42 of us went to Aberystwyth on 14th July, stopping on our journey across Wales in Newtown, to see the Oriel Davies Open 2018 exhibition – and for refreshments. This was a first visit for many people to a small but prize-winning gallery, showing us a real mixture of contemporary art.
The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth’s exhibition, Kyffin Williams: Behind the Frame, marks the centenary of the artist’s birth. Probably most of the group was already familiar with this artist’s impasto landscapes but this also showed a range of portraits, so our eyes were opened wider. Seeing some of the archive collection of his drawings – including some wonderfully self-deprecating cartoons – sketchbooks, letters and diaries added in something special, and sent us away with more understanding of the importance of this particular artist not just in Wales, as well as simply having given a lot of people a lot of pleasure.
There were no complaints on the day about the sunshine, which encouraged a lot of people to also fit in a bit of time down on Aberystwyth’s seafront.
Once again we used Longmynd Travel and their good service was much appreciated. Our thanks go to Jillian and Jennifer Wallace who organised the trip and who are now working on plans for the next Gallery Day Trip, to exhibitions in Manchester in the autumn. And, we are very grateful to Anne Linton for her perfect photographic record of the day.