art
BARNRAISING AND BUNKERS g39 , Cardiff Until Wed 29 June The Diffusion Festival has been making a vast and vital impact on the South Wales cultural scene over the past month with some intriguing installations and imaginative photographic exhibitions popping up in and around some of Cardiff ’ s most creative hangouts . As part of the festival programme , G39 ’ s latest contemporary installation asks the question , “ where are we now ?” in relation to the human requirement for shelter and the development of our building choices over the years . Entitled Barnraising And Bunkers , the exhibition includes work from a number of artists and takes a conceptual look at the contrast between two polar opposites of human shelter : urban and rural . We often think of urban and rural living existing in opposition , with one associated with being in attendance and one with being absent . Suggestively , barnraising requires collective , human collaboration which would then suggest that bunkers are the opposite and would represent a singular act of isolation , yet our minds are programmed to think that cities are a development of a town , and a town of a village . But what happens when the line between urban interaction and rural isolation is blurred ? Expanding on this concept , the structures created also focus on an ongoing , organic dialogue that is produced by the ever-developing , human-inhabited areas of our world and how we shape them . The exhibition utilises a range of skills from an experienced group of artists who engage with physical structure in their individual and collective work . Artists include Jonathan Powell , Uriel Urlow , Geraint Evans , Abigail Reynolds , Rich White , Angharad P Jones , Dan Griffiths and Richard Powell , all of whom initiate ideas of structural utopia in their individual works . The artists involved all produce work in separate media , but they have come together in this exhibition to answer the question of “ where are we now ?” with their own ideas and conceptual takes on the theme . Admission : free . Info : 029 2047 3633 / www . g39 . org MOLLY CHINNER
13 FLOWERS
The Last Gallery , Llangadog Tue 4-Sun 16 June John Welson describes himself as a poet , painter , writer and exhibition curator . He began his life in the art world at the age of 12 and continued his education into his adulthood , attending two colleges of art , studying painting , drawing , graphics and ceramics . From the late 1960s to early 1990s , Welson painted figurative surrealist paintings and became a key figure in post-war surrealism , collaborating and exhibiting with artists including Rik Lina , Salvador Dali and Damien Hirst . Surrealism is a cultural and revolutionary movement that is dedicated to expressing the imagination as it reveals itself in dreams , and although Welson ’ s early work appears nightmarish with both animal and human form entangled and gripped in saws , vices , scissors and nails , these images would have in some way come from his own personal recollections . Since the mid-1990s his work has become more lyrically abstract , painting more organic forms inspired by his native Welsh landscape . This new work stands closer to the frottage-style cityscapes of Max Ernst than any romantic rendering by the English landscape artists . In 13 Flowers he narrows his gaze , turning the folds and microscopic details of a flower into its own landscape . Welson takes us deep into nature , exposing us to parts we may otherwise overlook . Info : 01550 777933 / www . thelastgallerywales . blogspot . co . uk ( AW )
ROUTINE ATROCITY
Inkspot , Cardiff Sat 8-Wed 19 June If you live in Cardiff , you might have noticed while walking from Roath to Cathays , some unusual images plastered to a wall . On a well-trodden road running under a rust and chrome coloured railway bridge , you might have seen a little burst of incongruity : a clutter of AK47 ’ s , grenades and bombs , laid out on a technicolour poster that spans the side of a wall . You may have seen this , as you walked to work , or to the shops , and wondered why it was there . And then , maybe , you passed it by , without a second thought . These images make up part of Routine Atrocity : a meditation by Falmoutheducated artist and illustrator Twang ! on our collective desensitisation to everyday images of violence and atrocity ( and , more notably , to the instruments of this violence ). Through a series of drawings , prints and paintings , as well as artistically altered , decommissioned weaponry , Twang ! poses a troubling question as relevant to our times as it ever was : “ In a world where images of suffering , destruction and acts of violence are commonplace , have we become desensitised to them ? Have they become just routine atrocities ?” The exhibition can be located ( perhaps poignantly ) inside a converted church – Inkspot , on Cardiff ’ s Newport Road . Check out Twangdom . com , for a series of prints and originals for sale – including baby blue painted bullets , and his and hers RPGs . Admission : free . Info : 029 2049 0254 / www . twangdom . net ( BK )
NAOMI TYDEMAN
Fountain Fine Art Gallery , Cardiff Sat 8-Fri 28 June When she won the 2013 Turner Watercolour Prize , Naomi Tydeman found her place as the top watercolourist in the country . Naomi , who also stands as a board member of the RI ( Royal Institute Of Painters In Watercolour ), opened her first gallery in Tenby in 1998 . The space which still serves as her studio , houses a permanent , yet ever changing display of her work . Naomi has also frequently been shown at the Mall galleries in London , but this June marks the first time Naomi has exhibited in Cardiff . The new exhibition at Cardiff ’ s Fountain Fine Art gallery is her first solo show since she won the Turner Prize . Naomi has described her new work as “ an eclectic mix of subject matter from my travels this year ”, which takes inspiration from the beach and shore of her home town , the glorious landscapes of north Wales , and the lavender fields of coastal Provence . All of the inspiration she found has been channelled into producing a beautiful mix of still life , landscapes and detailed yet delicate flower studies . If you ’ re a keen art collector ( or are thinking of becoming one ), don ’ t forget your cheque book ; each of the 25 new paintings on show will be on sale at the gallery . Admission : free . Info : 029 2034 1449 / www . fountainfineart . com ( LR )
WELSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
St David ’ s Hall , Cardiff Mon 10-Tues 6 Aug From a graphic artist who makes prints out of salvaged wood to a painter who creates portraits based on Victorian studio photographs , an eclectic and creative mix of art will be on show for this year ’ s Welsh Artist Of The Year ; Now in its 13th year , the annual exhibition celebrates the work of amateur artists who have not previously exhibited their work , alongside established artists . Judging panel chair and exhibition curator Ruth Cayford says the entries for this year ’ s competition drew “ strong opinions ” from the judging panel and that “ the selection is strong but will be the subject of much debate .” The shortlist includes work by well-known artists such as painter Iwan Bala , the Eisteddfod Gold Medal winner whose work depicts the words of the Welsh national anthem – “ Hen Wlad fy Nhadau ”. Cardiffbased printmaker John Abell created his entry Three Graces : All The Floods Left Them using salvaged wood found in skips . Also among the final artworks are painters Andy Fung and Elfyn Lewis , textile artist Becky Adams , installation artists Angharad Pearce Jones and Robert Kennedy , ceramicist Morgen Hall and photographers David Barnes and Anthony Stokes . The shortlist offers a varied selection of artworks and will feature in an exhibition at St David ’ s Hall until Tue 6 Aug with the overall competition winner announced on Sun 9 July . Admission : free . Info : 029 2087 8444 / www . stdavidshallcardiff . co . uk ( RH )
BUZZ 42