Ex in the City

My self-reflective object making, "Painting of a Diary", came to an end on Saturday 7 June. On the same day Cardiff School of Art's final degree show opened at its Howard Gardens campus and, to my surprise, the stand-out student work for me was not in the painting category at all.

This is the last event to take place at the 48 year old art college campus, before it relocates to the leafy suburbs. I studied in this jumble of concrete and yellow London brick when it was considerably younger, though not much cleaner. It was a rude introduction to city life, close to shopping streets, take-aways, pubs and clubs (many now gone). There were great views from the elevated whitewashed studios over the city rooftops and away in either direction to the Welsh hillsides and the sea. What better place to be an art student! I can only hope the move away from city life doesn't transform the Welsh capital's art college into something far more inward looking and tranquil in spirit.

It's a wrap!

Three of my favorite student works this year had received a "Helen Gregory Memorial Trust" award, which is particularly appropriate for me because Helen was a student in my year at Howard Gardens. She was an intelligent enquiring person with a political mind and social concience, but was tragically shot dead whilst on holiday not long after graduating. This year in the show the students' statements of intent are displayed next to their work and very many were intelligent and worldly.

The ground floor studio held some gems. Esther Burns (Estie.B) created for herself an alternative persona who (with a straight face) poked fun at the art world, inviting visitors to participate in the quest for a place in the pantheons of modern art history. Nearby was site-specific sculptor Georgia Hall, whose work appealed to my architectural sensibilities. In this instance she'd wrapped the college fittings, ductwork and radiators with plaster - maybe she'll do the same to the exterior of the building as a (literally) fitting monument!

Reviving old memories

On the first floor were Beth Marriott's exquisite matchbox objects whose task was to recreate memories for an elderly relative who suffered from dementia. The motive was laudable and the results were compelling. Further up the building (via the Ilustration show inexplicably turfed with grass) were Elaine Begley's layered wax memory cubes, again fascinating objects (though the memories seemed to be her own).

Don't get me wrong now, there were also some engaging and expertly crafted two-dimensional artworks on display as well - Annie Suganami and Helen Bur immediately spring to mind. But they fell short for me when it came to realising a self-reflective engagement with context. But there was certainly something for everyone - Helen Bur's people-focused paintings were selling well and clearly what the punters wanted!

Altogether another impressive annual output from Cardiff Art College. I studied there because it had a reputation for its diverse output and it clearly upholds its reputation into the new century. I only hope it continues to attract forward looking students when it is no longer in the living heart of the city!

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.