Atrium - Tanya Ransom
31/05/25 – 28/06/25
The Female conquests and narratives revealed…
We all have desires and fantasies. We all posses a hidden naughtiness: passionate and sexual needs are within you, attracting daydreams and unconscious pleasures. The need to emulate modernist icons of beauty in pursuit of the feminine ideal is a direct reaction to the needs of sexual partners. This desire is proclaimed within these studies of the imagined environments and situations we might find ourselves in as females.
The prominence of this sexual female derives from the need to be her, and to understand her.
My process and materials used are important to the work, experimentation and play encapsulate a sense of erotic voyeurism.
Memories and emotions of a time past….
I visited Estonia on a work exchange in the summer of 2005: and whilst there I realised that I wanted to document the faces of local people that I passed in the street each day, to depict their expressions of struggle and response to me as an outsider, a ‘tourist’ looking in.
Their wrinkled and tension-filled faces intrigued me. I felt that I was almost able to look into their characters, ignoring all their physical flaws. Through my painting and the photos I took during my visit, I have tried to recapture the way I responded to them and the emotions I sensed they were feeling at the time.
Snapshot photography captured time and tension, suspense and atmosphere. It has fed and focused my memories of specific situations and details. I felt that by painting the scene I could relive the time and give physical form to my experience.
My process of working has involved a transition from loose mixed media drawings that became triggers for larger paintings. In the more detailed scaled-up images I have used layered line and fractured mark-making to echo the difficulty I experienced whilst attempting to pin down memory and reflect on all the complex characters I had encountered. I have worked in an erratic, expressionistic style using heavy brushstrokes and colours that evoke my memories of Estonia.
ORIEL 2 - Group Show: Bloom & Blodau
31/05/25 – 28/06/25
Sally Harrold’s paintings respond to changing seasons in these large, semi-abstract pieces inspired by overgrown ponds and woodland. This habitat surrounds the studio at her smallholding at Cil-y-cwm, Carmarthenshire.
Vibrant Spring colours, dappled light and a gentle breeze, joyfully celebrate the wildness of Hilary Reed’s garden.
This sense of place is central to the work of Joanna Jones’‘O Fynydd y Baran’, a familiar landscape near her home, evoking nostalgia and a dreamlike quality. ‘Thrift’ is a place of solace and contemplation.
A profusion of blossom feels all-encompassing in Menna Angharad’s ‘White Azalea,’ while a little patch of unmown meadow is a tangle of wild flowers and grasses, grown in tranquillity and sunshine.
Through Katie Allen’s colour harmonies, intricate designs and abstract patterns, the viewer is invited to explore – revealing an orchestrated whole.
A strong design approach to the classic genre of Still Life, seen here as flowers in a vase, informs the work of Aerwen Griffiths. Sian Love’s response to this subject, with her dark backgrounds, references the Dutch masters – and similarly, Helen Duffee’s re-working of the tulip paintings of Jan Franz van Dael also reflect this tradition – with a twist.
Debbie Rose Miller’s bold series ‘Florals beget Florals’ uses camouflage to create a hidden garden of discovery, where her passion for pattern and fashion meet.
Beautiful textile pieces by Iryna Kolpakova use the language of flowers. In her ‘Self Portrait’ her soul and roots are expressed as the Sunflower of Ukraine, and her immersion within the local traditions of her new home, as the Daffodil of Wales.
John Roger Bradley’s piece, ‘Emerging’ focuses on Spring buds in groups or clusters, striving to emerge as new life.
The visual and metaphysical poetry surrounding the birth of Blodeuwedd has inspired Zara Kuchi to paint several renditions of this captivating being from the Mabinogion. This version is modelled on a half-Welsh, half-French girl who encapsulates the mystery of Blodeuwedd.
As in the original story, Tatiana Churlinia’s Blodeuwedd is made from the Welsh landscape, using broom, oak and meadowsweet, and uncarded wool from Llanon. She wears upcycled fabrics and jewellery, gleaned from her local environment.
Julian Ruddock’s paintings celebrate the incredible brightness of yellow gorse flowers, often set against grey Welsh skies. Nowadays this plant is a vital wildlife habitat for a multitude of species. It was valued in the past as fodder for cattle, fuel for the fire and for dying wool the most beautiful warm shade of yellow.
In ‘Dandelion’, Nikki Pontin shines a light on this often overlooked species. It was used for centuries for its medicinal and nutritional benefits, and in this artwork Nikki challenges its categorisation as a weed.
The ubiquitous Daisy, the name derived from being the ‘day’s eye’ – opening in the morning and closing for sleep at dusk – is immortalised here in the beautiful Carrara marble of Jeremy Stiff’s sculpture.
ORIEL 2 - Group Show: 'Who let the dogs out?'
12/04/25 – 28/05/25
O’r rhai lled wyllt i’r ffyddlon rai, bydd pob ci yn yr arddangosfa hon yn cael ei awr fawr!
Gwelir toreth o gŵn yma, naill ai’n rhuthro ar draws y cynfas, neu’n eistedd yn osgeiddig, weithiau’n cael cyntun neu’n udo ar y nen o stondin yn yr awyragored.
Hen gŵn a chŵn bach ifainc, rhai del a rhai doniol, a chyfaill pennaf pob merch.
Mae yma gŵn drwg a chŵn da, ci tarw yn chwarae cardiau, peth bach annwyl o’r enw Milo, a’r ci na ellid cynnal y sioe hon hebddo – Gelert.
Cyfuniad detholiadol cyffrous, wedi’i guradu o blith gwaith 12 artist creadigol sy’n cynhyrchu celf gyfoes yma yng Nhymru.
From the feral to the loyal, every dog in this show will have his day!
Hounds abound here, either tearing across the canvas, or elegantly seated, sometimes having a snooze or baying at the sky from an outdoor plinth.
We have old dogs and pups, cute dogs and funny dogs and a girl’s best friend.
There are bad dogs and good dogs, Bullies playing poker and a sweetie named Milo, and he without whom this show would not be complete – Gelert
An eclectic mix of exciting work, curated from amongst 12 creative practitioners producing contemporary art here in Wales.
ORIEL 1 - Julia Griffiths Jones
12/04/25 – 28/06/25
I am delighted to be showing my recent work for the second time at Gallery Gwyn, particularly as I was brought up in Aberaeron and lived here from 1960 – 1972.
I visited Amsterdam in 2022 and while travelling on the Metro, I came across an extraordinary exhibition. It was of 71,000 fragments and shards which had been collected from the River Amstel. They were grouped and arranged to fit in between the escalators as you descended to the platform at Rokin station.
The project is called Below the Surface, the Archaeological finds of the North / South Line, and is well worth a look.
A lot of my work references the domestic object. I draw jugs, jars and spoons whenever I see them in museum collections, and here I have selected the ones I think work well together for my small metal shelves. Each jug is made of vitreous enamel and has been waterjet cut, printed with the shard imagery and cured in the kiln.
In 2025, I am hoping to develop the conversation using motifs from embroidery, cloth, lace or carved in wood. The piece entitled Joy is my first attempt to enlarge, and to combine my work in coloured sheet metal and printed enamel.
ORIEL 1 - Sarah Khan
08/02/25 – 05/04/25
In her most recent series of works, titled ‘Life Through Layers’, Sarah Khan explores the complexity of both happiness and emptiness, of healing and moving-on, and the trauma from the past and present. She expresses her inner world through creating a colourscape of unidentified forms, allowing the layering of textures and depth to reveal the process. Her work is immediate, abstract and expressive and focuses on the healing process of creativity.
ORIEL 2 - Gaia 24
30/11/24 – 25/01/25
Group statement
Gaia theory, named after the primordial deity in Greek mythology, hypothesises that life will ensure its own persistence, through the processes of Evolution, Extinction and Ecology.
Rebecca Wyn Kelly’s text piece reflects on the enduring spirit of adaptation – a meditation on resilience, loss and the quiet power of change.
Responding to our climate of austerity, Peter Finnemore’s modest, fragmentary artworks evoke the dreaming and creative self’s relationship to the interconnectivity of culture, nature and politics.
Focusing on the political, Dan Jones’ construction highlights the balance between the conflicting needs of our technosphere, and the environmental price that must be paid for that.
Bronwen Gwillim’s concern about micro-plastics and plastic-based paints in the ocean is referenced in her use of hyper-local beach-waste and foraged earth pigments. Her compositions also reflect the instant thrill of finding bright, saturated colour on the beach.
Location is at the core of Catrin Webster’s ‘Taliesin’ watercolours, which explore repeated returns to this particular place along the Dovey estuary and Borth bog, over a period of decades. Written into mythology, the story of this place, whilst it extends back in time, also speaks to the present and the future.
Creatures found within Welsh mythology inhabit Dottie-may Aston’s paintings, and merge with contemporary narratives formed though the artist’s immersion into the Welsh landscapes of Anglesey.
As a relative newcomer, and in his body of work ‘Witnessing Wales’ Mohamad Hassan became captivated by Wales’ rich artistic culture and language, steeped in ancient folklore and song. When he arrived he has said that he felt that he was in a dream, and has continued to find inspiration in the rugged landscape that surrounds him.
Miranda Whall’s data clouds delve deep into the upland landscape of the Elenydd plateau in the Cambrian Mountains. Her work meticulously documents temperature and moisture levels, generated through a sensor network 600m above sea level, and recorded over hundreds of hours. This data, inscribed and layered in ink on paper, accumulates to resemble an organic living presence.
The use of maps in Helen Duffee’s work provides a bird’s-eye view of the land, describing its topography and inherent natural systems. Our domestic landscape is referenced here through the use of supermarket food packaging, combining with the maps to form an inside/outside dialectic, exploring ideas of convenience and consumption.
Ceri Pritchard’s ‘Demeter’, as the Greek goddess of the harvest, reminds us of our dependence on mother Earth – whilst Sarah Jones’ spiritual painting re-connects us to the ocean from whence we came.
ORIEL 1 - Nicky Arscott
3/11/24 – 25/01/24
A new series of works, based around plants and animals, exploring interconnectivity and belonging.
ORIEL 3 – Suzanne Harris ‘IDIOM’
ATRIUM – Brigitte Bailey ‘SWIMMERS’
ORIEL 2 – Group Show GAIA 24 MohamedHassan, Dottie-may Aston, Peter Finnemeore, Rebecca Wyn Kelly, Catrin Webster, Miranda Whall, Bronwen, Ceri Pritchard, Bronwen Gwillim, Helen Duffee, Daniel Jones, Sarah Ward.
INTER_CHANGE
12/10/24 – 07/12/24
Six solo shows by artists from underrepresented demographic groups:
Caitlin Flood-Molyneux: “Going Away in order to Return”
Harry Heuser: “Retroactive Selfies”
Prith B: “How Life Is”
Zara Evans: “Encounters”
Jasmine Violet: A collection of current and past works
Francesca Lawrence: Collaged Jar-Lid Magnets
SUMMER EXHIBITION
10/08/24 – 05/10/24
Gallery Gwyn showcases talented artists from all corners of Wales in this bumper exhibition of 108 artworks by 50 different artists. An exciting and eclectic mix, and a show not to be missed.
Harry Heuser
Asphalt Expressionism
08/06/24 – 02/08/24
In 1961 sculptor and installation artist Claes Oldenburg declared: ‘I am for the art of scratchings in the Asphalt,’ of ‘ice cream cones dropped on the concrete.’
Where is that art if not on the pavements on which we tread?
The photographs in this exhibition were snapped in New York City between 21st and September and 26th October 2022. A smartphone camera enabled me readily to capture what caught my attention.
Tom Alabama
08/06/24 – 02/08/24
Datganiad yr Artist
Mae Tom Dauncey yn genfigennus. Tom Alabama yw’r dawnsiwr. Feliy pwy ddiawch yw Tom Alabama? (Teimlaf fod hyn yn esbonio mwy am fy ngwaith nag y byddai datganiad artist nodweddiadol)
Artist statement
Tom Dauncey is jealous. Tom Alabama is the dancer. So who the hell is Tom Alabama? (I feel that this explains more about my work than a typical artist statement would)
Glenn Ibbitson
08/06/24 – 02/08/24
Artist statement
Death of Richthofen is not simply a commemoration a Great War flying ace, nor an acknowledgement of those Australian forces on the ground below him who brought his killing spree to an end. Rather, it is a tribute to my father, who devoted much of his precious free time to entertaining his son and his schoolmates. Football in the park, basic carpentry and making scale model aircraft together.
David Kilvington
05/04/24 – 01/06/24
Artist statement
I’m much taken with the transitory nature of everything, and yet we have our idea of security built on solidity. I’ve always embraced change and reinvention.
Due to circumstances, I’ve had to spend the last couple of years travelling, and so there hasn’t been much time for painting. This has been a good thing as it has given me the opportunity to adjust and to develop.
This series of works represents the changing landscapes of the last few years, through which I have journeyed.
I Fyny
02/02/24 – 29/03/24
Wales is rich with creative talent and the aim of Oriel Myrddin’s I Fyny programme has been to help cultivate this and to offer direction to those making their way through the, at times, hard going struggles that being an artist present.
The following exhibitors are just a small sample of the extraordinary group of early career artists that took part in I Fyny. Within their practice, they explore broad ranging themes of belonging, a sense of place, nostalgia, climate emergency, female empowerment, and the beauty of the commonplace.
OM would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all our I Fyny associates, in particular those that are exhibiting here, and to Gallery Gwyn for their generosity, patience, and support.
Lola Chapman
02/02/24 – 29/03/24
Lola Is a West Wales based artist and is inspired by the native landscapes. Her work is not a pictorial image of a location, but rather a capturing of the atmosphere and essence of the place made physical. The work comes from a spontaneous reaction to the environment and a natural instinct that forms itself into fluid brushstrokes and marks. The painting evokes a feeling of expansiveness with no limits, and through an often unplanned process, the work develops and reveals itself
David & Lisa Hardy
08/12/23 – 26/01/24
David and Lisa met whilst studying at Winchester School of Art in 1995.
Lisa’s work explores the ethereal beauty of flowers through abstract botanical paintings. Working with exposing layers of paint, Lisa incorporates a muted colour palette to reveal organic compositions with a lightness of touch.
“Working in acrylic and watercolour, my work reflects my mood and feelings. I abstract the essence of what I feel and see, as my life and the seasons change my paintings change too.”
David’s work explores the relationship of painting with the intangible boundaries of thoughts and emotions. Inspired by the natural world, these atmospheric compositions aim to evoke a sense of being, engulfed in an emotional landscape. The paintings allow the viewer to be captivated and comforted, portraying an emotional state which cannot be confined to words.
Who Are We Now?
6/10/23 – 02/12/23
A project to commemorate the 30 years since the passing of artist George Chapman and his contribution to Welsh art. Curated by his granddaughter Natalie Chapman, this show is a celebration of the old and the new. Siblings Natalie & Rory Chapman have revisited the old haunts of their grandfather, and recorded the changes in the communities and their landscape. This has resulted in some response work by the pair, shown alongside the historic paintings made by their grandfather. The new Rhondda is in parts very different from the one experienced by George Chapman. Businesses are built on nail salons and barbers in diverse multicultural communities, set within the dark and brooding backdrop of the land that gave George Chapman his voice in painting.
Isaac Peat
04/08/23 – 30/09/23
As we embark on our worldly journeys, light becomes our constant companion, casting its glow upon our path. However, this project takes a daring departure by embracing the absence of light. In the solitude of my photographic pursuit, I assume the role of a creator, shaping the world with light as my brush. Within each frame, I make deliberate choices, emphasising certain elements while omitting others, offering a distinct and alternative perspective of the world.
These images, in their own unique way, become a self-portrait, capturing not my physical form, but the essence of my presence as it weaves through the passage of time. Though I am invisible, the light that accompanies me is immortalised by the opening and closing of my camera’s shutter, forever preserved within each photograph.
Tides & Currents
08/12/23 – 26/01/24
The paintings of Jude Westermann and Natasha Francois, and the photographic images of Zara Evans, explore themes centred on the idea of home – what remains constant through disruptions of time and place and how the interior world of the domestic space mirrors our cultural identity.The intimate and contemplative process of sewing allow the stitched portraits of Becca Noble to reflect the traces of life lived, and for the organic forms and colours of nature to inform the textile work of Lauren Ricketts and Natasha Fox-Maderson. The mundane ephemera of daily life chanced upon by Szymon Morris provide a constant source of material for his sculptural pieces. ‘By Chance’, a large scale mixed media work by Gee Kerr, also responds to the discarded, highlighting the transience seen in the graphics and logos of packaging.In her video piece, Ffion Morgan questions the reliability of memory through distorting and fragmenting a home movie made in her childhood, whilst the chiaroscuro photographic style of Peter Alick’s images reflect both the darkness of depression, as well as the light of hope in our challenging world.
Tom Alabama
02/06/23 – 29/07/23
‘For me to touch is to ruin’ is a painting series that encapsulates everything i feel at that particular time, where each individual piece in the series is interconnected through recurring visual motifs, serving as metaphors. I fuse feelings of guilt and confusion by painting self-portraits that scrutinise my own physical body. These paintings offer a glimpse into my own experience, self-perception, and aspirations.
Works on paper
02/06/23 – 29/07/23
Group show
An eclectic mix of processes, materials and imagery brings together the work of 8 artists in this vibrant exhibition. From the traditional techniques of collograph, embossing and gold leaf to the contemporary use of collage and paint . To feature Julia Griffiths Jones, Marian Haf, Hannah McQueen, Tony Styles, Natalie Chapman, Helen Duffee and Francesca Lawrence.
Angharad Taris
02/06/23 – 29/07/23
My work is a response to the place in which I live : the west coast of Wales. Born and raised on a farm, I developed an intimate relationship with my environment and a deep connection to the spirit of the place. I am positioned on the edge of landscape, where land merges with sea and sky. My paintings do not set out to be precise representations: they are internal and elicited by the painting process.