art


WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR National Museum Cardiff Fri 27 May-Mon 29 Aug


The National History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer Of


Year is set to return to National Museum Cardiff this May. The exhibition features 100 powerful backlit photos through which we can witness some of nature’s most diverse and outstanding sights. From dramatic scenic images to emotional portraits of animals to vibrant insights into the microscopic world, this stunning exhibition is sure to invoke a sense of awe in viewers, whilst visually illustrating the increased pressures our planet is under.


The Photography


tool, after all, and here it’s used to challenge our relationship with nature by demonstrating the issues the natural world is facing as a result of climate change. This year, the competition received over 49,000 entries from around the world. From these


is an emotional


the chosen images were selected for their artistry, complexity


submissions,


and individuality by a panel of prestigious professionals.


To make this year’s exhibition all the more exciting, National Museum Cardiff has announced a varied programme of events to run from May onwards through summer, including a museum talk on Conserving The World’s Largest Leatherback Turtle Specimen (Thurs 12 May); ANIMAL (Thurs 26 May), an adult- only first look at the exhibition alongside a pub quiz, curator talk, DJ and cocktails (animal dress-up also encouraged at your pleasure or peril); an environmental film screening (Thurs 28 July); and In Conversation (Thurs 4 Aug), a hybrid digital/live panel and open discussion event about the issues raised by the exhibition.


Tickets: 10/£7 concessions/free under-16s and members. Info: museum.wales/cardiff CHLOE BLISSETT


ANNIE GILES HOBBS MOMA Machynlleth Sat 7 May-Sat 9 July


Born and raised in Cardiff in 1949, Annie Giles Hobbs rose to prominence in the 90s after earning a qualification to teach art at the University Of Wales Institute. A spate of exhibitions soon followed, in and around Wales as well as internationally, with some of her work now housed in Cardiff’s National Museum, Tenby Museum and snapped up by bankers for several private collections.


Hobbs’ work is richly layered and apparently takes months to complete: each paper surface worked on at


studio using a mixture of etching, collagraph and monoprint that hide and reveal images and textures underneath.


her Cardiff Bay


The result is a dreamy tapestry of colour, shape, pattern and figure, with Hobbs repurposing imagery and themes from Celtic mythology, the natural world and the Rennaissance to have a more spiritual, contemplative feel. She doesn’t seem to have been especially active on the exhibition scene since 2013, making this Machynlleth solo show a long-awaited return.


Admission: FREE. Info: moma.cymru HANNAH COLLINS


30


PETER LORD:


HIDDEN THINGS Ruthin Craft Centre Until Sun 10 July


Celebrated art historian Peter Lord has called Wales his home since the 1970s. Enamoured with the country’s visual history but noting a lack of wider awareness of it, he’s produced several books and TV series on the subject that have made him a nationally and internationally renowned expert. But he’s also a practitioner in his own right, sculpting and painting since the mid-80s, with his most well-known piece being the Hywel Dda Memorial in Whitland, made in honour of the medieval Welsh king.


Hidden Things blends Lord’s historical and sculptural interests: a collection of curiosities that hold surprising secrets within, which curator Jill Piercy likens to ancient tombs and mortuaries being cracked open to reveal hidden treasures – or startling horrors. One of these sculptures, for instance, looks like a family bible on the outside but its contents provide hopelessness rather than comfort. The effect, in turn, transfers the artist’s curiosity onto the viewer, like wanting to peek inside a dollhouse without disturbing its hidden world.


Admission: FREE. Info: ruthincraftcentre.org.uk HANNAH COLLINS


SUPER SIZE GRAIN Oriel Davies, Newtown Thurs 26 May-Thurs 18 May 2023


Slade School Of Fine Art graduate Richard Woods is known for his big, bold, cartoony use of colour and pattern, somewhat reminiscent of the likes of pop art icon Roy Lichtenstein. Instead of copying comic book panels, though, Woods has long been interested in architecture, flat-packs and DIY culture, his work usually involving transforming existing homes, shops and public spaces into a canvas for his striking designs. Previous sites that have played host to his playful creations are as varied as the 2018 Winter Olympics, Comme des Garçons’ Tokyo store, Carey Grant’s former Hollywood pad and the Henry Moore Foundation’s courtyard.


This year,


commissioned Woods to create a public piece – to be situated on the outside of the building for the next 12 months – which explores our relationship with wood: specifically, does it matter if it’s real or fake? Why do we put so much effort into making one material look like another, and how does this affect the landscape it’s in? In this case, quite radically!


Oriel Davies has


Admission: FREE. Info: orieldavies.org HANNAH COLLINS


TALES FROM


TERRACOTTAPOLIS Ty Pawb, Wrexham Until Sat 11 June


Though not exclusive to the region, the north-east of Wales is chock full of red-brick buildings – remnants of a once-thriving brick working industry dating back to the Victorian era. The bricks get their distinctive colour from being kiln- fired, with makers adding various minerals to produce different shades for more decorative houses. Their prominence earned the area (the Ruabon district, in particular) the nickname ‘Terracottapolis’, now also the name of an exhibition incorporating items from Wrexham Museum that celebrate the humble building material through art.


Of worthy note is the addition of Anthony Gormley’s The Brick Man, on loan from Leeds Museums & Galleries; a stoic, six-foot blueprint for a 120ft monument in the city that never was. Also included is


based sculptor Renee So, whose work has been featured at the Saatchi Gallery, while most of the other artists can be found closer to home – includingg the winner of the 2018 Judge’s Prize at Wrexham Open, photographer Lesley James.


renowned London-


Admission: FREE. Info: typawb.wales HANNAH COLLINS


Laurent Ballesta


Renee So


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