Art College Summer Show

This has been an intensive weekend of art - yesterday I spent three hours in sunny Lisvane awaiting my work to be judged by the South Wales Art Society hanging committee; today I paid a visit to Cardiff College of Art & Design, where their Summer Exhibition had just begun.

How quickly things change. In 2011 I remember enjoying the Ceramics work far more than the Fine Art. This year the Fine Art department had improved immensely while the ceramics was forgettable. At long last the painters had 'nailed their colours to the mast', so to speak, with thoughtful statements of intent and a much welcome absence of works with the lazy name of "Untitled".

Well, okay, I'll forgive Ceri Wyn's "Untitled". Hundreds of tiny egg tempura prints covered three walls and guests were invited to PLEASE TAKE ONE or "as many prints as they wish". The process of transformation of the wall from a plethora of mini artworks into a vacant grid of blue tack spots was all part of the project. It's not something I've ever seen before on such a scale of enthusiasm and generosity!

Elsewhere, Simon Brooker claimed to interrogate the relationship and tension between painting and sculpture and the "problematic" illusory qualities of 2D space. Whether he achieved this I'm not entirely sure, but these are certainly ideas that I've tried to address in my own art. He's won two awards, so at least this line of questioning is appreciated the fine art gliterati.

Eliie Jackson invented a printmaking/architecture hybrid, inspired by the temporary pavillions of the London Olympics. As both an art and architecture graduate I found this to be an intriguing ambition. I'm rarely impressed by printmaking but on this occasion I'll happily make an exception!

This was the last ever year for the Interior Architecture course, much to many peoples' chagrin. But overall it looks like the prognosis is much better for fine art in Cardiff College of Art.

Food for Thought

Britains Got Talent star and Cardiff Art College graduate, Nathan Wyburn, was in town this week exhibiting his food art. I dropped in today to see his work and have a chat.While making a portrait of Simon Cowell from marmite on toast may appear on the surface to be a populist gimmick, his art is quite thoughtful and being put to great use. He's become an ambassador for an anti-bullying charity, for example.

Nathan has also made a giant portrait of Rupert Murdoch (produced at the height of the Leveson Inquiry in 2012) made from small images of his phone-hacking victims. He's also made a recent portrait of the late Maggie Thatcher, poignantly using coal dust as a medium (she's fondly remembered by South Wales miners for defeating their strike and closing their mines). For me it's refreshing to find a young art graduate engaging with overtly political themes. He makes them accessible to a wide audience.

Personally I like the temporary nature of his works. They are sometimes made from perishable foodstuffs. They also often take topical personalities and events as their subjects. It's another challenge to the commonly held idea that art is timeless and universal.

Nathan says he's been constantly busy in the UK and overseas since he graduated last June. Of course, I'm very jealous, but very pleased to hear it all the same! I'll, erm, toast his success *groan*