INSIDE | OUTSIDE – the blended worlds of Sam Vicary’s paintings.
To enter the exhibition of Sam Vicary’s recent paintings at Canfas gallery in Cardigan is to find oneself enclosed by a collection of works which suggest windows, or a sense of being indoors looking out. They open onto the north Pembrokeshire landscape– misty, half-glimpsed land, horizons dissolving into air and light.
This effect of being both inside and outside is created by the way the artist foregrounds in each painting an evocative sliver of the domestic interior. A tilting windowsill with its pot of a few wildflowers invites the eye to look through their delicacy to the fields beyond. There is a laid tea-table – cups set on fabric triangles, their angles and curves leading us out of the moment of domestic intimacy to a view of soft, blurred colours. Fragments of still life.
Sam’s carefully composed paintings are where inner and outer worlds blend and dissolve. We’re invited to feel held in a place of calm retreat while experiencing the wildness of coast and hills. She conveys the freedom of the landscape, yet also arranges it gently – into field patterns, lines of hedgerows, ploughed lines, enclosures. And in each painting there is, of course, the sense of a wide sky, where clouds sit on mountain tops and a distant horizon glints in a hint of sea.
The work is imbued with light and reflections; look carefully and the sparkle of a small glazed area suddenly catches your eye. The soft palette – creams and greys, greens and browns – is lifted by shades of purple and a flash of vibrant colour. A hedgerow is a meandering line of deep blue; an illuminated field shines lavender; soft pink glances off a hazy sea. Stand back, and the colours fuse into semi-familiar views which capture the sense of place, a recognisable interpretation of the Pembrokeshire land. Stand close, and colours you didn’t even know were there appear in the subtle blending, daubing, rubbing away. The beauty of the palette arises from the way the artist selects and applies colour but also because it has in it a kind of truth – the truth of the emotional connection and observation which comes from the hours Sam has spent walking the paths in all weathers, knowing the land and how its chameleon surface lights up and fades.
In ‘Pwllderi’ the expanse of sea in the distance shimmers in a pastel dazzle of sunlight. Closer, a shadowy green wartime shelter nestles in the clifftop, its concrete angles echoed in the open pages of a book on the windowsill in front of us. In the golden green trees of ‘Pengelli Woods’ we notice the tiniest snippet of blue in the leaves – a butterfly? a glimpse of sky? And there it is again, revealed in some deep layer behind the pale clouds. These are paintings which offer satisfying and unexpected visual and emotional echoes, both in colour and composition.
‘Tapestry Road’, one of the two largest paintings in the show, takes us into the Preseli hills on a blanket of Welsh tapestry in a stream of purples and pale cream. The fabric floats away from the chairs and set table in the foreground as if in flight, shaken through an open window. The familiar portcullis tapestry pattern is here deconstructed into lacy grids of tiny apertures and marks which seem to hover over the surface. Textile seems to suggest text as it meanders into the distance, hinting at a story of lives lived in this place. Then, it vanishes through a violet gateway into misty woods and a glow of sun.
Sam Vicary’s work is restrained yet vibrant; quiet yet joyous. Her paintings – sketched and started on her walks and re-worked and recalled later – capture the elemental sense of landscape and, crucially, its emotional resonance. Her art has an almost ethereal quality, which tells of the ‘hud ar Ddyfed’ – in mythology, the magic that lies upon Dyfed, that far south-west corner of Wales where the land feels ancient, and people have lived within it with a deep sense of belonging.
Embracing A Wonderful Summer & Exciting Times Ahead!
Canfas has had a very busy summer and is looking forward to upcoming events as well as some exciting news we want to share!
Iwan Bala ‘Ethnograff(r)ica’ Review by Cathryn Gwynn
For several decades. Iwan Bala’s raw, unflinching work has shone a light on issues of culture, national identity, history and politics. One of its hallmarks, of course, is the integration of text – as slogan, poetry or comment – in strong black lettering, in paintings where landscape and figure merge in powerful, urgent messages.
Sam Vicary Interview 2022
Sam Vicary talking about here June 2022 exhibtion here at Canfas
Affordable Art Fair – Hampstead Heath 2022
Canfas has been chosen to exhibit at Affordable Art Fair - Hampstead Heath 2022 - 5-8th May 2022
Interview with Elizabeth haines – February 2022
Elizabeth Haines talking about here February 2022 exhibtion here at Canfas
Lucy Burns ‘Folklore ‘ Interview
Lucy Burns talking about her February 2022 solo exhibition at Canfas
Film with Adrian Bradbury
Adrian Bradbury talking about his December 2021- January 2022 solo exhibition at Canfas
Film with Alison Lochhead
Alison Lochhead talking about her October 2021 exhibition'What's Happening?' at Canfas
Pete Bodenham – Neptune’s Bin Bag
Artist Pete Bodenham talks about his current exhibit at Canfas for the Art Of Protest gallery take over.
Angharad Taris – August 2021
Interview with Local artist Angharad Taris about her August 2021 exhibition at Canfas
Pete Bodenham – August 2021
August 2021 interview with Pete Bodenham about his ceramic exhibition
Adam Taylor – August 2021
Interview with Adam Taylor about his August 2021 window show in Canfas.
June 2021 window display interview with Natalie Chapman
A bright and vibrant window display with Natalie Chapman
ArtDrop 2021 interview with Natalie Chapman
Interview with ARTDROP curator Natalie Chapman
Natalie Chapman interview
Interview with Natalie Chapman about her social documentary photographic exhibition
Interview with Sam Vicary May 2021
10 minute film with Sam Vicary talking about her new exhibition at Canfas
Cymry ar Gynfas 2: Meinir Mathias and Iolo Williams S4C
Meinir Mathias paints wildlife expert Iolo Williams
Pauline Latham Interview April 2021
Interview with Pauline Latham about her 2021 show in Canfas.
Come and work with us at Canfas
Are you on Universal Credit and aged between 18- 24years? Would you like to work at a busy independent contemporary art gallery in the old market town of Cardigan in South Ceredigion?
Jonathan Retallick – short film
A short film of Jonathan Retallick introducing his exhibition at Canfas, December 2020
Rose Sanderson – December 2020
Interview with Rose Sanderson about her exhibition of 'Lichen' paintings at Canfas in December 2020
Suzanne Harris – Film November 2020
Interview with artist and painter Suzanne Harris about her November 2020 exhibition at Canfas
Ag Cain – October 2020
Ag Cain talking about his October Exhibition at Canfas - October 2020
Elizabeth Haines filmed Interview 2020
Filmed Interview with Elizabeth Haines talking about her exhibition at Canfas in September 2020
Carole Hodgson film October 2020
A filmed Interview with Carole Hodgson in October 2020 talking about her work and her solo exhibition at Canfas Gallery in Cardigan.
Meinir Mathias – Introduction
This is the first of a series of short films by Meinir Mathias
Artists on Art: Sam Vicary by Martha Lloyd Morgan
In this, the first of a new series, Artists on Art, Cardigan based artist and regular Canfas exhibitor, Sam Vicary, contemplates artistic influences, beloved works, and her own creative process.
Open Call for New Artists for 2021/2022
Once a year we invite Welsh artists or artists based in Wales to submit their work for future exhibitions. Deadline extended due to Covid 19 lockdown until February 28th 2021
Exhibition review October 2020 – Carole Hodgson
Carole’s exhibition at Canfas is a masterful celebration of texture, form, light, and shade. Simply but effectively displayed, Carole’s works are allowed to speak for themselves, without interference, and invite contemplation from every angle.
Elizabeth Haines – Review by Caroline Juler
Elizabeth Haines has a new show at Canfas. It consists of a handful of relatively large, confidently handled abstract paintings which she has made over the last 18 months and during the pandemic lockdown this year. She says the enforced isolation allowed her to focus better on her work which has so often relied on…
Unaiza Ismail talk at Canfas, 6pm Friday 13th December 2019
We are delighted to welcome artist Unaiza Ismail to talk about her practice and show artwork from her 2 week residency in CreateSpace Wales in Ferwig.
Meeting 7.30pm Sat 9th November @ Stwdio 3
On Saturday 9th November at 7.30 in Stiwdio 3, Cardigan, I will be giving a talk and facilitating an open discussion along with Suzi and Beth on ‘what and how do art schools teach?’
‘Other Voices’ at Canfas
We are very excited to be part of the 'Other Voices' Music Trail, and to be hosting these two wonderful artists: 5pm - Friday - Particpant 5pm - Saturday - Accü
Pembrokeshire Online Review
One of the latest winds to blow into Cardigan’s flying sails is Oriel Canfas. It’s not the only art space here, but the gallery which opened in July is offering something different enough to make it stand out.
Talk by US artist Julia Rymer Saturday 12th October 2019 at Canfas
Artist Julia Rymer to talk about her work and showing drawings and paintings from her 2 week residency in CreateSpace Wales in Ferwig.
Ian Phillips – 28/9/19 – 22/11/19
New exhibition from Aberystwyth based printmaker Ian Phillips
10% discount on Fine Art Materials for ‘Friends of Canfas’
10% discount on Fine Art Materials for 'Friends of Canfas' at Y Wiber
