Keith Coventry's work representative of Pope Benedict XVI's recent controversial visit

 There's definitely been a re-ignition of religious intrigue and contemplation recently.Combined with Pope Benedict XVI's controversial return to the United Kingdom after almost twenty years we see Keith Coventry awarded the creme-de-la-creme of British painting, the John Moores Painting Prize, with his current, pious themed, 'Spectrum Jesus', 2009. His work is a copy of the most famous 20th Century fraudster Han van Meeregen's 'Vermeer' paintings. Coventry confesses a focus on art history and tends to shift our notions of 'time-specific' art, playing with the combination and interspersion of different, mostly contrasting periods, styles, subjects fusing them together smoothly into one new artwork that goes against the typical grain appearing eccentric/odd at first. We're left stunted by the attack on our definition of Modernism, Realism, Russian Suprematism or Pop Art by his works and our left to contemplate the message and value from this. His previous works no doubt draw influence from such legends as Hogarth, Walter Sickert, Auerbach, Malevich and such as Picasso's Blue Period, Fauvism. He visualises a critique of art history via the way he puts his works together, this may explain why there is no common style in the history of his works. Although his themes do repeat themselves, for instance he has an inclination to combine the questioning of morals within society with the 'success' of modernism representative within his say his Estate paintings.He combines kitchen-sink with kitsch which is an achievement in itself, he doesn't like to take the 'grit' too far if you will, lightening the load by representing his subjects within a monochrome modernist/suprematist style. 'Spectrum Jesus' is part of a series of paintings of the same subject within a 'colour spectrum', 40-50 different  coloured paintings of a 'fake Vermeer monochrome flat Jesus image'. Such a visualisation couldn't be more relevant in conjuring up many issues towards Jesus and the church within this present time. It questions originality within 'the artwork' and within the religious world. It questions truth in the artworld and in the religious world. With the representation of a 'fake representation of a conceived imagined representation of the hero of the most popular unproven (not everyone's opinion I know) theological text in the world' there are all sorts of readings you can take and think about in your interpretation of this work. It represents some people's yearn for the church and religious institutions to move into the modern world, depicting this age. The spectrum it's part of could also relate to the different ways or emotions with which Jesus and religion are understood, seen and interpreted within the worldly cultural spectrum. It denies past visualisations of ecclesiastical subjects, though in it's repetition holds on to some aspects linked to diptychs or triptychs for example. Like Tracey Emin changes the presentation of women and the female nude within art history through such as, 'My Bed', 1998, Coventry has triggered this within the art history of Jesus's representation. He denies a background of biblical narrative or 'descent from the cross' and instead makes him appear almost 'everyday',a modernised, simplified version of Christ the Saviour. The modernisation of a fraudulent image of Christ no doubt could provide a multitude of catalysts for atheists today which Pope Benedict XVI addressed, it also could ask: is the modern presentation of Jesus and the church working? Or do we need a new period in art 'of the context of what religion is today' for future civilisations  'Spectrum Jesus' is currently showing as part of Liverpool Biennial at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool as part of the John Moore painting Prize Exhibition including 45 shortlisters works.