Elfyn Lewis creates his abstract works using layers of paint: the physicality of pushing and scraping allowing the medium to follow its own rhythm and direction. With each added layer, the previous ones are nearly hidden, yet traces remain at the edges, preserving echoes of what lies beneath.
Though primarily abstract, Lewis’ paintings evoke memories of landscape, rich with atmosphere—shadows and light. Yet they also carry an internal, psychological atmosphere. This new body of work was made following the death of his father. For Lewis, painting became a way of processing his grief, the act of making giving him an alternative focus and refuge from his thoughts. Through the creation of new works, Lewis found a renewed sense of optimism, marking a new chapter—or, in his own words, “Cyfnod newydd” A new era.
Elfyn was born and grew up in Porthmadog. He now lives and works in Cardiff. Throughout his career, Lewis has won numerous awards and prizes for his paintings, including the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the National Eisteddfod in 2009 and the prestigious Welsh Artist of the Year award in 2010. This is his third solo exhibition with the gallery.
Elfyn Lewis has written a piece of text to accompany exhibition, which can be found below
Elfyn Lewis :: Galar
Mae’r byd yn dipyn fwy tawel heb ei lais a’i ddireidi pryfoclyd am bopeth oedd yn digwydd yn y byd.
Mae colled yn dyfnhau dros amser.
Roedd Dad wedi brwydro, ond y bora yna mi wnaeth ei ysbryd ein gadael ni.
Roedd y wawr y bore hwnnw’n un i’w chofio. Cerddais ar hyd y Cob a rhyfeddu at ba mor anhygoel mae
natur yn medru bod.
Mae’n bron i flwyddyn bellach, ac mae amser yn hedfan heibio fel sêr ar noson glir o aeaf.
O stafell wely fy nhad ‘da chi’n gweld y môr a’r mynyddoedd, a’r ddwy afon yn cwrdd a gwthio’r tywod
o un lle ir llall. Mae’r olygfa’n gallu newid yn sydyn iawn - pan mae’r haul neu’r gwynt yn penderfynu.
Wedi hir oes, ‘da ni nawr yn gadael ‘Dros-y-Bont’. A gadael yr olygfa a’r hanes i groesawu rhywun arall.
Gobeithio bydd hwyl a chariad yno, hefo bach o ffraeo.
Nid ein tŷ ni ydy o bellach.
Wrth beintio, dwi’n cadw’n brysur. Wrth greu gwaith mae’r ymennydd yn llai prysur - dim amser i feddwl
a galaru, dim ond i fod yn bositif. Y ‘gwneud’ nid y ‘dweud’ sy’n bwysig.
Cyfnod newydd.
Teimladau dwfn am gartref, teulu, cariad a hen ffrindiau. Ydyn, mae’r petha hyn yn newid, fel popeth –
mae yna ddechrau, a diwedd. Mae’r lle’n bwysig, ond felly hefyd y bobol.
Adra ydy adra. A fanna fydda i un diwrnod - yn yr awyr, yn y pridd a’r môr.
Mae’n rhaid cydnabod Galar - y teimlad a’r golled, a’r cariad at rywbeth a rhywun.
Y teimlad fod rhywbeth wedi bod
o werth…
Written by Elfyn Lewis
Elfyn Lewis :: Grief
The world is far quieter without hearing his voice, his words of mischief about the world and its prob-
lems.
Loss grows deeper over time.
Dad had fought, but that morning the battle was lost. His spirit finally left us.
The dawn that morning was one to remember. I walked along the ‘cob’, overwhelmed with how amazing
nature can be.
Almost a year has passed, time flies by like shooting stars on a clear winter’s night.
From my father’s bedroom you can see the sea and the surrounding mountains. And the two rivers
meeting, pushing the sand from one place to the next.
The landscape can change so quickly - when the sun or the wind decides.
After so much time, we are now leaving ‘Dros-y-Bont’, our family home.
The landscape and the history here will now welcome others. I hope that there’ll be fun and love...and a
little arguing too.
It’s no longer our house.
By painting I keep busy. While I’m creating work, my brain is less busy.
There’s no time to dwell and mourn, only to be positive. What matters is ‘doing’ not ‘talking’.
A new era.
Deep feelings about home, family, love and old friends. And yes, these things can change - like all
things. There is a beginning and an end.
The place is important, but so are the people.
Home is home, and that’s where I will be one day - in the air, in the soil and the sea.
We must recognise grief. The feeling of loss and the love for somewhere and someone.
The feeling that something was
of value…
Written by Elfyn Lewis
&Gallery
3 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6QG
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Saturday 10am to 4pm
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