‘Stay Close to Nature’ CURATED BY ELERI MILLS
Eleri Mills, David Inshaw, Adam Buick, Astrid de Groot, Alexander de Vol, Mandy Coates and Melin Tregwynt
11th Sept to 9th Oct 2021 TWENTY TWENTY GALLERY LU DLOW
Front cover: ‘This leaf... (‘Y ddeilen hon...’) paint, ink and pastel on paper 57 x 76cm Eleri Mills
‘Stay Close to Nature’ CURATED BY ELERI MILLS
Eleri Mills, David Inshaw, Adam Buick, Astrid de Groot, Alexander de Vol, Mandy Coates and Melin Tregwynt
11th September to 9th October IN THE GALLERY & ONLINE
TWENTY TWENTY GALLERY
4 Quality Square, Ludlow SY8 1AR www.twenty-twenty.co.uk
Eleri Mills
Stay Close to Nature
“The theme for this exhibition was conceived when the world came to a standstill - a time of deep reflection and revaluation. A moment when our relationship with the natural world took on a new significance - demonstrated by our innate need to be close to nature and to be healed by nature .... our wellbeing restored. All the artists selected for this exhibition demonstrate an affinity with the natural world and create in the spirit of nature - responding to the landscape and celebrating beauty, function and the integrity of natural materials in our everyday lives and in the everyday things that surround us.” Eleri Mills
September 2021
“study nature, love nature, stay close to nature, it will never fail you” Frank Lloyd Wright
In the valley - through the trees II diptych (Yn y dyffryn - trwy’r coed II diptych) paint, ink pastel and charcoal on paper 69 x 102cm each £7,800
‘This leaf...’ (‘Y ddeilen hon...’) paint, ink and pastel on paper 57 x 76cm £5,800
Bardic landscape - fortification (Tirlun barddol - amddiffynfa) paint, ink, pastel and charcoal on paper 54 x 120cm £6,200
The source I (Llygad y ffynnon I)) paint, hand stitching and appliqué on cloth 52 x 85cm £7,900
In the fields I (Yn y caeau I)) gesso, paint and ink on khadi paper 58 x 77cm £5,800
The arbour in May (Calan Mai - y deildy) gesso, paint and ink on khadi paper 58 x 77cm £5,800
The garden - revisited I (Yr ardd - ailymweliad I) gesso, paint and ink on paper 58 x 77cm £5,800
In the fields II (Yn y caeau II) gesso, paint and ink on khadi paper 58 x 77cm £5,800
On the back road I (Ar y ffordd gefn I) charcoal on paper 36 x 43cm £1,850
On the back road II (Ar y ffordd gefn II) charcoal on paper 36 x 43cm £1,850
Passing the Fields (Heibio’r caeau) paint, handstitching and appliqué on fabric 54 x 69cm £6,200
Bardic landscape - fortification II (Tirlun barddol - amddiffynfa II) ink on paper 22 x 61cm £2,500
Nocturnal III (Hwyrnos III) gesso, paint and ink on khadi paper 30 x 42cm £2,200
Arenig - revisited III (Arenig - ailymweld III) paint, charcoal and pastel on gessoed paper 22 x 51cm £2,200
Bardic landscape (Tirlun barddol) paint, ink, charcoal and pastel on paper 22 x 51cm £2,200
Astrid de Groot
Mandy Coates
Alexander de Vol
Melin Tregwynt
David Inshaw
Adam Buick
Melin Tregwynt “As the daughter of a hill farmer I have always had a special relationship with wool. These blankets represent an ancient tradition which are timeless in their beauty, with skills, knowledge and patterns passed down through the generations. Nature providing warmth and comfort.” E.M
Mandy Coates “A celebration of craftsmanship using rural traditions and rooted in the British landscape. Willow grown, harvested and woven into baskets with plaited rush and wood lath .... such beautiful natural objects to touch and to have near.” E.M
Astrid de Groot “These eating vessels made of wood speak a glorious universal language, a language of sharing, collaboration and love. They represent to me the family conversations of all time centred around the sharing of food and taking care of the young and the old.” E.M
Adam Buick “There is an integrity and depth to the work. It is so clearly of the land with locally dug clay using the pure form of the jar over and over as a canvas to represent a landscape. This landscape and the wild seascape of Pembroke and the Preseli Hills speak an old old language ....it is where Stonhenge originated ...the work is full of ancient wisdom.” E.M
Alexander de Vol “ Such elegance and such a feel for the material allowing the unseasoned wood to morph into new organic shapes. They take on a balletic character on their spinning feet....almost like characters from the Ballets Russes....I can hear Stravinsky. So adventurous and expressive..” E.M
David Inshaw “ I have admired David Inshaw’s depiction of landscape since the1970s. While he creates his own distinct world it is still clearly rooted in the English landscape. There is a melancholy and a strange nostalgia reminiscent of Thomas Hardy and Samuel Palmer - often dreamscapes, rich in narrative and storytelling.” E.M
Artists in the exhibition Melin Tregwynt is a family owned woollen mill based in Pembrokeshire, which has been spinning and carding fleeces since the early 19th century. Mandy Coates is a contemporary basketmaker with an individual and distinctive style using willow and hedgerow from her immediate environment. Astrid de Groot is renowned for her spoon carving using green, found and fallen indigenous wild hardwoods of rural Wales. Adam Buick returned to ceramics after a degree in archaeology and anthropology. He is well known for his moon jars and his use of local clays and glazes. Alexander de Vol is a designer, artist and maker whose pieces are hand made using materials which are locally grown or from sustainable sources. David Inshaw studied at the Royal Academy Schools. He taught at Bower Ashton, Bristol and a two year fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is represented by The Redfern Gallery. Eleri Mills is one of Wales’ most distinctive artists, she has a deep understanding of landscape.
Layers of history, husbandry, mythology and place are worked into her pieces through gestural mark making, using paint, ink, charcoal and hand stitching often on paper and sometimes cloth. Eleri has exhibited with the Thackeray Gallery in London and Ruthin Craft Centre for many years, alongside other international exhibitions, and more recently with Twenty Twenty Gallery. Visiting the gallery Please check our website or telephone the gallery for opening dates, times and any visitor restrictions. We shall be following Government guidelines. Purchasing work Works are available for purchase on receipt of this brochure. More works available. online and in the gallery from 11th September. Prices correct at the time of going to print. We reserve the right to make changes. Contact Email: sales@twenty-twenty.co.uk Telephone: 01584 875363 www.twenty-twenty.co.uk
Back cover: Journey past the fields (Ar daith heibio’r caeau) gesso, paint and ink on khadi paper 30 x 42cm £2,200 Eleri Mills
TWENTY TWENTY GALLERY
4 Quality Square, Ludlow SY8 1AR
twenty-twenty.co.uk