Crafty comic Johnny exhibits hidden talent

COMIC Johnny Vegas would be the first to acknowledge that not everyone in his family has artistic leanings.

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He fondly remembers taking his late mother to admire the art treasures in the Vatican, saying: “Walking through, she looked at every ceiling and asked, ‘Is that it?’. Half-way round, she said, ‘You’d think they’d have a tea station or something, wouldn’t you?’.”

Johnny, however, is a deeply artistic soul, as his latest career move emphasises. He has temporarily swapped his day job as a charismatic comedian and actor for the life of a sculptor.

The first exhibition of his work has been taking place at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and runs until June 29.

His show is entitled Metamorphosis and also features the work of acclaimed ceramic sculptor Emma Rodgers.

Asked about the reason for his move into sculptures, he reveals three decades ago he studied art and ceramics at Middlesex University but was left bitterly disappointed with the way his work was received.

He became profoundly disillusioned with the world of art and after that he says “life got in the way”.

It took a chance encounter with Emma, an internationally renowned Liverpool sculptor, three years ago to inspire his return to creating striking works using bronze, clay and 3D printing.