Thursday, November 12, 2015

STORYLINE Exhibition in Cardiff

On Monday's wet and blustery afternoon I took a train to Cardiff to attend the opening of STORYLINE, the exhibition organised and curated by Bill Garnett in aid of Shelter, the Welsh charity. I recently posted about this here and on FaceBook.

I've only been to Cardiff briefly once before and on both occasions weather, time of day (dim then dark) plus my deficient sense of direction conspired to make it difficult to locate my destination which, this time, was the Norwegian Church (no longer a church but an Arts centre) on the waterfront.


No doubt the population of Cardiff is huge but, while those few individuals I came across on my way to the gallery were cheerfully helpful in the endearing Welsh manner, the population itself must have been hanging out elsewhere. Three or four persons on the bus to Cardiff Bay, half dozen or so in the vast Millenium Centre where I wandered in to ask directions, and not a single human or animal on the long and winding windy waterfront. I had miscalculated and was too early for the gallery opening, too late to go back into the city centre (couldn't find it anyway) and no cafe in sight where I could catch my breath. Finally, a sudden glimmer of light around a deserted corner revealed a pub - allelulia! Also deserted, apart from the cheerful owner, his wife and one customer. Perfect. All I wanted was to sit somewhere warm until the Norwegian Church, standing whitely spired at the far end of the pier, would be open. Indeed, at the appointed hour, Bill Garnett was there to welcome me.



Enough preamble, I'll get to the point: the exhibition at the Dahl Gallery, upstairs in the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay, is full - overflowing - with truly exceptional examples of artwork by over 20 exceptional artists. Some of them are household names: Elizabeth Frink, John Piper, Paula Rego, Ceri Richards, Michael Rothenstein, Philip Sutton etc. and some are known in fewer households. But never mind names: if it's wonderful, original, distinctive artwork you love, then you must make your way this week (it's only on for a week) to the Norwegian Church on Cardiff Bay.

Most of the work is for sale, at absurdly reasonable prices, and the very worthwhile Shelter charity will benefit. Cardiff is only two and a bit hours by train from London Paddington and who knows how many hours from wherever you are but it's well worth the trip. If you really truly can't get there in person then you can contact Bill Garnett at Pomegranate Fine Art to get a full PDF catalogue of all the artists.

You already know that this blog is usually (not always) about me so I won't apologise that the photos below are of some of my works in this exhibition (around 20 of my prints and a couple of my artists' books are included.)







The bottom photo is of my artist's book For A Song (7 poems and 7 etchings). Full details are here and all the pages from this version are shown  here.

9 comments:

Catalyst said...

I love your work, Natalie, and this appears to be a great exhibition in a distinctive setting.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

It's always a pleasure to have your appreciation, Bruce, thanks very much.

Dick said...

Thanks for so vivid a sense of this exciting exhibition Natalie. So glad you got down there to see it. And good to see le Chef, BC, squinting through the smoke from his Caporal. He looks fine in a simple frame. I shall get mine framed now & have him looking down onto the desk.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Dick, the framing for the whole show was entirely arranged by Bill and his framer and works very well indeed. But I haven't as yet framed any of my Trans-Sib proofs etc. Glad to hear that Le Patron will be overseeing your work space - hope he goads and encourages you in equal doses.

Ellena said...

Was For a Song addressed to le Chef? Fascinating macho.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Ellena, oh no! Le Chef refers to the poet Blaise Cendrars, author of "Trans-Siberian Prosody and Little Jeanne from France" which I illustrated and Dick Jones translated. I never met Cendrars! "For A Song" was addressed to someone very real in my life.

Vincent said...

Love it all, the only disappointment being that when I clicked on "Full details are here" re For a Song. I hoped to get full details, i.e. availability and price. I'm sure the old adage applies, that "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it". But, faute de mieux, I did expect a mailto: link prefix—on the lines of "Please contact the artist here for details of price & availability". It would sort of complete the window-shopping experience.

Otherwise you are an Incompleat Angler—all bait and no hooks.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Vincent, I'll email you. I didn't put prices on the page of my website which shows my "livres d'artiste" (click on 'artist's books' on my sidebar) because it's only a display with descriptions of the works. This copy of "For A Song", the only one I have left of this very small edition, is indeed for sale and it's Bill Garnett who is handling sales in this exhibition via his Pomegranate Fine Art gallery.

You're right, I must be more business-like! As previously mentioned, I am in (slow) process of setting up an NdA online gallery/selling page. Thanks for the prod!

Hattie said...

Just enjoying your experiences and art!