|
Judges
Neale Howells Neale Howells trained at Bath College of Art; he now works in an abandoned industrial unit in Port Talbot. Having the dubious honour of having two exhibitions closed by the council before the opening night, Howells has established his name as one of Wales foremost painters and as an outspoken critic of the Welsh cultural establishment. ‘I would like to think that as an artist you are allowed a certain amount of freedom in what you do.. perhaps over the last few years this has become more evident with cancelled shows and works being censored.. it’s a shame that painting which in my opinion is the cornerstone to western art is sometimes seen as a threat to society or maybe that is just wishful thinking... anyway before I lose what I am on about which ‘aint that hard these days, (getting on you see) I will give a small synopsis of myself... Born in Neath (South Wales, U.K), probably die in bloody Neath as well! ... Oh yeah, born Neath but have a studio in Port Talbot... been exhibiting for about fifteen years here in Wales and thank god, further afield... I like to think we have build up some recognition for the work in that time good or bad... I am probably more known in Wales as the artist whose work was used for the Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy, good album that! and maybe various other projects like with Welsh film director Marc Evans on dal/ yma nawr ... the days when i was popular eh?... I have shown at the eisteddfod more times than I can remember but have never be awarded the gold medal which in my opinion is a shame because I will not rest until I get it.. at the moment I am preparing for two shows one in London at the John Martin Gallery and the other in Milan at the Edward Cutler Gallery 2012... Both exciting opportunities so let’s hope its goes well... the new work for me has its inspiration with American graphics of the 1950 film and comics... am enjoying...' |
|
Dr. Robert A. Newell Robert Newell studied Fine Art at Wimbledon School of Art and Goldsmiths College, more recently being awarded a University of Wales doctorate. Newell has taught at Hounslow Borough College, North Devon College and, since 1993, has been a senior lecturer at Swansea Institute of Higher Education, now Swansea Metropolitan University. Newell’s work in painting and drawing has passed through certain distinct phases in relation to places, themes and formal concerns: the North Sea coast, destroyed urban environments, and now locations in Wales and Cumbria. Its ultimate concerns centre on the rhythmic organisation of detail and mass produced in landscapes by the interplay of physical forces over time. In relation to varying conditions of light and atmosphere, these visual elements express a certain character contributing to the totality of the landscape’s aesthetic power. Currently Newell is developing a series of works dealing with rocks and clouds: the adventures of matter in formative and destructive processes, mutations of structure and pattern, tensions between order and chaos. Philosophically, Newell is exploring relationships between subjectivity and natural phenomena in ways that involve aesthetics, history of science, and metaphysics. His objective is to consolidate a constellation of ideas and sources into a viable critical doctrine underpinning landscape representation and aesthetics. Newell has exhibited work in a range of venues including Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, Royal Cambrian Academy (of which a member), Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Brecknock Mueum and Art Gallery, other galleries in Wales, London and Dusseldorf. |
|
Dr. Catrin Webster Catrin Webster is a post digital painter. She researches the interface between digital processes, performance and painting. Webster uses an experimental mixture of drawing, video, sound and performance as part of her painting practice. Her work explores, presence, distance and intimacy, and includes: En Plein Air: A 2000 Mile Bicycle Tour of Wales, Transports: A Tour of Italy and Greece, Walking in Rome, performance paintings and In Transit, paintings from a mobile studio. In recent work, Webster uses drawing to experiment with found images such as post cards and transmitted images from mobile phone video. Currently she is painting eight 6’6” diptychs from video footage of dawn and dusk on the winter solstice, sent from participants across the UK by phone. Webster states: ‘Through the materiality of the paint, its liquidity, viscosity, luminosity and body, I mark the combination of my presence in the moment of the painting and the presence of others (who recorded light with digital video). Through the paint, time and space compress and eventually become colour and light afresh in the eye of the viewer. Colour is the connection to place and digital methods of capture. These paintings map out a fragmented description of place’. Examples of her work are held in public collections such as the Arts Council of Great Britain, (Hayward, London) and have been exhibited world -wide in galleries in Qatar, Muscat, USA, Germany, Italy and Spain, she has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, Reykjavik, Iceland, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome. Catrin Webster is also a lecturer at Swansea Metropolitan University, Wales. |
|
|
