LOVE IS UNIVERSAL

BRIGHTON PRIDE WINDOW

At Leo Frames curated by Alej Ez
29 July – 5 August 2026

Launch event Wednesday 29th July 5-6pm. Tea, cake and cut-outs workshop

Leo Frames – 70 North Rd, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1YD

Leo Frames has invited Alej Ez, the cover artist for the Artists Open Houses Festival 2026, to curate its Brighton Pride window for 2026.

Titled Love is Universal, the display will feature recent prints from Alej Ez’s series People and Places: Revelations of Love, alongside works by celebrated LGBTQ+ artists from Leo Frames’ catalogue, including David Hockney, John Craxton, Keith Vaughan, Henry Scott Tuke and Eileen Agar, as well as represented artist J David Bennett.

The exhibition will also mark the first presentation of a new artistic adventure by Alej Ez: a series of playful paper cut-outs that pay homage to the work of Jean Cocteau and David Hockney.

Featured Artists

Alej Ez – A Spanish-born architect turned artist living in Brighton, represented by Leo Frames since 2012. His work celebrates the landscapes of Sussex, the sea, and the cities he loves, often exploring themes of connection, belonging and love.

David Hockney – Openly gay and one of the world’s most influential contemporary artists.

John Craxton – Widely recognised as a gay British artist whose work was profoundly inspired by Greece and the Mediterranean.

Keith Vaughan – One of Britain’s most important post-war artists. Vaughan was gay, and his journals and paintings explored male identity and desire.

Eileen Agar – Although not generally identified as LGBTQ+, she was known for her unconventional relationships and for challenging the social conventions of her era.

Henry Scott Tuke – An English painter known for his luminous paintings of young men, sailors, and bathers, often celebrating male beauty and friendship. His work has been widely recognised as an important part of LGBTQ+ art history, although he lived at a time when homosexuality was not openly accepted.

J David Bennett – An artist and illustrator who creates colourful, vibrant designs celebrating identity, community and joy.

FEATURED WORK:

Sea Swim and Picnic at Brighton Beach

This print depicts my friend Simon and me, celebrating the simple joy of sharing time together: a sea swim, a picnic, and the friendships that shape life by the coast. Inspired by Brighton’s beach culture, it reflects moments of connection, leisure and belonging, where the sea becomes a place for both adventure and community.

Built from a collage of original ink drawings, the work combines observation with memory. My interest in the human figure and everyday life draws on influences ranging from Spanish Costumbrismo to Édouard Vuillard, Alekos Fassianos and Louis Fratino. Through colour, pattern and layered composition, I aim to transform an ordinary Brighton afternoon into a timeless celebration of love, friendship and place.

Sheltering from the Sun, Brighton Seafront

This print celebrates the quiet intimacy of sharing a moment together beneath one of Brighton and Hove’s historic Victorian seafront shelters. Two figures pause from the summer sun, framed by elegant ironwork and architecture that has welcomed generations of visitors. The shelter’s distinctive Hove Ship motif, sea views and the distant remains of the West Pier root the scene in Brighton’s rich coastal heritage.

One Dance at the Bandstand, Brighton

This print celebrates the joy of movement, music and connection at one of Brighton’s most iconic landmarks. The Bandstand becomes a stage for everyday moments of happiness, where dancers gather against the backdrop of the sea and the silhouette of the West Pier. Inspired by a drawing by Jean Cocteau depicting Nijinsky and Diaghilev dancing, the work explores the relationship between performance, friendship and the shared language of movement.

Greek Youth Antinous, a Travel Art Journal

“Beautiful was my love, yet melancholic.” — Fernando Pessoa

This print is a visual journey inspired by my travels through Rome and Athens, exploring the enduring memory of Antinous, the Greek youth from Bithynia who was the beloved companion of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian’s connection to Hispalis, ancient Seville — my own city in Spain — makes this historical story feel deeply personal.

Before visiting Rome, I prepared by reading Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, a novel that beautifully explores love, power, memory and loss. The work brings together drawings from my travels, archaeological references and imagined landscapes, creating a contemporary travel journal where history and personal experience meet.

The Lad in the Bath and the Cat

This print explores the intimacy of the domestic interior, combining personal memories, art references and everyday moments. A young figure, loosely inspired by a beautiful drawing by Clive Hicks Jenkins, rests in the bath while a cat shares the quiet atmosphere of the scene. On the wall behind him hangs a framed landscape inspired by Edward Bawden’s linocut prints, creating a dialogue between the private world of the interior and the wider landscape beyond.

An Artist on the Terrace of De La Warr Pavilion, Looking Out to the Sea with a Cup of Tea and a Cake

This print captures a quiet moment of creativity and reflection on the terrace of the iconic De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. Inspired by journeys along the beautiful Sussex coastline, it depicts the simple pleasure of sitting by the sea with a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a sketchbook in hand.

At the heart of the work is the fleeting nature of inspiration: that sudden idea or image that appears and can disappear just as quickly unless it is recorded. For an artist, the act of drawing or writing becomes a way of preserving these moments, transforming a passing thought into the beginning of a creative journey.

Along the Cliff Edge, Seaford to Newhaven — Sky Blue

This print depicts the sweeping coastal landscape viewed from Seaford Head, looking across Seaford town, Newhaven, Brighton and towards Shoreham. Two figures walk together along the cliff edge, surrounded by the dramatic meeting point of land, sea and sky. I created this work towards the end of winter 2021, after a walk across Seaford Head on a bitterly cold but beautifully clear day. The intense blue sky, the movement of the landscape and the changing patterns of the cliffs, beaches and water created a powerful sense of place.

Walking through this landscape, I felt connected to the artists Arthur Rigden Read and Eric Slater, who both lived nearby and found inspiration in the forms, rhythms and colours of the Sussex coast. Like their Japanese-influenced woodcut landscapes, this print explores the expressive potential of line and composition, transforming a familiar view into something both observed and emotional.

Seaford Head is a remarkable natural environment, shaped by the meeting of the South Downs and the English Channel. The chalk cliffs, grasslands, shingle beaches, saltmarsh and rock pools create a landscape rich in biodiversity and history. Beyond the natural beauty, the area carries traces of human stories, from ancient settlements and the Bronze Age fort at Castle Hill to Seaford’s evolution as a coastal town and Newhaven’s position at the mouth of the River Ouse.

The flowing marks of grass paths, earth tracks and exposed white chalk became central elements in the composition. These winding lines suggest movement through the landscape, but also something more personal: they resemble the lines of a hand that a fortune teller might read, hinting at memories, choices and the unknown paths of life.

The two figures walking together are Simon and me, holding hands as we move through this landscape. This gesture of affection is inspired by the story behind Maxwell Ashby Armfield’s 1966 painting Aldeburgh’s Double Concerto, depicting Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. When I visited The Red House in Suffolk, the home of Britten and Pears, I learned that an affectionate gesture in the original portrait — Pears placing his arm around Britten’s shoulders — was removed by the artist at Britten’s request, due to fears about the consequences of openly representing their relationship at the time.

Today, those attitudes have changed, and this image becomes a quiet celebration of love, visibility and freedom. The simple act of two people holding hands while walking through the countryside becomes a symbol of connection, remembrance and the everyday beauty of being together.

Built from a collage of original ink drawings, the work combines observation, memory and personal experience. Through layered line work, colour and pattern, I aim to transform a familiar coastal walk into a timeless reflection on landscape, history and love.