Acclaimed Welsh artists come together for astonishing summer show

Stephen Price

A north Wales gallery has announced details of its mixed summer show, featuring some of the most highly acclaimed artists working in Wales today.

Fresh from an exhibition of works by Luned Rhys Parri and Sarah Carvell, Llandudno’s Ffin y Parc has curated new works from some of the gallery’s most collectable artists including Shani Rhys James, Meinir Mathias and Adam Taylor.

Featuring just the one piece from Meinir Mathias, which had sold shortly after opening, the gallery has chosen a palette of uplifting works, perfect for the bright summer months.

Living greats

With Ffin y Parc’s reputation stronger than ever, the collection features a whole host of Welsh talent, both established and up and coming, with works from Mary Jones and Shani Rhys James also proving popular with collectors.

Nature has, naturally, taken centre stage at the summer show – with Seren Bell’s astonishingly beautiful sheep set against Welsh landscape also proving popular.

She shared: “My work is mostly concerned with the animals, particularly sheep, which are so much part of our national heritage and hopefully celebrates the truly rich and wonderful variety of breeds we have in this country.”

Dark and divine

Playing with nature’s themes in darkest divine fashion, Jane Ford’s detailed studies of wildlife at often-absurd-play make for breathtaking inclusions in the show.

The paintings all tell a story, a very old fashioned way of painting, so each work can have several connotations, from Game birds alighting on pies to hares transfixed by melancholia and chickens alluring foxes, all in a humorous  framework.

Perhaps stemming from a childhood mixture of Brer Rabbit, Jules Verne, Edgar Allen Poe and the Goons, with a splash of 1940’s film noir and 60’s/70’s music.

Meanwhile, Wales’ landscapes are handled by master of the palette knife, Martin Llewellyn.

As the gallery itself puts it: “His instinctive and straightforward empathy for the North Wales landscape gives his work considerable resonance”

Again, Ffin y Parc has championed works by women working in Wales today, showcasing the limitless talent of some of our finest.

Anna Davies’ unmistakeable characters are truly her own, and her recent move back to Wales has resulted in some of her finest work yet.

Another artist receiving growing acclaim, is Iwan Gwyn Parry, whose breathtaking works are equally, unmistakably his own.

Takes on his favoured haunts, his works suggest a symbiosis with the north Wales landscape only those of its soil and sea could conjure. He says of his recent works: “The new works are a selection of a long-term pre-occupation and meditation upon the western seaboard of Wales and the eastern seaboard of Ireland, mainly Dublin bay and the broader Irish Sea.

“I have spent a long time contemplating these places and over the years they seem to be re-occurring themes within the work and have haunted my imagination.

“The “sense of place” is only a beginning to these paintings, a catalyst of sort, for me to explore and manifest ideas about space, light and pictorial structure within the paintings.”

Another exceptional show, and tiny encapsulation of Wales’ unrivalled art scene, with too many incredible works and artists that a newsbite simply can’t do justice to.

You’ll just have to hop on a train and get to Llandudno this summer.

All artworks are available to purchase now. Visit Ffin y Parc Gallery in person, or see the full show online, until 31 August.