Welcome to the Albany Gallery - Croeso i Oriel Albany

CURRENT EXHIBITION

SUMMER EXHIBITION

9th July - 14th August 2010

Private View - Friday 9th July 5-8pm

Click on "Exhibition" to view a selection of images from the Summer Show.  Please keep checking the website as we will be adding to the images during the week leading up to the Private View.

The Albany Gallery summer exhibition gives visitors to the gallery an opportunity to view work by some of the top Welsh artists as well as introducing new artists to the gallery.  All work is sold "off the wall" so that whenever customers walk into the gallery there are no red spots - everything is for sale.

This summer the gallery will be showcasing work by nearly 70 different artists including atmospheric seascapes painted in egg tempera by Ceri Auckland Davies, Carys Bryn's spontaneous and energetic paintings of animals, Karl Davies' interpretation of the Welsh landscape - in particular the Rhondda valleys - and Valerie Ganz's paintings of miners and ballet dancers.   The ever popular Nick Holly's work includes a painting of one of the Victorian arcades in Cardiff and his favourite everyday themes: people walking dogs or catching buses, and children playing games.   

Also featured are Wynne Jenkins' quirky crooked cottages and chapels nestling in the Welsh countryside; colourful abstract landscapes of France by Mary Jolley; Mike Jones' images of everyday life in the valleys; and Gwyn Roberts' dramatic palette knife works of the mountains and seascapes of Wales also feature in this exhibition.   Elfyn Lewis, recently named Welsh Artist of the Year is also contributing some of his recent work.

The themes of this mixed show are richly varied, catering for all tastes: there's the fantasy world of Rosa Sepple, the sculpted flower arrangements of Mhairi McGregor and the childhood holiday memories conjured up by Viv Luxton, Therese James and Claire Griffiths.

New exciting discoveries at the gallery include Kirsty Wither, Kay Boyce and Penelope Timmis.  Penny is a Shropshire-based artist who is fast becoming popular in Wales. 

This summer will be Kirsty Wither's first chance to exhibit work in Wales. A young painter who's already made waves in London and in her native Scotland, Kirsty was discovered by the Albany gallery at a recent Affordable Art Fair in Bristol.  Mary Yapp says  "She was the one artist at the fair who stood out for us. We were particularly struck by the interesting texture of her work and her wonderful use of colour."  Kirsty currently exhibits in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London and to be able to add Wales to that list is a significant step forward for Kirsty, and will introduce a whole new audience to her vibrant paintings which include landscapes, still lifes and figurative work.  I hope they're cheerful pieces and that people find them uplifting and interesting" she says.   Mary Yapp is confident that Kirsty will win plenty of new fans in Wales.

Other artists, including superb draughtsman Kay Boyce, were picked from the hundreds of artists that send images of their work to the gallery each year. Kay already has a flourishing career; she achieved a place in the fine art guild's Top Ten Living Artists list at number four in 2004 and number eight in 2005. Her pastel and pencil drawings have become instantly recognisable, and she is firmly established as a leading figurative artist.   

Mary feels that even though some of our much loved artists have died over the last few years - among them, Kyffin Williams RA, Donald McIntyre, Will Roberts and Josef Herman RA - it is important to continue to show their work, and the summer exhibition is a chance to do just that.