We’re delighted to be launching our Spring exhibitions with new work by Darren Hughes. Darren approaches the landscape with a contemporary realism and honesty. This exhibition of charcoal and mixed media drawings, oil paintings and drypoint etching prints explore native places for the artist – with views of Bethesda, Anglesey and the Irish Sea.

SCROLL DOWN to see all works and details …

Q&A: Beyond the…

“The pieces in the exhibition are responses to where I live in and around Bethesda, and also to Pentraeth on Anglesey where I grew up.”

“The quarry hospital in Bethesda is an important building in so many ways. It was the first hospital on the quarry premises and also the first place in North Wales to perform surgery with anaesthetic. It also helped many people injured whilst climbing in the Ogwen. As part of the Lôn Las Ogwen now its crumbling ruins have a completely different atmosphere. Set back in trees, it is a place of stillness and quiet, a place which draws you in. It is a completely different type of space within the landscape and a place that I needed to explore.”

“The beach in Pentraeth has always held a special interest and energy for me. As my childhood home, I spent nearly all my time on the beach and in and around the landscape there and even though it’s a place I know well, it’s somewhere I felt I’d not really explored enough in terms of subject. It is a completely different type of landscape and terrain to that which I am used to… far removed from the hills of Bethesda.”

“The images are grounded in observation, reflecting upon the energy and atmosphere of the places and certain memories. Photography has played a small part in exploring these ideas and I find I respond to photography’s stillness – that moment captured in time; of the world, but separate. It is this feeling that also permeates some of the locations used within the images. So this new work is a beginning, not only in terms of exploring a new type of landscape, but also in terms of approaching my practice and use of processes and materials.”

Work can be purchased by contacting 01248 353 368 or [email protected]