Exhibition – Debut

Menai

Canfas – Aberteifi /Cardigan

The last few months have had their challenges. I have started a new part-time job to help tide me over and support my art creations. Delivering food from local restaurants in the evenings by bicycle isn’t exactly a dream job but it’s helping to keep me afloat at the moment. Although I found it incredibly exhausting in the first few sessions, I have soon got more fit and value this time to contemplate the work I’ve done in the day. The central location of my flat is brilliant and when takeaway’s are not busy I can do other work at home while I wait. This post comes to you from the comfort of my living room while I wear waterproof trousers, shoes, raincoat, helmet, mask and gloves – ready to leave in a moments notice! 

Since mid-August I have been preparing paintings for an exhibition in the Aberteifi gallery Canfas. I have been excited for this opportunity especially considering the cancellation of my degree show in May. The exhibition titled Menai has now been hung and is available to view by appointment through the gallery until the end of the month, with the possibility of extension until the end of January depending on how strict lockdown restrictions are in over the coming weeks. 

I have struggled immensely with painting this series due to limited space in my studio and working on some large canvases. In the end I have decided not to exhibit either of my 60 x 90 cm canvases as they weren’t finished to a high enough standard to be viewed by anyone. Still 13 paintings hang for viewing and it’s exciting to know that people will finally be able to see them in person! I pay a huge amount of attention to intricate details in my paintings and it would be a shame for them not to be seen in the flesh. 

Click Here to view the online exhibition page.

Since finishing his degree in Fine Art at Aberystwyth, Jonathan has felt an artistic pull towards his home county of Anglesey. His degree show work had explored the Menai Strait in North Wales. The area sparked his artistic passion and continues to feed his inspiration. When he started this series he visited North Wales for ten days in order to re-ignite his passion and make sketches. 

He closely studied the textures, forms, colours, and sensations of the Menai Suspension Bridge, and developed his response. With five key paintings in this series Jonathan has explored the emotional and spiritual aspects of the tragic death of a close friend who died in the location. These paintings reflect a very specific time of his life when he didn’t have the necessary skills to express himself properly. For five years Jonathan has dedicated himself to learning to paint in order to translate the unspeakable into visual form. Although idiosyncratic and inward-looking in production, he hopes the result is one that other people may also understand. 

Jonathan Retallick – Menai – Canfas Solo Show