEN CORNELL: Asphodel - A Place of Bliss
Exhibition Dates: 10 February - 25 March 2006

17 January 2006, London: Stephen Cornell's first solo exhibition for over five years explores themes of desire, unrequited love, recovery and rebirth, drawing on influences as diverse as Andy Warhol and the poets Olivier Larronde and Dionysios Solomos. Cornell investigates these ideas through large-scale paintings of jam doughnuts and over-sized sculptures of hyacinths, irises and foxgloves. The exhibition is the latest in a series of Hiscox Art Projects, supporting contemporary emerging artists.

Cornell's glossy renderings of large doughnuts, using real sugar on their surface, appear mouth-wateringly desirable. They promise much in their delicious taste and hidden jam centre - a momentary pleasure with no long-term benefits. Cornell signals the emptiness of modern desire through an icon of mass consumerism which promises satisfaction, but leaves us craving more. Cornell's repetition of the doughnut image across the canvas reinforces their manufactured origins, brought to life by Cornell's visceral painting techniques.

Spring flowers including hyacinths made of painted plaster signal re-birth, resurrection and spring. They are also phallic symbols heralding desire and erotic love. According to Greek myth, Hyacinthus was a beautiful youth loved by Apollo. He was accidentally killed by a discus thrown by the god and from his blood sprang a flower that was named for him. At the bottom of the plant sculptures, amongst the soil, Cornell has placed thermometers, indicating the earth warming up ready for spring. Cornell often chooses plants whose extracts have medicinal properties and healing powers.

The exhibition is named after the asphodel plant, a member of the lily family, which in Greek mythology grew in Elysium, a place of bliss in the after life which Cornell equates with all consuming love.

Stephen Cornell studied at Central St Martins School of Art and has previously exhibited with Agnew's, Dicksmith Gallery and Blains Fine Art. His work is in the collection by Lord Gowrie, Janet de Botton, Nick Rhodes and David Bowie.

Next exhibition: 27th April - 30th June 2006 Graduates from the Ecole Nationale Superieur des Beaux Arts in Paris will show specially commissioned work for Hiscox Art Projects.

Elliot McDonald is curator of Hiscox Art Projects.
ENDS

For further information including images please contact:
Anna Cusden Kallaway 020 7221 7883 anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk

For further general information about Hiscox Art Projects please contact:
Elliot McDonald Hiscox 020 7448 6455 elliot.mcdonald@hiscox.com

About Hiscox Art Projects

Hiscox Art Collection
Hiscox enjoys uncovering and encouraging emerging talent, and has a collection including a strong selection of Young British Artists, such as Gavin Turk and Mark Wallinger.

About Hiscox plc
Hiscox plc is a specialist insurance group listed on the London Stock Exchange where it has a market capitalisation of circa £850 million. There are four main underwriting parts of the Group Syndicate 33 at Lloyd's, UK Retail, International Retail and Bermuda. Syndicate 33 underwrites mainly internationally traded business in the London Market generally large or complex business which needs to be shared with other insurers or needs the international licences of Lloyd's. The UK Retail business offers a wide range of specialist insurance for professionals and business customers, as well as high net worth individuals. It has regional offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Colchester, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Maidenhead. The International Retail business has offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Guernsey, Madrid, Munich, New York and Paris. The European offices write mainly high value household business and some specialist professional indemnity business. The Guernsey office underwrites kidnap and ransom business and fine art. Hiscox Bermuda writes a wide spread of US and international property reinsurance business and a number of internal Hiscox Group reinsurances. For further information, go to www.hiscox.com.