Mid Wales-based artist Stephen West is showcasing nine new drawings that capture life before and during lockdown at the Three Works gallery in Scarborough, north Yorkshire.
The Three Works art gallery has launched its 50th exhibition since it was founded in 2015, and to mark the occasion the Scarborough gallery is showcasing experimental drawings by Montgomeryshire-based artist Stephen West.
West, who has lived in Mid Wales for almost 40 years, is showcasing nine large drawings, many of which were created during lockdowns over the past 18 months. Naturally, the themes of West’s drawings relate to life before and during the pandemic, of self-isolation, rediscovering the outdoors and nature, and introspection.
Ranging from naturalistic interpretations of the Montgomeryshire countryside to indoor settings capturing the people and furniture that occupy those spaces, the large drawings has been given a significant amount of space, with the nine drawings being displayed in three separate rooms. The artist has listed line drawings of Van Gogh and Picasso as influences, as well as early human cave paintings.
Running from 30th July to 3rd September, the exhibition has been curated by the gallery’s founder, Chris Shaw. While he is currently focused on experimental drawing, Stephen West has also exhibited paintings and sculptures, and has won a number of prizes for his art. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, he has also worked as a lecturer, gallery curator and public art commissioner.
West is married to fellow artist Shani Rhys James, who recently talked to Wales Arts Review about lockdown and family tragedy which inspired her latest exhibition – Hunan-ynysu : Self Island – at Connaught Brown in Mayfair.
Stephen West’s exhibition at the Three Works gallery in Scarborough will run from Friday 30th July to Friday 3rdSeptember. Launch drinks will take place between 6pm and 8pm. The gallery is open Thursday-Sunday between 12pm and 4pm.
