Môr a Mynydd, the first solo exhibition by Welsh Artist Elfyn Lewis held at the Gallery. This show follows a three-person exhibition titled Viewpoints in March 2020 and presents a new collection of paintings produced over the last year.
Môr a Mynydd translates as Sea & Mountains and is a reference to Helen Frankenthaler’s painting Mountains and Sea, 1952 which has inspired Elfyn. Titled after a seaside cliff visited by the artist, Mountains and Sea is one of her many abstractions that evoke memories of landscapes.
The sea and mountains are never far away for me, my work or my thoughts. My family home is surrounded by the sea and river. I love Frankenthaler’s work, her use of colour and how she lets the paint flow. Just like her, I do like to think that the most important thing is the paint itself, the artist is somehow just the facilitator.
Elfyn’s work is always technically challenging, he constantly experiments with different processes to best communicate his ideas. Always pushing to the limits of his medium, the Artist conveys a rare excitement and energy to his paintings and gives a sense of perpetual movement. These are physical paintings.
His love of place is a clear strand throughout his work which are, as he describes, layered time after time until the upper layer explodes and transforms from its volcanic creation into a vivid landscape.
Elfyn was born and grew up in Porthmadog. He now lives and works in Cardiff. Throughout his 25-year career he has won numerous awards and prizes for his paintings including the Gold Medal for Fine Art in the National Eisteddfod in 2009, and the prestigious Welsh Artist of the Year award in 2010.
