West Wales - making place
The beauty of the countryside and coast
has been a source of inspiration to the
many artists who live way out west.
< Farm Shop exhibition,
Oriel Myrddin.
Credit: Paul Emmanuel
David Fitzjohn, Fimbulwinter
at Oriel Myrrdin.
Credit: David Fitzjohn >
André Stitt’s beautiful series of paintings of
west Wales, shown at Oriel Myrddin in 2013,
were a stunning example of this, generated by
his connection to a family farm near Aberporth
and walks from Aberystwyth to Cardigan. There
is a continuity of ‘community, culture and the
land’ in west Wales, as Stitt has commented, in
what is still largely an agricultural area.
The region is supported by an excellent network
of galleries with an ample geographic spread
between them and much support for local and
regional artists. Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen,
which shows the work of both artists and
makers, manages an elegant balance of local
and regional work from Welsh artists, as well as
artists with a national and international profile.
Oriel Myrddin’s recent show ‘Farm Shop’
exemplifies this – with work by Richard Higlett,
Paul Emmanuel and others, it creates a place
‘where ideas about the cultured activity
of ‘art’ and the rural activities of farming
and rural productivity come together’.
Place seems to be a clear focus in the
programme – their winter show ‘Thin Place’,
curated by Ciara Healy, showcases five artists
living on the west coasts of Wales and Ireland
and reflects an intimate engagement with place
that encompasses the intangible and uncanny
ties we have with particular locations.
The Aberystwyth Art Centre is the largest
institutional presence in the region, with
a varied and engaging range of exhibitions
programmed by curator Eve Ropek – this autumn
sees the launch of ‘Images’, an exhibition of
illustration which illuminates its impact on our
visual culture. Alongside this, an exhibition of
work by sculptor Tim Shaw, which Aberystwyth
Art Centre co-curated with mac in Birmingham,
will also be on show.
Since working closely with Oriel Davies, Oriel
Mwldan in Cardigan is showing much more work
by contemporary artists. David Fitzjohn,
a Cardiff-based painter, is showing Fimbulwinter,
an installation that explores our changing
climate and its impact on the landscape.
NOTES FROM WALES | AUTUMN 2014 17