Cardiff gallery unveils summer exhibition celebrating art ‘beside the sea’

A Cardiff gallery is showing a summer exhibition starting this week inspired by being ‘beside the sea.’

Albany Gallery presents an intimate exhibition featuring seven artist’s narratives. Featuring Colin Carruthers, Dai David, Colin J Davies, Phil Parry, Lara Smith, Nicholas St John Rosse and Rhona Tooze; the latest exhibition from Albany Gallery offers a variety of inspiration and disciplines that evoke seascape dreaming in all its forms.

Rhona Tooze will be displaying work in the medium of the ancient art of Batik; a process involving wax resist dyeing, mostly associated with lengths of cloth from the Far East. Treating the medium as a fine art form, to depict recognisable scenes from Wales and beyond, she explains that although batik is a challenging medium, it lends itself to portraying moving water, sky, clouds and sand.

She said: “I am thrilled to be part of Beside the Sea

“I live near Mumbles and constantly take inspiration from the beautiful beaches and surroundings of the Gower Peninsula. Painting with hot wax and cold dyes also makes the process a great deal of fun – and I plan to be at the exhibition on Sunday, May 17th, where I will be able to show the equipment I use for batik and explain the process in more detail.”

She added: “I am very fortunate to have been represented by the Albany Gallery for the last five years. They are kind, helpful, encouraging and totally professional. It’s a privilege to be with a gallery that is so established and well respected.”

Synesthesia

Dai David meanwhile, is a fan of synesthesia – the joyous fusion and inter-play of all of the senses, from the sounds of seagulls and laughing children, to the smell of seaweed mixed with barbecue smoke; the touch of icy water & hot sand; and the taste of accidentally-swallowed salt water and fish & chips.

He said: “All of these things play together to bring a sense of atmosphere to my work.

“I love to sketch and absorb all the fleeting effects throughout the course of a beach day. Aiming passionately to convey all the sensations, not just the visual.

“The portrayal of light is the catalyst to my artwork and over the years I’ve discovered there’s nowhere quite like being at the seaside to capture its magical play.

“I’m very much looking forward to the upcoming exhibition. It’s going to be great seeing such a wealth of sea related paintings all hanging together. The Albany gallery has played such an important role in my career, giving support and encouragement as well as positively welcoming new roads that an artist may want to pursue from time to time.”

Lara Smith also relies upon a multi-faceted approach; using mood and atmosphere to bring an immediacy to the work: “I aim to capture and convey mood through the sea and skies, creating pieces that evoke a strong emotional response in the viewer.

“I primarily work from photographs, though I often take artistic licence with certain pieces, adjusting colours and skies to better express the atmosphere.

“At times, I also bring my own personal mood into the work, allowing it to shape the final composition on the canvas.

“I’m delighted to be part of the ‘Beside the Sea’ exhibition at Albany Gallery. The sea is such a central theme to my work and I hope the visitors at the exhibition.”

The exhibition will run every Monday and Tuesday by appointment, Wednesday – Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-4pm

The summer exhibition will run from 24 April to 23 May 2026. You can find more information about the gallery here.