Art lovers have been spoiled this year with what has been on offer at the galleries across the Welsh visual arts, and it has not been an easy task for the writers at Wales Arts Review to pick the top ten visual arts exhibitions of 2019. The breadth of work shows just what a strong year it has been, but these ten were way we believed marked the highpoints.
It’s Called Ffasiwn – Clementine Schneidermann & Charlotte James (Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol)
Love Hangover – Tom Cardew (g39, Cardiff)
Face-Ade – Kevin Hunt (Ty Pawb, Wrexham)
Squatters – Laura Ford (Ten, Castell Coch)
Sui Generis – various artists (Plas Bodfa, Ynys Mon)
Mordaith – Pete Jones (Oriel Ynys Mon)
Then & Now: 80 Years of the Contemporary Society of Welsh Art – various artists (Glynn Vivian, Swansea)
David Nash: Sculpture Through the Seasons (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff)
An Artist Apart: Frances Richards (Glynn Vivian, Swansea)
Merched Chwarel – various artists (Storiel, Bangor)
Wales Arts Review is a home for high quality critical writing and arts coverage – a place where passionate and informed arts critics, from Wales and beyond, can find expression. Our writers are neither drum-beaters nor axe-grinders but simply knowledgeable and dedicated people who care deeply about culture and society.
Founded in March 2012, Wales Arts Review is a media platform where a new generation of critics and arts lovers can meet to engage in a robust and inclusive discussion about books, theatre, film, music, the visual arts, politics, and the media.
Wales Arts Review commissions and publishes content in the English language, yet it proudly acknowledges that Wales is a bilingual nation with a richly diverse bilingual culture. We therefore do not restrict our focus to arts and literature delivered only in the medium of English. We have published reviews and articles examining works by Welsh language artists and companies; from the work of Theatre Genedlaethol Cymru to TV hit crime-thriller Y Gwyll. We have also covered the National Eisteddfod and were proud to announce that the winner of our 2014 ‘Greatest Welsh Novel’ prize was Caradog Prichard’s Un Nos Ola Leaud. Wales Arts Review looks forward to working with partner organisations on future projects that critically evaluate and celebrate all the languages of Wales.
We believe that a vibrant arts scene is the expression of a confident, healthy and creative society. We further assert that a flourishing and vigorous critical culture is vital to its sustenance and development. As such, we regard Wales Arts Review as an important building-block in the new outward-looking, forward-thinking Wales.
