“A delight! Wonderful selection of work in such a great setting.”

Past Exhibitions

SUE HUNT
Fri, Nov 18th 2011 - Sat, Dec 31st 2011

PAINTINGS & SILVERPOINTS

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DAVID KNIGHT
Fri, Oct 14th 2011 - Sat, Nov 12th 2011

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Malcolm Ashman
Fri, Sep 9th 2011 - Sat, Oct 8th 2011

As a genuine man of the countryside Malcolm Ashman effortlessly translates a lifetime passion for the landscapes of the South West and Wales into hauntingly poetic images. Uncomplicated alignments of colour and structure deftly tuned to portray the nuances of seasonal light create different metaphors for the observer to consider, time and time again as a new aspect reveals itself at each glance of the painting.

Ashman had already established himself as an exemplary water colourist, when a decade ago he commenced his love affair with oil. He revels in the luminosity of oil and the opportunity it provides to change the look and feel of an image for a day or more. Working on board and canvas, he prefers the rigidity of board as it enables him to scrape into the landscape the clefts and hedgerows he knows so well. He is truly in his element when working in oil conveying both his passion for painting and the countryside. This passion is demonstrated by his relentless pursuit of the best quality paint, paints that provide him with an extended palette of immensely subtle yet deep shades reflective of the endless cornucopia of colours pervasive to the imagery he is seeking to capture

As a change of direction he has recently broadened his horizons and is now creating abstract works endowed with the same intensity as his landscapes. His work captures his excitement and anticipation of this new direction. Structural compositions of line and edge rhythmically flow together through finely crafted areas of light and shade creating an almost multi-dimensional experience for the viewer.

Whether landscape or abstract, Ashmans gift is evident, his work resonates with a passionate joy for the subject matter and is a celebration of colour, hue and tone.

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SUMMER 2011
Fri, Jul 8th 2011 - Wed, Aug 31st 2011

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BETH FLETCHER
Fri, Jun 3rd 2011 - Sat, Jul 2nd 2011

EARTH, SUN & SHOWERS

A brilliant new talent emerges in Wales - “Beth Fletcher”

Powerful, Alluring and Captivating. Three distinct words that embody the artistic gift that Fletcher brings to the UK Contemporary Art Scene. I am proud to be able to produce a ‘One Woman’ exhibition of Beth’s portfolio of work.

Having first encountered Beth Fletcher’s just after her graduation from
Aberystwyth University where she earned a distinction in her MA Fine Art degree, her talent was palpable and created a powerful first impression. As a young artist her ability to capture fleeting and atmospheric effects so rapidly and seemingly so effortlessly was
extraordinary and this strength is magnified by her attention to colour, texture and tone.

Grounded in the British and European landscape tradition, Beth says ‘ my working
practice consists of translating into visual language a felt experience of landscape,
describing a multi- sensory response to light, wind, water and land with paint’.
Whilst still relatively unknown, her early critics and buyers have already appreciated her undoubted gifts. Fletcher seizes the passing moments of the day, watches a lone cloud and seems to paint it in it’s flight. Her configurations of space in which far horizons combined with plunging views below, the horizontals of skyline, riverbank & receding paths are
overlaid by emphatic verticals and diagonals to produce densely structured surfaces.

Beth is clearly going to make a major impact on modern landscape painting, whilst
cognizant of the crafts of her compatriots she has developed her own approach and is easily
distinguishable from the crowd. The value of her work will without doubt increase as he
exposure grows, so in my view now is the time to come and see what the growing
appreciation is all about.

Denise Yapp

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SALLY STAFFORD
Thu, Apr 28th 2011 - Sat, May 21st 2011

SUMMERLAND

The title of Sally Stafford's first solo exhibition at Denise Yapp Contemporary Art does not refer to a specific season or location, but rather a spiritual realm in the Celtic tradition, "a place to rest your soul before the next step on its journey", in the words of the artist. Summerland can be found in spring, summer, autumn or winter, outdoors in communion with the natural world. It can be experienced in the act of painting itself, a physically as well as mentally immersive process for Stafford, who lays her canvas face-up on the floor before applying paint vigorously at all angles from above. It can be enjoyed by the viewer whose eyes swim across the painting's surface and mind slowly moves towards a state of meditation.
The viewer gets lost in the place in which they find themselves, such are the intricate and abstract qualities of the 52-year-old artist's work. Step back from the canvas and one sees a meadow, forest or orchard, but walk in closer and quickly the work appears non-representational. Vivid colours interface and line and textures interlace at different scales; the visual experience is dynamic and develops over time, with extended or repeated contemplation yielding new and unexpected effects and emotions.
The body of work relates closely to the ancient woodland of the Forest of Dean, where the artist lives - in a cottage right at the heart of the forest -and practises, in a studio on its outskirts. [Silver Sisters] is one of a series inspired by a patch of pioneering silver birch trees a short distance from her home, a place of such wonder to the artist that it is there she will have her ashes scattered. Stafford has painted these bluebell-bottomed trees for five years, but this piece exemplifies a departure: for the first time she concentrates on the canopy as well as the slender, grey-white trunks of the trees. Thin dashes of brown resemble branches, patches of yellow the spring sunlight, splashes of light blue the movement of wood pigeons through the forest.
The exhibition also presents paintings of the forest in winter, the first time Stafford has captured the conditions of snow on canvas. Her approach is looser than ever: in [Winter Birch] the verticals are made indistinct by the overlap of paint, so that it hard to tell what is tree and what is not. [Solstice], testament to the sun at winter solstice, combines gold paint to joyful effect with purple, green, blue, brown, magenta and snowflake splotches of white.
Her signature meadows scenes were once bordered at the top by hedgerow or woodland, beyond which, the artist previously thought, Summerland might lie. In the meadow landscapes on view in this exhibition, those borders, those barriers, have been removed - they feel less dense, more expansive, as if one can travel in them without end. Where is Summerland now? Is it the journey that we can take in the meadow, rather than the meadow itself?
Travel has always been integral to the Oldham-born artist's life and work, from months spent in Dorset and Devon - where she catches the earliest signs of English spring - to her annual June in Portugal, to longer-haul destinations like Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The places she loves away from her home still continue to permeate the paintings she produces in the Forest of Dean: some of her memories of the New Zealand landscape have informed [High Far Summerland]; her recent meadow works continue to be inspired by the chalk downlands of her previous home in Wiltshire.
Her art was shaped in particular by two epiphanies, one spiritual and one practical, during a period spent on the other side of the world in 2004.
The first happened in Bali, where for nearly a year she lived within a local community. The local Hindu women would create flower offerings for shrines several times a day, often by filling banana leaf-woven baskets with flower petals. Stafford painted on canvas the offerings every day: the task filled her with an "endless sense of joy2and closely connected her artistic process with religious ceremony.
The other epiphany took place during rainy season on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, at the far north of Australia. Every day when she tried to paint on her easel outside, the rain would suddenly come and pour on her canvas. But soon she realised that the rain was mixing the paint in magical ways she had not anticipated. Colours would blend freely on the canvas and the impasto became pitted with little crater-like indentations as the raindrops fell. She describes it as an "amazing revelation" and the application of water directly to her canvas is now a key part of her practice.
It was this revelation that encouraged Stafford to move from easel to floor. Although some see the traditions of English Romanticism and French Impressionism in her landscapes, Stafford has a working process far closer to the great of American Abstract Expressionism, Jackson Pollock, whose work has been an important influence since she encountered it an exhibition in Dallas over 20 years ago. She first strokes out the basic structure of any work on the easel in her studio, using charcoal that is sourced from the local forest (in this way the forest literally grounds her paintings) and adding paint on top with a palette knife. Then the canvas is transferred to the floor, where water is added before new high-pigment acrylics and inks are dripped, swirled, knifed, brushed and syringed over the surface. The water allows the layers of paint to integrate and the canvas is kept wet for this purpose until the painting is finished.
"You have a dance with the canvas, because the floor releases you to work on the painting from any direction," Stafford explains. Golden light is thrown down from the top, blue birds are splattered across the centre from the side and green grasses are painted up from the base. "I don't feel like I'm painting the meadow," she continues. "Ifeel like I'm growing a meadow". And this growth endures after each painting has been finished, after the varnish has been applied. The work continues to grow in the eyes of those who look at it and, after they have left its presence, in their memory and spirit.

Sam Phillips is an arts writer and editor, and author of The Art Guide: London (Thames & Hudson)

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MICHELLE SCRAGG
Fri, Mar 25th 2011 - Sat, Apr 23rd 2011

Recent Works

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CHRISTMAS 2010
Sun, Dec 5th 2010 - Fri, Dec 31st 2010

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ESSENCE OF WALES - THE RYDER CUP
Thu, Sep 16th 2010 - Sat, Oct 30th 2010

I am delighted to say that in association with the Celtic Manor Hotel we will be
showcasing an exclusive exhibition themed 'The Essence of Wales'. We will be exhibiting some of Wales best artists together with a limited selection of UK artists who share a passion for Wales, its land and sea scapes and its people.

The exhibition will be on show at the Hotel during the event and at Mill House for 3 weeks leading up to and post the Ryder Cup.

Exclusively we will be selling a signed limited edition lithograph of Cwm Berwyn by HRH The Prince of Wales, boxed & framed, with a certificate of authenticity. The sale of work by HRH Prince Charles is in aid of The Cambrian Mountain Initiative a charity inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales. www.cambrianmountains.co.uk

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GEOFFREY DASHWOOD
Thu, Sep 16th 2010 - Sat, Oct 9th 2010

Geoffrey Dashwood is regarded by many art critics as the finest bird sculptor in the world.

This exhibition will run during our 'Essence of Wales' show and will feature 67 lifesize pieces and 5 monumental bronzes.

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PAMELA KAY
Fri, Sep 3rd 2010 - Fri, Oct 8th 2010

NEW WORKS

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SUMMER 2010
Fri, Jul 9th 2010 - Sat, Aug 28th 2010

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CERI AUCKLAND DAVIES
Thu, Jun 10th 2010 - Sat, Jul 10th 2010

New Works

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LIAM MARC O'CONNOR
Sat, May 1st 2010 - Sat, May 29th 2010

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CAROLINE BAILEY 2010
Fri, Mar 19th 2010 - Sat, Apr 17th 2010

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CHRISTMAS 2009
Sat, Nov 28th 2009 - Thu, Dec 31st 2009

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AUTUMN FEATURING ROB NEWTON
Fri, Oct 2nd 2009 - Sat, Nov 21st 2009

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SUSAN BROWN & SUMMER EXHIBITION
Fri, Jun 26th 2009 - Sat, Sep 5th 2009

NEW WORKS

The Summer Exhibition will feature 40 new works by Susan Brown.
Susan Brown contemporary paintings are bold and striking . Her architectural studies explore the rhythm and movement within buildings and interiors and her abstract paintings are inspired by still life subjects and landscapes, focusing on texture and pattern.

At least 30 of the leading gallery artists will also be showing new works.

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NAOMI TYDEMAN,RI Watercolours & SARAH TOMBS Sculpture
Fri, May 8th 2009 - Sat, Jun 13th 2009

NEW WORKS

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NAOMI TYDEMAN,RI Watercolours & SARAH TOMBS Sculpture

Floral Exhibition
Fri, Mar 27th 2009 - Sat, Apr 25th 2009

THE GALLERY WILL BE OPEN 10am-5pm OVER THE EASTER PERIOD - INCLUDING SUNDAY

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CHRISTMAS 2008
Fri, Nov 14th 2008 - Sat, Dec 27th 2008

Mixed exhibition of gallery artists.

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DAVID KNIGHT & EMILY GREGORY - SMITH
Fri, Oct 17th 2008 - Sat, Nov 8th 2008

NEW WORKS by two leading and emerging artists

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SUE HUNT
Fri, Sep 12th 2008 - Sat, Oct 11th 2008

RECENT WORKS

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SUMMER EXHIBITION
Thu, Jul 3rd 2008 - Sun, Aug 31st 2008

New works by over 30 leading contemporary artists including Judy Buxton, Gareth Thomas, Luke Martineau & Robert Newton.

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MICHAEL MONAGHAN & CARL CHAPPLE
Fri, May 30th 2008 - Sat, Jun 28th 2008

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WELSH WONDERS@THE CELTIC MANOR
Tue, May 27th 2008 - Mon, Jun 2nd 2008

From Wednesday 28th May through to Monday 2nd June 2008 the gallery at the Celtic Manor will feature works by leading Welsh Artists to coincide with the Wales Open. Featuring works by Sir Kyffin Williams, RA, Gareth Thomas (with paintings of the 2010 Golf Course) and a new series of prints by Valerie Ganz.

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GEORGE WEISSBORT - 80th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Fri, Apr 11th 2008 - Wed, May 14th 2008

It is often said that nothing under the sun is really new: only new twists on existing themes. Is this what can be said about George Weissbort’s work, or is this a story of a neglected genius?

An exhibition showing at Denise Yapp Contemporary Art is attempting to prove that the latter is true. Simply by the huge number of paintings and drawings he has produced throughout his 80 years testifies to the persistance of his creative will. The quality of his work is generally high, yet what escapably strikes one on encountering it is the unfamiliarity of his name. How is it possible that such an artist of such range and productiveness has remained so little known?

George had seen his work exhibited every year at the Royal Acadamy until it was no longer considered cutting edge, yet be sold at leading galleries in London and across the globe and remain as treasured pieces in many of the finest private art collections in the UK, Europe and the USA; and in the Museum of Modern Art in Tel Aviv.

George Weissbort is a quiet, gentle, reserved, almost reclusive man who finds solace in his work. It has been with great reluctance that he has agreed to exhibit on the day of his 80th birthday. For a publicity-shy artist, the exhibition will be a baptism of fire; and a testimont to his love of the art, as he parades himself among the public.

George is a man who has an overriding compulsion to paint – be it on canvas, paper, board, brown paper shopping bags, receipts and napkins, anything that is available to hand if paper is not, it is all there neatly filed in his studio where no piece of work has ever been discounted. Such is George’s obsession to paint, the midnight oil can be seen burning from his studio until past two in the morning. From early self portraiture in the 1940’s where Raphael and Michealangelo were his main influences to Cezanne and later Impressionism the old masterly influences can clearly be seen in most of the works on display. Several of the landscape and flower paintings bear witness to his discovery of Impressionism. Gone is the control and order of his classical period, instead comparative disorder and wild abandon can be seen in these paintings with the love of colour and soft edges bringing an unshakeable authenticity about them. Later, with his still lifes one is immediately struck by the truthfulness to visual experience – it is not rare for George to have two paintings of the same still life on the go at any one time, one in oil, one in acrylic so as to play with light, medium and colours to achieve the closest impression of what he is painting, although to the untrained eye they look identical.

However, throughout the many influences and changes in his work he remains energetically interested in human beings and in figure composition. Indeed, for many years he dreamed mainly of painting portraits, however he lacks one essential ingredient for this task: a taste for socializing. This is not to say when in company he is not animated, particularly when discussing his favourite subject – his work and that of other great artists.
He has for many years badgered members of his family, friends and neighbours to sit for him and when this avenue is exhausted he resorts to painting himself, hence the large number of self portraits in this show.

The work in this show spans almost 60 years of his working life and whilst he has exhibited and been applauded in the past and sold paintings, although not as many as he should have done, he has acquired a certain fame among artists as an anaylist of exceptional skill. So it begs the question: Why has he remained so relatively marginal when lesser lights have achieved prominence?

Finally to quote David Lee, editor of the Jackdaw,” to those willing to look, figurative painting is an open book and this is why, in the end, people will be studying George Weissbort’s work in a hundred years time; that is long after so much of what is now fashionably challenging and winning prizes has been despatched to the landfill. It will move future generations in the same way as it moves us now because the best art is always beyond fashion.”

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GEORGE WEISSBORT - 80th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

LIAM MARC O'CONNOR & JO DIXON
Fri, Mar 7th 2008 - Sat, Mar 29th 2008

NEW WORKS

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CHRISTMAS
Fri, Nov 9th 2007 - Mon, Dec 24th 2007

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AUTUMN
Fri, Sep 14th 2007 - Sat, Oct 27th 2007

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New Beginnings
Fri, May 25th 2007 - Sun, Sep 2nd 2007

The title of my first exhibition literally captures the essence of my new enterprise, the establishment of a unique gallery in a beautiful setting, that allows me to build on over a decade of Gallery Management at the Albany in Cardiff and my continuing relationship with some of the best contemporary talent in the UK.

Situated in the picturesque village of Whitebrook in the heart of the Wye Valley, the entire property will be used as gallery space, thereby allowing buyers to see art & sculpture in situ, in an informal and refreshingly novel approach.

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