Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru 2012

Carwyn Evans - Cast

Congratulations to Carwyn Evans for his gold medal win at The National Eisteddfod of Wales 2012 in the Vale of Glamorgan. I was particularly proud to see Carwyn's work win as I know that his time working with us at Oriel Myrddin Gallery in 2011 as part of our Project Object series of exhibitions was instrumental in bringing this current work into being.

The Gold Medal for Craft was won by Anne Gibbs with a series of abstract arrangements of ceramic objects Am gael bod rhywle arall / To be elsewhere.

Other highlights for me were Angharad Pearce Jones' new Tirlun y torrwr / Disc cutter landscape series and Sarah Ball's little portrait paintings.

Project Object

I'm very excited that our new series of shows at Oriel Myrddin Gallery has opened - under the banner of Project Object, we have invited four artists; Peter Finnemore, Carwyn Evans, Becky Adams and Jools Johnson to occupy the gallery space with special objects that evoke intruiging stories. Using objects both personal and particular and a spirit of experiment and happen-stance, each of this artist-led series will develop differently.

I've started a sister blog to document Project Object - I hope you might visit and follow to keep up to date with everything that's happening over the next 8 weeks.

Carwyn Evans: Altro 19 - 30 April. Working with material unearthed from his father's land in Newcastle Emlyn, Carwyn Evans 'purifies' it, eradicating any sense of place, identity or culture from the material so that it can only be seen as ‘stuff’, dislocated from notions of culture and mother or fatherland.

Peter Finnemore: Groove 4 - 14 May. Peter Finnemore has collected 45 rpm vinyl records for many years, focusing his collection on those that relate to Wales. Seeing his records as democratic markers of cultural history, as ‘vinyl bones’, and as vernacular folk art, many of them relate specifically to Carmarthen.

Becky Adams: Memento 17 May – 4 June. What compels us to keep objects, hoard objects, covet objects? An exploration into the emotional connection and history attached to personal objects, Becky Adams throws light on the personal stories attached to seemingly benign objects and creates a visual library that documents memory, recollection and personal story.

Jools Johnson: Aurora 7 – 18 June. Jools Johnson manipulates recycled computer materials to create artworks that resemble futuristic constructions and miniature cities. Recent installations create unsettling atmospheres and ethereal backdrops for new architectural models that articulate fundamental questions about our own existence.

Project Object: Collect 7 May – 4 June. Carmarthen Museum in Abergwili houses the county’s collection of treasured archaeology, social artefact and artworks. The museum have kindly loaned a small selection of items as part of Project Object. The gallery would like you to loan a significant object of your own to be shown alongside in the studio space during the show so that we can create our own living museum of special things.

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru 2010 - Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys

This year, the National Eisteddfod of Wales is being held at a site in Ebbw Vale in the south Wales valleys. My friend Louise Bird was chosen to show work this year and I went to help her install it yesterday - it was a long day, the piece is called Iota and consists of 160 metres of deep sea fishing line crocheted along its length with little rosettes that Louise calls 'Iota'. Y Lle Celf - The Arts and Crafts Pavilion this year is a spectacular build. Normally it is held in a standard white marquee, but for 2010 a huge concrete basement from the old steelworks that were located at the site as been converted and covered with a huge pavilion roof. It is really spectacular.

Artists, Louise Bird and Carwyn Evans behind Iota

It took us 9 hours to hang the work - up and down ladders and ramps, it spans the space from the roof to the floor. Next door to us Good Cop Bad Cop came in to hang a wonderful set of works - the latex skin from a series of chairs and a table - I don't know what it is called yet...

Good Cop Bad Cop

I was also excited to see some of Andre Stitt's new paintings, which I have only seen online and in print thus far. Originally from Northern Ireland, Stitt is an internationally renowned performance artist who has been based in Wales now for many years. In the last few years he has been developing a practice as a painter.

Andre Stitt

I'll be going to the opening tomorrow night - so watch this space for an update...

More pics here.

We Have The Mirrors, We Have The Plans

We made a trip to North Wales yesterday to visit the newly redesigned and rebuilt Mostyn gallery in Llandudno. Three years and £5.1 million of investment have transformed the gallery into a top class space for contemporary art and a feather in the cap for art in Wales.

The first exhibition is a survey of contemporary artists working in Wales. Five curators have been invited (Amanda Farr - Oriel Davies, Hannah Firth - Chapter Arts Centre, Karen MacKinnon - Glynn Vivian Gallery, Eve Ropek - Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Chris Coppock - Formerly Ffotogallery) to choose a representative group show of 25 artists and artist partnerships. The show is planned to be repeated every four years to 'take the pulse' of the arts scene in Wales.

The building is beautiful - the guiding principle has been "Simplicity, subtlety and sophistication - plus one or two surprises" and that has been achieved with bells on. Rumours tell that the opening on Friday night was sardine full with folk from across Wales and beyond and fairly riotous, a fitting celebration for the project's realisation. The gallery retains its 1901 terracotta facade and is now topped off with a golden spire functioning as a landmark for the gallery. The project has been designed by Dominic Williams, architect of the Baltic Centre in Newcastle. The building has six gallery spaces, educational facilities, a new cafe and shop space. Improved behind-the-scenes facilities have upgraded the conservation status of the gallery which will allow for significant loans from other collections.

The show is a good survey of current practice, some omissions, some surprises; but good and well considered curation. The hardback catalogue which accompanies the show (at a bargain £5) is a good investment too. I enjoyed the show as a whole and particularly Carwyn Evans work - a series of dry-point prints of singular ploughed fields, a collection of occasional tables 'ploughed' on their tops like a mini agricultural landscape. The series of Peter Finnemore's photographs from various stages of his career, exceptional, visionary work. Sean Edwards formal investigations of the everyday potential of sculpture. Berminghan and Robinson's hut constructed from the archived documents of Oriel Mostyn prior to the expansion. Richard Higlett's/Wally French's painted paint brushes. Paul Emanuel's sheep fleece studies...

Carwyn Evans

The strangest moment of the day for me, however happened shortly after we arrived. We walked in on a performance piece by Aberystwyth based Showroom, Y Term Cymraeg am 'Road Trip' (The Welsh term for 'Road Trip')a re-enactment of a former performance at the National Eisteddfod in Bala last year. The last part of the performance was a tombola using cloakroom tickets we had been given at the door, the prize was the actual tombola - a beautifully made object which had been a feature of the Showroom socials that the group had held in Aberystwyth. I won! My ticket was 158. I will honour the spirit of the tombola and cogitate on it's next artistic manifestation...watch this space.