Dom Sylvester Houédard
This episode of Lisson...ON AIR focuses on the life and work Dom Sylvester Houédard, with contributions from Nicola Simpson, Charles Very, Nicholas Logsdail and Matt O’Dell. Widely recognised as one of the leading theorists and outstanding international practitioners of concrete poetry, Dom Sylvester Houédard (1924–1992) is firmly rooted in Lisson Gallery’s early history, with his first solo exhibition held at the gallery during its inaugural year in 1967. A practicing Benedictine priest and noted theologian, Houédard, also known by his initials ‘dsh’ or ‘the Dom,’ wrote extensively on new approaches to art, spirituality and philosophy, and collaborated with artists such as Gustav Metzger, Yoko Ono and John Cage. Nicola Simpson is a curator and researcher at Norwich University of the Arts, researching ‘right mind-minding: the transmission and practice of zen and vajrayana buddhist method practices in the poemobjects of dsh 1963–75’. Recent curatorial projects on Dom Sylvester Houédard include: ‘Performing No Thingness, dsh, Ken Cox and Li Yuan-chia’, East Gallery, NUA, (2016), ‘The Cosmic Typewriter, The Life & Work of Dom Sylvester Houédard’, at The South London Gallery, (2012), ‘The Yoga of Concrete’, The Gallery, NUA,(2010). She is editor of Notes from the Cosmic Typewriter: The Life and Work of Dom Sylvester Houédard (Occasional Papers, 2012), Dom Sylvester Houédard (Ridinghouse, 2017). Charles Verey has been working on a biography of Dom Sylvester Houédard since 2005. Between 1966–69 Verey organised exhibitions with Dom Sylvester, John Furnival and Ken Cox at Arlington Mill in Gloucestershire. He has contributed to Notes from the Cosmic Typewriter (ed., Nicola Simpson, 2012) Dom Sylvester Houédard (ed., Andrew Hunt & Nicola Simpson, Ridinghouse, 2017) and co-editor of ‘The Kiss’: ten talks by Dom Sylvester to Beshara students, 1986– 1991 (ed., Jane Clark and Charles Verey, Beshara Publications, Autumn 2018) including a full biographical preface. Nicholas Logsdail is the founder of Lisson Gallery, one of the most influential international contemporary art galleries in the world. The gallery celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 with a major group exhibition, ‘Everything at Once’, staged at Store Studios in partnership with The Vinyl Factory, as well as with a comprehensive book, entitled ARTIST | WORK | LISSON, documenting more than 500 exhibitions since 1967, the year in which the gallery also staged its first shows of Dom Sylvester Houédard. Matt O’dell is Lisson Gallery’s archivist and an artist. Lisson...ON AIR is written and presented by Hana Noorali. Image © Clay Perry, England & Co