We are delighted to present Diverse Imaginations, an exhibition of works by The Welsh Group.
The Welsh Group is an artists’ collective, with the purpose of exhibiting and “giving a voice” to the visual arts in Wales.
The Welsh Group is one Wales’ most established and respected group of artists. It was founded in 1948 as the South Wales Group which at that stage consisted of both professional and amateur artists from south Wales’ six leading art societies. However, by 1975 it had radically changed, becoming a professional only collective renaming itself The Welsh Group: Y Grŵp Cymreig.
Throughout its history the group has exhibited widely in Wales and internationally. It celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1998 with a publication by Dr Peter Wakelin and an exhibition in the National Museum and Gallery of Wales, followed by a tour. In 2008 a 60th Anniversary was similarly celebrated with a major exhibition of current members work at the National Library of Wales. The exhibition was curated by Dr Ceri Thomas who also wrote the accompanying introduction and catalogue.
The Welsh Group members are not dominated by any movement, style or manifesto, but come together as professional individuals promoting and exhibiting art of high quality. The Group gives a sense of comradeship and belonging to its members and, by association, to other artists living and working throughout Wales. The Welsh Group members demonstrate a wide cross section of conceptual approaches in contemporary visual arts practice through a range of media and processes.
The Group currently has about forty active members (occasionally including a Graduate Fellow or a Chair’s Mentored Member) located across the whole of Wales. Its members are among the best-known and respected practitioners working in the visual arts within Wales. Last year the group celebrated its 70th Anniversary with a series of exceptionally well- received exhibitions throughout the UK.
Dilys Jackson, artist and member of the Welsh Group, said, “I’d like to sincerely thank the Hearth Gallery for the incredible opportunity to present our work here.”
Dr. Chris Evans, Vice-President of the Contemporary Arts Society of Wales, declared that the idea of the Hearth Gallery represented “a moment of an enlightenment.”