LINES & STRATA II now showing at:
Gwynedd Museum & Art Gallery, BANGOR
22 January – 5 March, 2011
Tues.-Fri 12.30-4.30 Sat. 10.30-4.30
http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/museums
Many thanks to exhibitions Organiser Delyth Gordon for all her assistance at this final venue of the current Lines and Strata tour.
Exhibition featured in Western Mail; Pembrokeshire Life.
1, White Lion Street, Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
SA70 7ES
E-mail: info@artmatters.org.uk
Telephone: 01834 843375
NOVEMBER 1st to 27th; 2010
Preparations are being made for the exhibition of Lines and Strata 2 at its third venue. This is
Art Matters: White Lion Street Art Gallery,
1, White Lion Street, Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
SA70 7ES
E-mail: info@artmatters.org.uk
Telephone: 01834 843375
Showdates are: November 1st to 27th; 2010
There will be an opportunity to meet the curators and some of the artists at the preview on Saturday 6th of November between 2pm. and 4pm. Tea and cakes will be provided…
further details at:
Owen Lyndon Thomas
“Above Dinas” acrylic on paper
Jennifer Steele
still from “Southwesterly” film: 2 minutes 6 seconds
Audrey Richardson
“Faces Drawn in Fire” ceramic
A programme of workshops applying a wide range of drawing techniques to the subject of landscape.
Workshops will be conducted by Philippa Sibert, Carole King and Glenn Ibbitson
In conjunction with the Lines and Strata 2 drawing exhibition
The link below leads to a short film introducing the venue to students.
For more information and booking, please refer to:
Cath Roche, Diana Heeks, Carole King
Ted Barlow, Sue Roberts, Richard Cox, Julie Williams, Leona Morris
Leona Morris, Ann Bridges, Ted Barlow, Sue Roberts
Harry McCarthy, Freddie s’Jacob, Richard Cox, Julie Williams
Jenny Mynett, Denys Short, Sarah Sharp, Owen Lyndon Thomas, Susan Sands
Alison Craig, Maggie Goff, Stella Watras
Stewart Kelly, Rowena Ellis, Susan Sands, Sian O’Docherty, Maura Hazelden,
Leona Morris
Jane Hemmings, Victoria Malcolm, Jenny Mynett, Denys Short
Lisa Carter, film loop, Leona Morris, Ann Bridges, Cath Roche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U91NgMFbLvA
ORIEL MWLDAN
Theatr Mwldan
Cardigan | Aberteifi
Ceredigion SA43 1JY
Tel: 01239 621200
21 AUGUST – 30 SEPT 2010
21 AWST – 30 MEDI 2010
Monday – Sunday | Dydd Llun – Dydd Sul
10 am / yb – 8pm / yh
Di Dal / Free
Lines and Strata 2 opens at Denbigh Library Gallery on March 6th 2010
Line:
strip, stripe, wire or thread
A border or boundary; a demarcation
mark on, or incision of, a surface
A manner or course of procedure
Stratum:
An underlayering; tier, lamination, vertical depth.
A horizontal layer or bed of material, especially one of several parallel layers arranged one on top of another.
One of a number of layers, levels, or divisions in an organized system:
“Lines and Strata” presents a cross-section of contemporary drawing practice from artists born in, living or working Wales.
The show title refers to drawing process rather than to subject matter; a linear or calligraphic construction across a picture surface; built up and over-layered through a series of adjustments and corrections.
Drawing is the use of visual media to describe, explore and explain an idea: it investigates and analyses underlying truths and lays them bare. Carole King
Whether representation, the embodiment of abstract ideas, or [even] a concrete readable depiction, drawing is a deliberate physical response by the artist, and a bridge between the world and the imagination. Diane Walkey
At the intersection of visual stimulus, cerebral analysis and physical interpretation via hand and arm, emerge the marks we identify as drawing. Drawing is democratic, classless, egalitarian. It affirms individual potential in a collective world. Its means are accessible, affordable, portable. It is a fundamental human activity; timeless, essential, compulsive. Glenn ibbitson
Comprising an intriguing range of work, “Lines and Strata” does not guarantee to define what drawing is, but promises to provoke debate about what drawing might be.
The Exhibition includes works by:
Denys Short
Alison Craig
Colin Williams
Ann Bridges
Cynthia Evans
A limited edition, fully illustrated exhibition catalogue, “LINES & STRATA 2: Contemporary Wales Drawing”, will accompany the touring show and is available soon
ISBN: 978-0-9563567-1-0
LINES AND STRATA
OPEN DRAWING EXHIBITION in WALES
Who: artists born in, living and/or working in Wales
There is no age restriction.
What: “Lines and Strata”; contemporary Welsh Drawing This is not a tightly prescriptive view of works on paper, submissions are welcomed from any discipline, [both fine and applied arts] in any medium [including time-based], where the elements of drawing predominate. No photography. Work must have been produced within the last two years
Venues & Dates:
Denbigh Library Gallery. March 6th – April 17th 2010
Oriel Mwldan; Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan . August 21st – September 30th 2010
Gwynedd Museum & Art Gallery, Bangor. January – March 2011
[A further venue at Cowbridge is likely to take the exhibition; specific dates will be confirmed shortly]
The Curators: This is an exhibition organised by artists based in west Wales who feel strongly that competitions should be free at the point of submission; this exhibition will not be subsidised by artists whose work has not been accepted for inclusion. The submission fee has been replaced by a hanging fee, paid by the artists who have been given the opportunity to participate.
Submission : by E-MAIL ONLY.
To reduce administrative costs, there is no submission form. submissions will be accepted by e-mail only and with no exception. Do not send C.V. or statement at this stage; we are looking only at the artwork. Support material will be called for upon acceptance, to create your page in the catalogue.
Send 1] Up to three works as individual jpeg files of 1000pixels on the longest dimension and at 300dpi. [ these must be suitable for publicity purposes]
Time-based submissions should be e-mailed in either Quicktime or AVI format, not more than 50 second excerpt from films totalling no longer than 8 minutes.
2] Clearly indicate Title, Size, Medium and price [including gallery commission of 40%] with each image.
3] include your name, postal address and telephone number[s] with submissions.
Each work selected for the exhibition will be subject to a hanging fee of £20, payable by cheque upon notification of acceptance.
E-mail, marking the subject box ‘Lines and Strata’ to:
smokingbrush@btinternet.com
Do not send original work at this stage.
Decisions will be made as soon as possible after receipt of material.
Deadline for submissions: 1st December 2009. This will enable us to create bi-lingual publicity and exhibition panels, and produce an exhibition catalogue, which will take the form of a compact disc.
Delivery of works:
There are two collection points.
1 West and South Wales
Nant Studios
Pantybwlch
Newcastle Emlyn
Carmarthenshire SA38 9JF
Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th February, 2010: between 10am. & 5pm.
2 North Wales
Denbigh Library Art Gallery
1st and 2nd March, 2010: between 10am. & 5pm
Please indicate your choice of delivery/collection point.
Labelling: Artist name, title, medium and date on back. Duplicate this information on a label to hang over front of work
Indicate top side of work on reverse
Presentation: Work must be suitably framed. Works on paper must be glazed [clip frames are not acceptable] and ready to hang with mirror plates fitted and facing outwards.
N.B. Work for sale will be subject to a gallery commission of 40%
Prizes
£200 Nant Publishing purchase prize
£300 Curators Prize
The Curators’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Exhibition Catalogue
This will take the form of a compact disc. This enables us to reproduce all works in full colour. Information capacity in this format will allow each artist to contribute a piece of writing on some aspect of drawing; technique, art practice, practical uses, etc. if they wish, in addition to a brief C.V. and/or statement. This information will be requested together with payment, upon acceptance of work.
A catalogue in CD format will enable us to keep the catalogue price low and should encourage more sales to gallery visitors. In this way, the potential of the show can extend beyond the term of the exhibition tour, to the benefit of all the artists involved.
Insurance
Works are insured during the periods of exhibition at the selected venues
Artists are advised to insure their work for the storage and transit periods between showings
The curators gratefully acknowledge the assistance of: Denbighshire County Council, and Oriel Mwldan, Cardigan, Ceredigion.
LINES & STRATA 1
Oriel Mwldan, Cardigan 2006
For Rules of Entry for Lines & Strata 2, go to ‘Submissions’ page.
Following on from the initial Lines and Strata exhibition in 2006, a call for submissions for Lines & Strata 2 is imminent. Watch this space…
What is Lines & Strata?
“Lines and Strata: Wales Drawing Today” at Oriel Mwldan, Cardigan.
Drawing by artists born, living or working/studying in Wales
Line: strip, stripe or thread
Strata: underlayering, tier, lamination, vertical depth.
The title refers to the mechanics of drawing process rather than subject matter; how a linear or calligraphic construction develops across a picture surface; built over layers of adjustments and corrections.
“Lines and Strata” presents a cross-section of contemporary drawing practice from artists born in, living or working in Wales.
This exhibition has been selected by four artists who identify drawing as central to their own art practices. They have imposed no restrictions of size, date or medium; time-based and three dimensional works have been included where the elements of drawing predominate. Consequently, both fine and applied arts are represented.
Comprising an intriguing range of work, “Lines and Strata” does not guarantee to define what drawing is, but promises to provoke debate about what drawing might be.
Lines and Strata in situ at Oriel Mwldan
Case notes on an Open Drawing Show at a Regional Arts Centre; organised and curated for and by Artists.
1 The Submission Process
Ease of access for applicants was of prime concern to us. Initial submissions were to be sent by e-mail, disc or photos / slides by post. We were heartened by the photographic quality of the submissions; very few slides, photographs or digital jpegs were sub-standard. Though of course we did find some colour balance bias when the actual work arrived, this show was after all being selected on criteria of line and calligraphic mark-making rather than subtle colour harmony. We felt this was preferable to a situation which required an artist from say, Wrexham, to deliver work and return home; await our decision and make a second return journey, possibly to collect rejections. I don’t enter work on those terms anymore and would not impose those terms on others. Such a process might have pre-selected only those artists with the time and economic wherewithal to devote to such excursions, thereby excluding work from more financially constrained artists who might nevertheless be producing exciting art.
2 Funding
Entry to this show was free at the point of submission. . When I first subscribed to artists Newsletter 23years ago, the practice of charging for entry forms was very unusual. Now, it is the norm. As in the broader social context, the have nots are used to subsidise the haves… why perpetuate a system in which the uninvited are required to pay for the partygoers? We felt that those artists whose work was deemed unsuitable for this particular show would not be required to pay. There was a most positive response by artists to our decision to waive a submission fee. When they realised that there was no financial commitment at the point of entry, they were quite happy to pay the hanging fee of £7.50 per work once their inclusion in the exhibition was assured. In a rather interesting financial aside, we found that even a self-funding show like this one, after all administrative expenses, still left us £300 to offer as a prize. [incidentally awarded to Trudi Finch].
3 No size restrictions
drawing can be as physically imposing as painting and sculpture. If any artist felt they might like to submit large scale work, they were free to do so in the knowledge that they need only pay framing costs once that work was guaranteed a berth in the exhibition; again, no prior financial commitment was required.
4 Cv not required
We didn’t ask for a C.V. at the submission stage. We feel it is a mark of intellectual laziness to refer to an artists background if a selection panel can’t make a decision based on the visual evidence before them. Any C.V.’s sent at this time were ignored. This has actually vindicated our selection, for though most works chosen did tend to come from artists with a recognised track record, there were pieces by as yet unknown artists. If Lines and Strata proves to be their entree into the public arena, the project will have been well worthwhile
5 No age restriction
Why do so many opportunities construct an age limit barring under 16’s? Why are students awarded their own subsidiary prize? Our view was that if a sixth-former or college student produced a drawing good enough to warrant inclusion in the show it was good enough to be considered for the main prize. At the other end of the age scale, why do so many competitions consider that the creative process ends after the age of 45 years? In any other occupation this attitude would be deemed discriminatory and punishable by law.
6 The venue
Over several years, we have developed a rapport with the personnel who operate Theatr Mwldan, our region’s premier art centre. Without this bank of goodwill, the ”Lines and Strata” project would not have developed.
Oriel Mwldan is the perfect gallery space for a project of this kind.
a] It is a very versatile space on two levels with an integral screentrack providing a variety of irregularly sized bays, and the stairwell provides a substantial vertical space which we were able to utilise for large scale, vertically-biased work.
b] It is staffed by a supportive team. My colleges and I would like to thank them all for their forebearance and cooperation during the organisational phase of the exhibition, and for their enthusiasm once the work was on the walls. Particular thanks should go to Louise O’Neil, who facilitated the talks and workshops which we ran concurrently with the show, and Sam Vicary our exhibitions organiser. They both took a professional risk on four artists with no recognised curatorial track record and with no means of funding behind them. They have constantly provided advice and been extremely generous with their time throughout the entire process.
7 The Exhibition
Which leads me to the artwork submitted. We all know that the principality of Wales is producing visual art which can sit comfortably beside anything being produced anywhere at this time.
We hoped that the submission might to some extent reflect this current level of achievement. Our expectations were fully met by a range of work which was uniformly technically accomplished; at turns lyrical, witty, intellectually rigorous, challenging.
Visitor book quotes
“Some terrific work; please curate another”
“Stimulating work of excellent Quality”
“Very well put together”
“A great credit to Cardigan”
“Best exhibition yet in the Mwldan – great impact”
“This is my sixth visit. It really is the best exhibition I’ve seen here in many a long year. It appeals on all levels. Thank you.”
“One of the best exhibitions of art I have seen put together in Wales”
[this information can be verified by Sam Vicary; Mwldan Exhibition Organiser tel.01239 622 400]
Our thanks go to all the artists who contributed their work to this project; our only regret is that we were unable to raise the funding for the production of the full colour catalogue which this work truly merited…This problem will be addressed in the organising of Lines and Strata 2. Watch this space..
Glenn Ibbitson April 28th 2006
Lines & Strata 