Adams to Zobole - Fifty Years of Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

From Adams to Zobole

Fifty years of Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

From Adams to Zobole Fifty years of Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

A Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre Exhibition 2016

The first exhibition at LGAC in 1966

Foreword A debt of gratitude is owed to the

down, there was the question of what

visionaries who in the early 1960’s took

do you do with a Victorian gentlemen’s

the bold decision to save Llantarnam

residence built on 12th century monastic

Grange from the ball and chain. With the

foundations.

blue prints for the New Town in place and the builders in full swing creating Wales

The answer, create a cultural hub, an oasis,

only “New Town”, the end seemed in sight.

a place of reflection in the middle of a

Having survived a reformation, civil war,

bustling, modern New Town.

two global conflicts, numerous political changes and upheavals, was the drive

On the 30th April 1966, Leo Abse MP

towards a modernist utopia destined to see

officially opened the Centre. I think Leo

the building raised to the ground. It took a

and all those involved in its founding

small group of enlightened individuals to

would be pleased with how the last half a

take the radical decision NOT to demolish

century has turned out. We are a member

one of the area’s oldest buildings. Once

of the Arts Council of Wales Revenue

the decision was taken not to pull it

Portfolio, whose aim is to play a significant

role in presentation, engagement and

Over the last five decades we have shown

development of contemporary visual

hundreds or artists and thousands of

art practise. Since that day in April 50

pieces of art work, from the internationally

years ago we have seen our audiences

famous whose work is held in national

grow and develop. 60,000 people a year

collections to those at the very beginnings

come through the front door. Over the

of their career. We aim to present the best

last 20 years nearly 150,000 people have

work being made in Wales and bring

taken part in our learning programme.

to Wales some of the most important

Tens of thousands have seen our touring

and interesting work being produced

exhibitions in venues the length and

nationally and internationally. To deliver a

breadth of the country. LGAC has sent

programme of education / participation /

artists work around the world to France,

engagement activities that is relevant to

Eastern Europe, the USA and India. While

the lives of our communities. Our vision is

in recent years an international audience

to promote and advance the appreciation,

has been engaging with our work digitally

understanding and education of the arts

and on line.

and culture to benefit the lives of our

communities. There was the belief from

been a small team and all the staff have

the very first day the Centre opened that

gone beyond the call of duty and travelled

engagement and learning lie at the heart

that extra mile to make sure that we excel

of the Arts Centre’s ethos. I would like

at delivering our creative programmes.

to say a big thank you to all the pupils and students who have come to our

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is much

workshops and courses, the tutors who

more than bricks and mortar, it is people

led those sessions and the volunteers

who have made things happen and made

who have given up their time and energy

it what it is. We are eternally indebted to

because they believe in what we stand

artists and makers who have allowed us

for. The centre as a charity is governed by

to present their work, without them we

a Board of Trustees, I would like to thank

would have nothing but empty soulless

all the current and past board members

rooms.

and Chairs who are unpaid and give their expertise to make things happen.

Hywel Pontin,

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre has always

March 2016

Director Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre ,

A brief History of Llantarnam Grange 1952 - 2016 Although the building of Llantarnam

In the following year, 1952, Llantarnam

Grange can be traced back to being a

Grange was conveyed by Private Treaty

12th century monastic farm for the nearby

to Cwmbran Development Corporation

Llantarnam Abbey its modern history

(CDC) for £3,900. CDC was created by

begins with the death in 1951 of its last

Royal Charter as part of the post war “New

resident William Jones, former Managing

Town’s Act” and was the body responsible

Director of the Avondale Tinplate Works.

for building Wales’ only new town.

In September, 1953, it was let to the General Post Office.

The GPO were

interested in using the old billiard room (now our main gallery) as a postal sorting office, while the upstairs rooms were to be used as flats. Its grounds, garden and cottage which still adjoined the house at that time, remained in the possession of William Jones last private resident of Llantarnam Grange

Room).

the CDC.

In October, 1960, the County

Council made enquiries into buying the In 1955 the outer buildings were

property for civil defence purposes but it

demolished

was still under lease to Girlings.

in

preparation

for

the

construction work of building the new Town Centre. Glyndwr Road runs straight

By 1962 Girlings had made it clear

through the area where the stable

they wished to remain in occupation

buildings had been and the Bus Station

indefinitely, but CDC wanted to demolish

lies over parts of the garden and orchard.

the property and redevelop the site as a public park.

The GPO left in May, 1958, and Girlings (a car component firm with a factory opposite

Only a short time before the proposed

Llantarnam Grange) took up the lease

demolition the General Manger of CDC

using the building as its drawing office

suggested that the New Town Centre

and put an opening between bedrooms

would soon need a place for societies,

1 and 2 (now the Education Workshop

clubs and associations to meet; 窶連t this

stage in the growth of the Town Centre,

In February and March, 1965, meetings

there are no existing premises there for

were held between Corporation members,

general community use’.

County Councillors and potential users to discuss the proposals and to form a

The Grange’s location near the bus

steering committee. It was agreed that a

station made it ideal, and a new building

committee be set up to run the Grange and

would cost three or four times as much

that the local councils, The Arts Council

as renovation. It was suggested by CDC

of Great Britain and the Gulbenkian

at a meeting on 22nd May, 1964 that a

Foundation were to be approached for

caretaker would run it and live on site

money towards capital and running

rent free. Adaptation would include four

costs.

rooms of various sizes to let, an Exhibition and Entrance Hall, a kitchen, scullery,

The Steering Committee also drew CDC’s

coffee room and new toilets. A grant of

attention to the need for an art gallery in

£12,000 was given by the CDC to carry out

the area, as well as a venue for community

the necessary work.

use. It was agreed that, with the exception

of Newport Museum and Art Gallery,

the building.

facilities for art exhibitions were very poor and that an exhibition hall at the Grange

There was much debate over what to call

would encourage full day-time use.

the new centre; as the building was not in Llantarnam and ‘the Grange’ was usually

Ann Landers was employed by the

used to refer to Llanfrechfa Grange

Corporation as an Assistant Community

Hospital both these words were deemed

Development Officer and accepted the

unsuitable. It was also thought words like

role of secretary to the Management

‘community’ and ‘centre’ did not cover the

Committee with responsibility for the

intended general social function of the

running of the Grange. The development

building.

of the programme became a full time commitment. Ann Landers remained

‘Hub’, ‘Focus’, ‘Compass’, ‘Fulcrum’, even

an employee of the CDC and so the

the Anglo-Saxon ‘Moot House’ were

Management Committee did not have to

suggested. In October, 1965, the New

find her wages or pay for the up-keep of

Town Advertiser even ran a competition

with a prize of £2 to suggest a name for

formally opened by Leo Abse M.P.

the centre. Ironically Llantarnam Grange Societies Club was the name eventually

The local press welcomed the centre as

chosen.

a remarkable development. In the South Wales Argus, 5th May 1966 ‘It needs no

In 1966 The Arts Council gave a grant of

visionary to see that the potentialities of

£450 towards the equipping of the art

the centre are enormous. Ideally it should

gallery, including lighting and hanging

do a great deal to inject some life into

rails.

what is, at present, quite understandably,

It was decided that the official

opening should coincide with the opening

a rather soulless town.’

of the Arts Council exhibition: Two Artists; This

The Grange became a permanent home for

exhibition, showing the work of two well-

the Pontypool & Eastern Valley Art Society

known artists based locally was welcomed

(who were responsible for hanging and

as an appropriate opening event.

On

stewarding the exhibitions) and Cwmbran

30th April, 1966, Llantarnam Grange was

Theatre Club, as well as Cwmbran Forum,

John Wright and Tom Rathmell.

Cwmbran

around fifteen exhibitions per year, each

Chamber of Trade. It was also agreed

running for two weeks. The programme

that a ‘pool’ of local pensioners should be

showed a desire to be inclusive through

formed who would be prepared to help

hosting exhibitions from local schools

steward the exhibitions. One shilling was

and art societies; to presenting the work

agreed as the entrance fee for exhibitions,

of established professional artists and a

while the Assembly and Thomas Rooms

concern to show works of ‘high standard’.

were available for hire at 10s each.

The photographs show the Eric Malthouse

Wine-Makers

Society

and

Exhibition which was on display from Llantarnam Grange became a registered

March to April, 1968.

charity on 10th October, 1966. Adverts newspapers

By the 1980’s the work of the CDC was

advertising the Grange as a venue for

nearly done, the New Town was built and

weddings and parties

Cwmbran had begun to establish itself as

appeared

in

the

local

a bustling town. The Royal Charter that At this time Llantarnam Grange showed

brought the CDC into existence would

Christine Kinsey, A Pilgrim’s Progress 1987

expire in 1988. CDC could not hold any

to national and international artists and

assets on its demise and sold the freehold

makers. By 1989 a third gallery space had

of the building and land to the Trustees of

been opened as well as the craft shop,

Llantarnam Grange for ÂŁ5,000. The sale of

darkroom, educational workshop space

the Grange took place in September, 1983,

and studios for artists. This additional

the same year CDC also gave ÂŁ30,000 to

activity meant that the Centre was busier

be used for the further provision of artistic

than ever and the staffing of the Centre

cultural amenities.

began to increase.

In 1986 Sara Bowie became the first Arts

In 1992 funding was secured for an

Centre Manager.

Under her guidance

Education Liaison Officer whose role

the Grange developed from a meeting

would be to expand the programme of

place and small gallery into a nationally

educational workshops and classes and to

renowned Arts Centre.

Its exhibitions

develop stronger links with local schools.

programme was expanded to include

A wide variety of workshops began to be

art and craft produced locally through

organised for children and adults, including

photography, pottery, embroidery and

The quality of our exhibitions was

even circus skills. Students from Schools

recognised in the Arts Council of Wales

were encouraged to produce work in

Annual Report of 1995, which stated that

response to the exhibitions. Very soon

our touring exhibition, The Breakfast,

the education programme established a

Lunch and Dinner Party by Morgen Hall,

national reputation for its quality and high

was ‘probably the most popular exhibition

standard which was recognised with its

of the year’. This exhibition toured around

inclusion in Understanding Art, published

Britain for over a year, starting at the

by the Curriculum Council for Wales, in

Grange in December, 1994, and finishing

which the centre was cited as a ‘centre of

in Aberdeen in May, 1996.

good art practice’.

After many successful years of running the In February 1994 the Foundation of Sports

Arts Centre, Sara Bowie left the Grange in

and Arts awarded a grant of £93,500 to carry

June, 1994, and in January, 1995, Hywel

out necessary repairs and work began in

Pontin took up post as Director.

November 1994 to repair the roof.

Morgen Hall, The Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner party 1994

In 1998, with the support of an Arts

Revenue Funded Organisations. We aim

Council of Wales, “Building the Arts

to provide opportunities for people to

Award” and funds from the Foundation

become engaged in their contemporary

for Sports and Arts a quarter of a million

cultural heritage. It is with this belief

pound refurbishment of the Arts Centre

and by strengthening our relationship

took place.

and working in partnership with makers, artists and organisations we will continue

The building was complete gutted on

to demonstrate our significance as a

the inside, curing many of the buildings

regional cultural asset.

structural and operational problems.

In 1998 coinciding with the Centre’s Following the refurbishment the Centre

relaunch following its major refurbishment

has gone from strength to strength.

LGAC initiated and toured “Petrified Landscape” an exhibition of sculptural

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is a part of the Arts Council of Wales portfolio of 68

ceramics by Billy Adams.

Launch of the Cwmbran Mosaic

50th

large scale mosaic murals depicting earth,

anniversary of the Cwmbran New Town

wind, fire and water, while in 2008 Padre

and to mark this milestone the centre was

Pio School asked LGAC to design, build

commissioned to produce a ceramic mural

and install a mosaic mural to celebrate

to be installed in the centre of the town.

the new school.

The

following

year

saw

the

The staff worked with every primary school in Cwmbran and with the kindergarten

The previous year the centre delivered

from Cwmbran’s twin town Bruchsal in

an artist in residence project at the

Germany. The final piece was unveiled by

Llanfrechfa Grange Hospital in Cwmbran,

the Welsh Assembly’s First Minister. This

working with residents, their families

was not the only occasion the centre has

and staff to produce a series of ceramic

been commissioned to produce murals

and mixed media art works which were

and sculptural works. Since 1998 LGAC has

installed in new community housing

completed and installed many works. The

throughout the health board region. The

newly built Rogerstone Primary School

centre’s education team worked on some

commissioned “The Four Elements” four

exciting engagement projects, beginning

Arlington Cwmbran 2008

in 2000 and running for four years the

seen at LGAC the exhibition toured to

centre worked with local partners to

Walford Mill Crafts, Hampshire, Craft in

deliver a Cymorth Project; the collective

the Bay, Cardiff and the Art House, Caylus,

work focused on engaging with socially

France. The following year the centre

excluded young people in the County

teamed up with the Lee Arts Center,

Borough. In 2010 The Centre’s team started

Arlington, Virginia (USA) to produced

an arts based programme working with

“Art Exchange”. A curated exhibition of

young people with dementia. This project

contemporary American ceramics came to

has now become a key part of the Centre’s

Cwmbran and LGAC curated an exhibition

Learning Programme.

of Welsh ceramics that went to the USA.

In recent years the LGAC exhibitions

The LGAC touring programme has

programme has grown in stature. In 2007

continued and in 2008 Artist and Curator

with support from the Arts Council of

Richard

Wales the centre created the exhibition

Subterranean Architecture of Western

“Porcelain: Ritual & Process”. After being

India” which toured to Aberystwyth Arts

Cox

produced

“Stepwells:

The Curious World of Becky Adams

Centre & Brewery Arts Centre Cumbria

LGAC collaborative touring exhibition.

before embarking on an epic eight year

This show was seen at seven venues

cycle of exhibitions around the world. The

across the UK; Ruthin Craft Centre, LGAC,

following year in 2009 LGAC produced

Mission Gallery, 20:21 Centre for the

“Barrett-Danes: A Continuing Tradition”:

Visual Arts, National Centre for Craft and

showing the ceramic work of Alan and

Design, Basingstoke Museum and Art

Ruth Barrett Danes and their son Jonathan.

Gallery, Hannah Rogers Trust, Penarth Pier

It toured to University of Aberystwyth’s

Pavillion and Chapel Gallery Ormskirk

Ceramic Archive as part of the 2009 International Potters Festival and to the

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre are

Art House, Caylus, France.

always looking at ways artists can explore different ideas. “Makers to Curators” is

LGAC has worked collaboratively with

a project initiated to ask established

other venues to produce exhibitions for

makers to devise and curate an exhibition.

example in 2010 “The Curious World of

“Resonant Colour” was the first in our

Becky Adams”, a Ruthin Craft Centre and

Makers to Curators series and curated by

When I Woke - Private View

Cardiff based maker Laura Thomas in 2011.

the Ceramic Archive of the University of

In 2012 Claire Curneen and Lowri Davies

Aberystwyth in October 2013.

produced “When I Woke” an exhibition exploring the human condition and taking

That year also marked the 20th anniversary

its name from a work by iconic Welsh poet

of the centre’s Education programme.

Dylan Thomas.

During those two decades 133, 443 people have taken part in activities initiated by

Other exhibition touring projects have

LGAC. The sheer scale of the number of

included “Casting On” by Michael Organ

people who have taken part illustrates

which toured to the Beverely Museum

the long term legacy of the centre’s

and Art Gallery in 2013 and “Transition

engagement programme.

and Resonance – a Modern Masque” by internationally acclaimed maker Michael

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre has

Flynn. Opened by Paul Greenhalgh

been committed to allowing the staff at

Director of the Sainsbury Centre for the

the centre to express and develop their

Visual Arts, this exhibition was shown at

creative vision. The Centre’s Crafts Officer

On My Mother’s Knee, 2013

devised and curated “On My Mother’s

generation that LGAC launched a project

Knee”, an exhibition about domestic

that works with the future generation

heritage. This project saw the launch of “on

of artists. LGAC are part of a national

line publications” and toured to Gwynedd

programme called Criw Celf that aims to

Museum and Arts Gallery. In 2016 the LGAC

work with some of Wales’ most able and

Crafts Officer will be curating Zoomorphic

talented young people.

an exhibition exploring the world of half human and half animal.

The work of the Arts Centre has been supported by many organisations. LGAC

In 2014 LGAC marked the 100 years

received financial support from the old

since the outbreak of the Great War by

County Council of Monmouthshire and

commissioning 14 contemporary artists

then its successor Gwent County Council

and makers to submit work to an exhibition

and Torfaen Borough Council. Following

entitled “fourteen”. This was a profoundly

the local government changes in 1996

moving exhibition. It was fitting that in

Torfaen County Borough Council and

the same year as honouring the fallen lost

Monmouthshire County Council have

Michael Flynn, Transition and Resonance 2013

continued to support the Centre’s work.

challenges they present.

In the early days LGAC received funds from the Arts Council of Great Britain,

The Art Centre is in indebted to all those

then its regional office the Welsh Arts

who have supported its work over the last

Council together with the independent

five decades. From its Board of Trustees,

funding body the South East Wales Arts

Staff and Volunteers for all their hard work

Association until they merged in 1994 and

to the visitors and participants who have

became the Arts Council of Wales. LGAC

come to the Centre, but most importantly

received revenue support and became

to the artists whose work Llantarnam

a member of the Arts Council of Wales’

Grange Arts Centre has been proud to

Revenue Funded Portfolio in 2010.

show.

Over the last five decades Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre has presented some very exciting projects and looks forward to the next fifty years and the exciting

From Adams to Zobole Fifty years of Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre Anna Adam, Becky Adams, Billy Adams, Iwan Bala, Alan Barrett-Danes & Ruth Barrett-Danes, Geoffrey Bradford, Sarah Bradford, Mick Brown, William Brown , Adam Buick, Brendan Burns, Roger Cecil, Richard Cox, Jack Crabtree, Brian Crouch, Ivor Davies, Lowri Davies, Natalia Dias, Ken Elias, Ann Catrin Evans, Michael Flynn, Morgen Hall, Frank Hamer, Janet Hamer, Jane Hamlyn, Ruth Harries, Rozanne Hawksley, Bert Isaac, Dilys Jackson, Walter Keeler, Christine Kinsey, John Langford, Mary Lloyd Jones, Michael Organ, Arlie Panting, Betty Pepper, Thomas Rathmell, John Selway, Laura Thomas and Ernest Zobole

A Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre Exhibition 2016

The Skirrid’, Anna Adam, tapestry

Anna Adam 1943 - 2008 Anna Adam was one of Wales’ foremost textile

designers

and

a

renowned

tapestry weaver. Her pictures developed over the years from straightforward landscape tapestries to imaginative and innovative depictions of the country near Abergavenny where she and her husband had happily located after leaving Cardiff.

She worked with superb technique, immaculate finishing and a colour palette sensitive to the Welsh pastoral scene.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 1st June - 25th June 1988: Makers Guild in Wales • 2 5th November 1990 - 10th January 1991: Colour for Christmas - Makers Guild in Wales • 17th October - 4th November 1994: Prized Pieces • 1 5th November - 24th December 1997: Makers Guild in Wales

Caravan, Becky Adams

Becky Adams Becky Adams is an applied artist based

Becky exhibits regularly and has work

in Penarth, South Wales. She combines

in the Tate, V&A and London School of

stitched

Printing collections.

paper,

vintage

fabric,

old

sketchbooks and antique ephemera to create intricate textile and book works.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 0 7th November - 24th December 2009: Once Upon a Time

Becky studied Fine Art and English Literature

• 2 2nd May - 10th July 2010: The Curious World of Becky Adams (toured 2010 – 2015)

in Liverpool (BA Hons) in 1994 and later

• 2 6th November 2011 - 28th January 2012: Running Stitch

gained an MA in Book Arts in 2001. She has

• 26th November 2011 - 28th January 2012: Ornament

since supplemented her studio practice

• 26th July - 20th September 2014: Fourteen

with running workshops and undertaking artist residencies throughout the UK. Past residencies include Ruthin Craft Centre, Kings

Lynn

Museum,

Chitraniketan

(Southern India), Queenswood School For Girls and Plas Newydd.

Rockabillys, Billy Adams

Billy Adams A potter whose work deals with exploring

structure which elevates them beyond

and experimenting with aspects of the

their own identifiable function and so

landscape; Billy Adams works within the

gives them another meaning.

vessel format, combining textures and

conclusive forms are recognised as

colours to give the viewer an intimate

jugs,

insight into his private view of ceramics.

these represent profound arguments

The world we live in is a combination of

concerning issues of an individual’s

structures and forms interacting with

perception and memory of an ever

man-made elements, he aims to provoke

changing landscape.

the onlooker to question the value of a vessel as a piece of sculpture.

Billy prefers to stay within the realms of the vessel. Rims, handles, lips and balance are commonplace within traditional ceramics, yet he uses them in a unique integrated

bowls

and

vessels;

Their

however,

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 12th March - 13th April 1990: Vessels in Clay • 2 1st November 1998 - 09th January 1999: Petrified Landscape • 23rd June - 11th August 2012: Eroded Perceptions

“Mythic Bestiary”, Iwan Bala, (Mixed media, Indian Khadi Paper, Mexican Amate paper 2001 to 20110

Iwan Bala Iwan Bala is an established artist, writer and lecturer based in Wales. He has held solo exhibitions annually since 1990, participated in many group exhibitions in Wales and abroad and is represented in public and private collections. His work was exhibited in four Chinese cities in 2009. He has published books and essays on contemporary art in Wales and is a frequent lecturer on the subject. He has often presented and been interviewed for television. Iwan Bala is cited in most published compilations on contemporary art in Wales.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 07th January - 18th February 2006: Mappa Mundi • 16th March - 04th May 2013: Fieldnotes • 26th July - 20th September 2014: Fourteen

Figure bowl from Ruth’s collection, Alan & Ruth Barrett-Danes

Alan Barrett-Danes (1935 – 2004) & Ruth Barrett-Danes Working jointly and individually Alan and Ruth Barrett-Danes made a major contribution to the development of studio ceramics in Britain. For the Barrett-Danes’, ceramics has been a tradition spanning six generations, dating back to the early years of the nineteenth century in Kent. Ruth is an imaginative modeller, while Alan was more specialised in technical aspects. Working together, they achieved considerable success, with their work being featured in many exhibitions and publications. Alan would later take the opportunity to teach at Cardiff College of Art in the 1960s, where he taught generations of students for over thirty years.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 1 4th March - 09th May 2009: Barrett-Danes - A continuing tradition

‘Traces’ Belsay Hall series, Geoffrey Bradford, (mixed media)

Geoffrey Bradford The subject of Geoff’s photographic

suggestion rather than description. The

practice is the ordinary, overlooked and

titles are a prompt; they provide the

common-place

to

viewer with a way that encourages them

everyone. It references the ‘made’ world

to look at and interrogate the work more

and, though absent, a human presence is

closely.

and

recognisable

implied.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 06th March - 17th April 1999: Inside-Outside

As an artist/maker, Geoff has always considered the photograph to be a physical object as well as an image to be handled as well as viewed – one of the reasons for their relatively small size. They are quiet, understated and intimate and reveal themselves slowly. His purpose is to create images/objects that are about things rather than of them and are about

• 0 8th September - 20th October 2007: The Constructed Image

‘And in the Stillness’ 1, Sarah Bradford, (oil on board)

Sarah Bradford Sarah works as an artist, curator, writer and lecturer. Her work attempts to recapture the essence of places seen and felt, not in any topographical sense but as a subjective and personal view. This making of an imagined landscape is a summingup

of

memory

and

experience.

Impressions, large and small, distant and close-up, how even the smallest detail can recall the whole and ideas about scale are explored. All are brought together to form coherent and convincing landscape imagery whilst holding fast to the autonomy of painting.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 06th March - 17th April 1999: Inside-Outside • 22nd June - 03rd August 2002: Works on Paper

Head’, Mick Brown, oil on canvas, c 1999, LGAC Permanent collection

Mick Brown Mick Brown maintains that his paintings

from 1977-1978 as well as Cardiff Art

are an essential part of his life. They are

College from 1978-1981. His work has

expressive works in which he is in dialogue

featured in exhibitions in Edinburgh,

with the world both material and spiritual.

France and numerous galleries through-

The paintings have a narrative element

out Wales.

that evolves during the ‘conversation’ which is the process of the painting. His work asks the viewer to rest and consider the painting as the interaction between materials and processes become a vehicle for reflection. The language of mark and colour convey the energy within the paintings.

He was born in Hoddesdon, Herts and attended the Byam Shaw School of Art

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 2 4th June - 22nd July 1995: Icons, Monuments & Memorials • 1 6th January - 27th February 1999: Silent Conversations

William Brown 56710024 - Photo © Bernard Mitchell, 2009 (William Brown artwork)

William Brown 1953 – 2008 Was a prolific painter and print maker informed by poetry, literature and travel; he was born in Toronto, Canada but later moved to Bridgend, Wales. Collaborating with poets he produced an extensive series of black and white lino, wood block and silk screen prints.

He exhibited widely in Britain and overseas in Europe, Today Browns’ work can be found in many public and private collections worldwide.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 23rd April - 19th May 1990: Paintings & Prints

Porcelain with Abereiddi stone, Adam Buick, Nuka glaze

Adam Buick Adam’s work uses a pure jar as a canvas on

Pembrokeshire.

to which he maps observations from his

the wind and rain returned it back to the

surroundings. Utilising stone and local

earth. Clay in turn was created from the

clay he aims to create a narrative that

weathering of igneous rocks upon which

conveys a unique sense of place. The clay

the unfired Jar stands.

inclusions mutate during firing resulting in random individual items; this represents the human condition and how interaction with the landscape alters our psyche.

His work is also about change, about natural cycles and the transience of human endeavour. Part of his ‘Earth to Earth’ project is to illustrate one cycle as a metaphor for all. He placed a raw, unfired Jar at the top of Carn Treliwyd in

Made from the earth,

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 2 4th November 2012 - 12th January 2013: Earth to Earth

‘Sigh’ 2011, Brendan Burns, (Oil on Board)

Brendan Burns The fine line which separates figuration and abstraction underpins Brendan’s work. A close relationship with the Pembrokeshire Coast has provoked a large and ongoing series of paintings.

Paint in fact, is a major concern in itself.

Process, is integral, both in painting terms as well as ‘within’ the landscape.

The concept of space, both actual and pictorial; implications of time and place; issues within movement, weather and light; alongside gesture, glimpse and memory are requisite themes within these paintings.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 03rd February - 07th March 1992: Recent Works • 14th April - 26th May 2007: Brendan Burns • 25th January - 15th March 2014: 56 Group

Roger Cecil

Roger Cecil 1942 – 2015 Born in Abertillery Roger Cecil studied at both Newport College of Art and St Martins School of Art. In 1964 he won the David Murray Landscape Award from the Royal Academy and started studying at the Royal College of Art for a short period before leaving to work in mines and on building sites.

He was described as sometimes reclusive.

He was known for his figurative and largely abstract paintings and used materials such as sandpaper, primer, Polyfilla and emulsion. From the late 1980’s his works were widely exhibited in Wales and elsewhere.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 08th September - 20th October 2007: Cariad • 0 7th November - 24th December 2009: Once Upon a Time • 15th January - 05th March 2011: Resilience

“Panna Meena Ka Kund 6.51/4.51 2009”, Richard Cox, Archival Digital Print

Richard Cox Studied Fine Art in Southend, Newport,

by Jai Singh II between 1715-40 have

Birmingham and London; he moved to

influenced the developments of his work.

Wales in 1975. He supported his work in various teaching posts, including

Richard’s work is held in 27 public

Wolverhampton

RCA,

collections in the UK and internationally,

Delhi

including the National Museum and

College of Art and Pennsylvania Academy

Galleries of Wales, The State Museum at

of Arts, and has worked as a visual arts

Majdanek, Jawahar Kala Kendra, State of

organiser.

Rajasthan, British Council New Delhi and

Kunstakademeit

Polytechnic, I

Trondheim,

Newport Museum and Art Gallery.

Richard

has had strong associations

with Rajasthan since first visiting India in 1993. The impact of the rich visual culture of India, and in particular aspects of traditional architecture, Stepwells and the four existing stone observatories created

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 1 6th September - 28th October 2000: Surface Language • 02nd September - 09th November 2002: Containment • 26th April - 07th June 2003: Rules of Engagement • 6th September – 1st November 2008: Stepwells

Valley Landscape’ , Jack Crabtree, LGAC Permanent collection

Jack Crabtree Is a contemporary English figurative painter and teacher; he is well known for a series of paintings documenting the South Wales coal industry. Crabtree was born in Rochdale and educated at the Rochdale College of Art, Saint Martins’ School of Art and Royal Academy Schools.

In 1971 he was elected a member of the 56 Wales Group and to date has had over 70 solo exhibitions. His work can be found in many public exhibitions.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 28th April - 12th May 1973: A Four Man Show • 1 1th September - 25th September 1976: Paintings & Drawings • 2 7th November - 10th December 1983: Painting, Drawings & Prints • 3 0th May - 01st July 1989: Parading the Dog - Belfast 89’

Dark Orbit’, Brian Crouch, mixed media assemblage

Brian Crouch Brian studied at Brighton College of Art followed post-graduate study at the Royal Academy Schools; originally he lived and had studios in London but relocated to Monmouthshire in 1987. Over the years he worked teaching painting at Brighton College of Art and as an external examiner for the University of Central London.

The media he uses is dictated by his idea and what’s most appropriate to convey his thoughts; be it a painting, drawing or a three-dimensional object. Often ideas arise from observations made in and around the Wye Valley where he lives and from his travelling experiences.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 17th May - 15th June 1992: Gardens and Landscapes • 10th June - 22nd July 2000: Home and Away • 24th April - 05th June 2004: Sea Signs

“William Salesbury translating the Book of Revelations into Welsh/ William Salesbury yn cyfiethu Llyfr y Datguddiad”, oil on canvas, late 1960s, Ivor Davies

Ivor Davies Ivor studied at Cardiff College of Art and

Cathedral.

Swansea College of Art between 1952 and 1957 followed by the University of

A major retrospective exhibition of his

Lausanne in Switzerland. He then began

work from the 1940s onwards, Ivor Davies:

teaching at the University of Wales before

Silent Explosion, opened at National

moving on to the University of Edinburgh.

Museum Cardiff in 2015. This was the

Ivor retired from teaching in 1988.

largest exhibition dedicated to the work of a single contemporary artist ever held

Ivor is passionate about the culture, language and politics of Wales, which inspire his artwork. His early works in the 1960s used explosives as an expression of society’s destructive nature. More recent work has included painting, installations; he has also designed and installed a mosaic of Saint David at Westminster

in Wales.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 06th January - 17th February 2007: Drawing Roy.

Tea Set from the artist’s own collection, Lowri Davies

Lowri Davies Lowri Davies’ Welsh heritage is a major source of inspiration. Vibrant illustrations of birds, ‘traditional’ landscapes, floral and fauna adorn her own distinct slipcast bone china tableware that includes tea sets, vessels and vases. These pieces reference established ceramic tableware such as Nantgarw and Swansea porcelain and ceramic souvenirs.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 24th February - 07th April 2007: Lowri Davies • 0 7th November - 24th December 2009: Once Upon a Time • 26th November 2011 - 28th January 2012: Ornament • 0 6th October - 17th November 2012: Makers to Curators - When I Woke

Rosa Branca, Natalia Dias

Natalia Dias Natalia’s work is her own language. She

other worlds through installation, where

sculpts metaphorically the way that she

people can step into their imagination

sees and feels things, intending to project

and her own.

the viewer to a dreamscape of sensuality Her references and influences are her

and magic realism.

emotions,

society,

nature,

fairytales,

The processes that she uses are mostly

music, and other artists such as Louise

hand-build

Bourgeois, Olafur Eliasson, Richard Slee

and

casting,

sometimes

transfers and lustres are applied but she also likes to experiment with assembling ceramics and other materials.

and Duchamp.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 05th September - 31st October 2009: Portal Series • 15th January - 05th March 2011: Resilience

Natalia’s work is quite concept and process based, most of the sculptures tell a tale or a critique by themselves but she loves to create with them narratives and

• 23rd July - 03rd September 2011: Transfigurations

Shifting Screenplay’ 2015 & ‘Between Pictures’ 2009, Ken Elias

Ken Elias Ken Elias was born in 1944 in Glynneath,

drawing inspiration from global issues

West Glamorgan. From 1966 to 1969

and currents, while also being strongly

he studied at Newport College of Art &

rooted in the visual language of the South

Design, followed by an MA in Fine Art at

Wales valleys

the University of Wales Institute Cardiff.

He is a member of the Welsh Group and the Royal Cambrian Academy Using acrylic paint, photomontage and mixed media, Ken Elias creates powerful, striking images, with strong shapes and contrasting colours. Influenced by the memories of family and cinema during his 1950s childhood and his love of poetry and art, his work uses memory and imagination, responding to and

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 0 9th November - 27th November 1988: Recent Paintings & Drawings • 25th January - 15th March 2014: 56 Group

“Chwyldro / Revolve” , Ann Catrin Evans, copper and silver

Ann Catrin Evans Ann Catrin Evans is a sculptor working

fabrication and more high tech methods

with all metals. Her portfolio of work is

such as laser cutting and rapid proto-

diverse; jewellery, functional objects and

typing. The materials she uses are

sculptures. Her love of making by hand

mainly steel, but also bronze, stainless,

shows in her subtle use of materials and

aluminium, silver, copper, and gold.

careful design. She works with fragile

Balance, proportion and simplicity are the

wire work and robust large scale public

key features in her work. The work has a

art projects. Ann also teaches and has

powerful visual impact and strength in

undertaken commissions in America and

design. Always carefully considered and

Japan.

sympathetic to the needs of the client Ann Catrin Evans delivers a relevant

Her most prominent commission is in Cardiff Bay - the bronze and aluminium handles throughout the Wales Millennium Centre.

Techniques

employed

are

traditional forging, casting and general

design to site and proposed use.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 11th January - 15th February 1995: Ironwork • 15th January - 05th March 2011: Resilience • 20th July - 31st August 2013: Bregus

Cockcrow’, Michael Flynn, stoneware

Michael Flynn Born in Germany Michael he spent some

he produces explore the dangerous

of his early childhood on a farm in Ireland.

nature of male and female relationships

He initially studied Fine Art and was a keen

with suggestions of lust, violence, joy and

painter; however he returned to study

ecstasy. He has a studio in Cardiff but also

ceramics at Cardiff College of Art in 1975

spends part of the year in Europe, mainly

under the guidance of Alan Barrett-Danes.

Germany. He received a Creative Wales

His highly distinctive figurative ceramics

Award in 2008.

draw inspiration from diverse sources such as Meissen figurines, expressionist art and the gestural ceramics of Peter Voulkos; along with his interest in stories, myth and legend.

He uses a variety of ceramic techniques including raku, terracotta, porcelain and occasionally works in bronze. The forms

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 18th May - 06th July 2013: Transition and Resonance:

Teapots, Morgen Hall

Morgen Hall 1960 - 2016 Born in the United States, Morgen spent

to give a very precise finish, coloured

her early years in Scotland. She trained

slips and paper stencils were used for

in ceramics in the 1980s at Grays School

decoration. In her time as a research

of Art, Aberdeen followed by an MA

fellow in Cardiff she investigated ways

in Cardiff.

Her work was focused on

of combining industrial methods with

making decorative tableware intended

hand production and introduced aspects

for everyday use in a style consisting of

of computer technology into creating

fine detail and strong bold forms. Food

designs.

connections were essential to her designs; most pieces were specifically designed and inspired by the food for which they were intended.

The wares are commonly wheel-thrown in fine red earthenware, impressed patterned with a roulette and turned

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 1 1th November - 21st December 1994: The Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Party (National Touring Exhibition)

Crucian Carp’, Frank Hamer,ceramic

Frank Hamer Studied industrial design for weaving

the artist, as ceramic happenings, inspired

at Accrington School of Art but later

by local wildlife. Frank helped establish

became interested in pottery, Frank

the South Wales Potters organisation and

moved to Burnley Municipal School of Art

was awarded a Lifetime Achievement

where he received his National Diploma

Award along with his late wife Janet

in Design, Handcraft in Pottery in 1951.

at the International Ceramics Festival,

After many years of teaching he retired

Aberystwyth in 2005.

in 1982 and concentrated solely on his pottery; becoming a maker of pressmoulded plates with fish for imagery, the

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 0 1st July - 13th July 1968: Craftsmen Potters of South Wales

plates incorporate ceramics along with

• 0 5th May - 17th May 1969: Craftsmen Potters of South Wales

his interest in drawing and decoration.

• 2 7th June - 10th July 1982: South Wales Potters People Pots

He hopes the plates are read on four levels: as plates; as overall decorative objects; as specific imagery and more importantly to

• 0 1st December 1988 - 21st January 1989: South Wales Potters - Pots for the Present • 31st May - 12th July 2014: A Ceramic Celebration

I Am Raven’, Janet Hamer, ceramic

Janet Hamer 1932-2014 Janet Hamer trained at Lancashire Art

hollow wheel-thrown shapes which were

School and then set up a pottery studio

modelled, pinched and pulled. She used

with her husband, potter and teacher,

glazes to create effects which helped to

Frank Hamer. Originally they made

capture the essence of the bird. The pieces

tableware in an earthenware body with

were fired to stoneware temperatures in a

slip and lustre decoration.

propane gas kiln.

After they moved to

South Wales in

1960 she developed an independent

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 0 1st July - 13th July 1968: Craftsmen Potters of South Wales

specialisation in ceramic bird forms in

• 0 5th May - 17th May 1969: Craftsmen Potters of South Wales

oxidised stoneware. This gave her greater

• 2 7th June - 10th July 1982: South Wales Potters People Pots

freedom and scope to explore the rich

• 0 1st December 1988 - 21st January 1989: South Wales Potters - Pots for the Present

possibilities of ceramic materials. The birds were conceived first in the form of a drawing, made from life from her walks in the local environment. Then she formed

• 31st May - 12th July 2014: A Ceramic Celebration

Teapots, Jane Hamlyn

Jane Hamlyn Jane has an international reputation as a leading exponent of contemporary ceramics, her work has been widely exhibited and is represented in many public collections in the UK and abroad.

Trained on the legendary Harrow Studio Pottery course, she has continued for over 40 years as a full-time ceramist, specialising exclusively in the saltglaze technique and is particularly well-known for her colourful and inventive functional pots.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 17th May - 15th June 1992: For Use and Ornament

Chair, Ruth Harries, hand knitting, paint. Concrete

Ruth Harries Ruth Harries lives and works in Cardiff

and overlooked, re-stimulating the use

where she studied Textile Print at Cardiff

of hand stitch and creating sculptures of

College of Art. Her works in stitch consider

dark beauty.

characteristics of mark- making produced by writing and drawing in both hand and

Ruth has exhibited both Nationally and

machine stitch.

Internationally, including France where her work represented Wales at the

She is interested in the traces and the details in marks left behind in our everyday lives. Her sculptural works contain a multilayered narrative of three dimensional construction enabling the reassembling and reinventing of nails, wire, tacks, cloth and thread; materials from her upbringing and sense of place; unexceptional items that might otherwise have been discarded

‘Interceltique de L’Orient.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 2 6th November 1990 - 16th January 1991: Exteriors for Interiors • 11th June - 23rd July 2005: Birthright • 10th January - 07th March 2009: Ffibr - Form and fusion • 0 7th November - 24th December 2009: Once Upon a Time • 2 6th November 2011 - 28th January 2012: Running Stitch • 26th July - 20th September 2014: Fourteen

Mission Accomplished, Rozanne Hawksley

Rozanne Hawksley Rozanne is an art innovator embracing

Lucien Freud at the Royal College of Art

intimate, personal and universal themes;

in the 1950’s and began using textiles and

for example pieces often encompass

needlework as an art form in the 70’s; she

the fragility of the human condition

held her first solo exhibition at the age of

particularly death and make reference to

78.

the injustice of war. She draws inspiration from her personal experiences; having suffered the death of two husbands and two children, her style is never soft or homely. Working predominantly in embroidery and textiles, her installations combine poignant materials: a faded glove, a lily, photographs or fragments of chiffon to make a reflective point.

She studied with Francis Bacon and

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 26th July - 20th September 2014: Fourteen

Quarry Entrance’ 1981, Bert Isaac, Watercolour

Bert Isaac 1923 – 2006 A successful painter and printmaker

Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery and

specialising in landscapes, Bert also

the collection of the University of South

worked as a book designer and art teacher.

Wales.

He was born in Cardiff and studied at Cardiff College of Art; in his early career he was influenced by Neo-Romantic painters such as Graham Sutherland and Keith Vaughan. After many years of living and working around London he returned home to Wales in the 1980’s settling in his wife’s home town of Abergavenny.

He was a founder member of the Welsh Group and the Watercolour Society of Wales; his work is now held in public collections

such

as

MOMA

Wales,

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 09th November - 22nd November 1986: Bert Isaac • 29th July - 31st August 1991: Imagined Places • 10th September - 22nd October 2005: Continuum

Coned Pollen Form, Dilys Jackson, (bronze)

Dilys Jackson Dilys Jackson lives in Cardiff and has

embody the dynamic balance between

travelled and worked in Europe, America,

pressure of weight and the release of

Canada, United Arab Emirates, Scandinavia

pressure between components.

and Australia.

She has undertaken

commissions and residencies in the UK and Canada and exhibited her work in Wales, England and Sweden.

Her work is derived from a kinaesthetic relationship between land or plant forms and the human body. The sculpting of rock and earth by wind and water; along with the growth of plants are processes which are echoed in the human body and inspire the work. Each work has formal elements of mass and division; they

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 16th August - 28th September 1996: Off the Wall • 25th January - 15th March 2014: 56 Group

Flailed Hedge Dish, Walter Keeler

Walter Keeler Pottery tradition is at the heart of all Keeler’s work, he is informed by his passion for pots from the past, the world in which we live and the making and firing process. He discovered pottery as a boy and became intimate with fragments of ancient pots picked up on the beaches of the Thames in London.

Some of his pieces are simple, useful artefacts like mugs or jugs whilst on other occasions the work is less straightforward, making demands, even challenging the user to negotiate with an unexpected pot to do an ordinary job. He aims for his work to embody seriousness, some humour

and sensual pleasure.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 29th March - 17th May 2014: Ceramic Showcase • 31st May - 12th July 2014: A Ceramic Celebration

Alltud / Exile’ 2006/2013, Christine Kinsey, oil on canvas

Christine Kinsey In earlier years Christine Kinsey worked

in her childhood. Her images incorporate

at numerous roles within various Art

symbols and motifs that reinterpret

organisations and associations in Wales

the traditional symbolic representation

before relocating to the Dutch/French

of women, revealing the characters

Island of St Maarten, Caribbean, to work

continuing search to become the subject

as an artist and teacher. Since her return

and not the object of the image.

to Wales in 1980 she has lived and worked in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire and has had three national and three international solo touring exhibitions.

In her work she integrates writing into her visual language creative process. She has developed a group of female characters who inhabit her imagery and who follow the narrative line of a journey that began

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 0 6th April - 18th April 1987: A Pilgrim’s Progress in Painting & Drawing

‘Cmon You Reds, Hard Country’ Etching John Langford

John Langford John Langford is a prolific Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago best known for his striking portraits of country music icons including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.

His paintings

appear on bottles and other items for the Dogfish Head Brewery.

For over 10 years he illustrated the comic strip Great Pop Things under the pseudonym Chuck Death. He has worked actively to campaign against the death penalty in Illinois.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 11th January - 16th February 1997: Hard Country • 26th July - 20th September 2014: Oriel Café Exhibition

Kite Festival with Cow, Mary Lloyd Jones

Mary Lloyd Jones Mary Lloyd Jones was born and still lives in

University of Aberystwyth, and holds an

Ceredigion, she studied at Cardiff College

Honorary Doctorate from the University

of Art and has exhibited regularly since

of Wales, Cardiff.

1966 in Wales, Britain and internationally.

She is inspired by the Welsh landscape, and in particular, the man-made marks on that landscape, and her bold expressionist paintings are noted for their use of vibrant and rich colour.

She was one of three artists from Wales selected to take part in a touring exhibition in China and took part in the Wales Smithsonian Festival in Washington DC both in 2009. Mary is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Carmarthen and

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 6th March - 17th April 2004: The Colour of Saying

Landscape Kettle’ 2013, Michael Organ, patinated bronze, wood base with steel strapping

Michael Organ Born into a mining family in Penmaen,

relief sculpture and often incorporates

Gwent; now based in Pontypool Mike

found objects, which have captured

is a former head of Art and design at

his imagination and thus have a built in

Fairwater Comprehensive School and

symbolism.

has also taught at the University of Wales, Newport. He studied at Caerleon College and the University of Wales and has been exhibiting since 1964, largely with the ‘Welsh Group’ of artists.

Michael has become well known for the diversity of form and structure of his work and the variety of materials used/ techniques applied, which are often selected through artistic intuition. His work moves between painting and

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 26th April - 31st May 1997: New Work • 19th January - 09th March 2013: Casting On

Girl with sheep (1985), Arlie Panting, Oil on canvas, LGAC Permanent collection

Arlie Panting 1914 - 1989 Arlie Panting was born in Milwaukee

Arlie’s

in 1914. She initially studied art in

professional, with a fine sense of spacing

Wisconsin, America, completing it after

and texture. The style is not particularly

the Second World War at the Grande

consistent – it veers between the near

Chaumiere in Paris. She painted regularly

abstract and a form of surrealism.

in London from the mid 1950’s onwards.

The neo–romantic if not surrealist flavour of her painting has something distinctly American about it and fits neither into the European art scene, nor does it relate to the abstract expressionism which has been the principal influence coming to Europe from across the Atlantic.

work

is

sophisticated,

very

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 2 6th September - 09th October 1982: Painting Past & Present

‘The Last Chord’, Betty Pepper

Betty Pepper Betty Pepper finds inspiration for her work in stories, poems, memories, things from the past and over-hearings. In her effort to find that elusive something which makes an object desirable and somewhat ‘magical’ she explores different media and techniques in both two and threedimensions.

Fabrics, the way they fade, carry scents and act as memory aids fascinate Betty.

The recycling of old garments and fabric has become an important part of her work.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 0 7th November - 24th December 2009: Once Upon a Time • 5th July – 30th August 2008 – Jewellery Showcase

The Picture Wall, Thomas Rathmell, Oil on Canvas 1977, Purchased from Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, 1977 Reproduced with permission of Newport Museum and Art Gallery

Thomas Rathmell 1912 – 1996 Born in Wallasey, Cheshire; he studied

an exhibitor in Llantarnam Grange Arts

at Liverpool School of Art and the Royal

Centre’s inaugural exhibition in 1966

College of Art.

Rathmell later settled

in Wales working as the Head of Fine Art at Newport College of Art where he eventually became Vice-Principal (194972). His paintings are figurative.

He was a member of the Welsh Group and the Watercolour Society of Wales; he also had a solo exhibition which toured Wales in 1956. In 1969 he was commissioned by the Welsh Office to depict the Investiture of the Prince of Wales.

Tom Rathmell , along with John Wright was

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 30th April - 14th June 1966: Two Artists • 1 5th October - 29th October 1977: Tom and Lilian Rathmell • 28th November - 11th December 1982: Three Painters

The Peaches , John Selway  2004, Dylan Thomas Series, watercolour

John Selway Was part of the golden generation at the

near Doncaster, he has lived and worked in

Royal College of Art that included Pop Art

Abertillery ever since his parents decided

luminaries such as Derek Boshier, David

to return home to Wales in 1940.

Hockney, and Alan Jones.

Following

graduation Selway immediately set about pursuing his own artistic agenda; always working from memory, he has ventured far and wide in search of suitable subject matter. His work is said to flirt with abstraction, be inspired by literature, be a response to landscape and have a continual undercurrent referencing the human condition.

He was born to Welsh parents in the small south Yorkshire colliery town of Askern,

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 04th February - 18th February 1978: John Selway • 1 8th September - 30th October 2004: Another Kind of Eden • 25th January - 15th March 2014: 56 Group • 26th July - 20th September 2014: Fourteen • 28th March - 09th May 2015: Trans Iberia

‘Check II’, Laura Thomas, cotton encapsulated in acrylic resin

Laura Thomas Laura Thomas is an established woven textile artist and designer specialising in producing striking textile artworks for public spaces, corporate environments, exhibitions and private homes. These can either be commissioned directly from the studio or purchased through a number of galleries.

Striving to push the expected boundaries of woven textiles, Laura welcomes collaboration with architects, interior designers and other creative practitioners on projects for the commercial or conceptual sphere.

Dates exhibited at LGAC: • 1 0th January - 07th March 2009: Ffibr - Form and fusion • 19th March - 07th May 2011: Makers to Curators • 26th July - 20th September 2014: Fourteen

Untitled , Ernest Zobole, Pastel, LGAC Permanent collection

Ernest Zobole 1927 – 1999 A Welsh painter and art teacher, Ernest Zobole’s paintings were initially oil on canvas but he later switched to oil on board; his subject matter reflected the industrial setting of the Rhondda Valleys where he grew up. He was born to Italian immigrants who had moved to Wales in 1910.

Ernest spent five years training at the Cardiff College of Arts, where he and five other students became known as the Rhondda Group and were at the forefront of an important art movement in South Wales.

Dates Exhibited at LGAC: • 28th April - 12th May 1973: A Four Man Show • 2 5th November 1991 - 10th January 1992: Paintings 1986 - 1991

Novie Trump, Arlington residency 2008

‘From Adams to Zobole’ A Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre Exhibition.

Design: Hillview Design Published by Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre. Text LGAC 2014 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre St.David’s Road Cwmbran Torfaen NP441PD T: +44(0)1633 483321 E: info@lgac.org.uk W: www.lgac.org.uk Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is part of the Arts Council of Wales portfolio of Revenue Funded Organisations.

Registered Charity no: 1006933 Company Limited by Guarantee no: 2616241 Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Torfaen County Borough Council and Monmouthshire County Council.

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