NEWS: Winter 2023/4

Dewiswch o’r blwch i gyfieithu.

The Gallery is now closed for the winter. You may still view by appointment. Please ring Bernard on 07895 607795 to come, preferably between 12 noon and 4pm. Please be aware it will be cold in the gallery as there is no heating.

Bernard’s current new work (finished and in progress) from his recent trip to France will be available to view, as well as the amazing large mural, Captives  of the Cosmic Web, and some of the large paintings from the Quest for Erotokritos Exhibition. That entire exhibition may be viewed digitally on Bernard Barnes’ website: https://bernardbarnes.com/portfolio/quest-for-erotokritos/

We are now using Substack to send out our occasional email newsletter. If you think that you are on our mailing list, but have not had an email recently (2 messages were sent in 2023), please check your spam folder. If there is nothing there, please go to https://stjohnshallgallery.substack.com/ and add your email address yourself for future correspondence. You can also read all email messages that have been sent from there, if you have lost or deleted yours.

A tour of the exhibition and a reminder about the party

The Summer Exhibition of new work by Bernard Barnes, “Quest for Erotokritos”, is now open until the end of September. Please call in to have a look. It is open Wednesdays through to Sundays, 12-4. All of the charcoal on canvas pieces are for sale.

If you haven’t seen it already, we are having a party on Wednesday 19th July, 7:30-10pm. Please come along and bring a bottle, if you are around.

Here is a glimpse of what is in store in the exhibition. These pictures were taken by Karen Cropper when we had almost finished hanging the exhibition. If you tap on an image (on the website) it should open a lightbox that will allow you to have a closer look at each photo.

Summer Exhibition Open from 15th July 2023

charcoal drawing of two large boats in dock copyright Bernard Barnes
Charcoal on canvas 1m x 1m

The Summer Exhibition of new work by Bernard Barnes, “Quest for Erotokritos”, will be open to the public from Saturday 15th July.

The Gallery will be open on Wednesdays through to Sundays, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The opening hours are 12 noon to 4pm.

On open days there is also live music between 1pm and 2pm and coffee for sale.

On the evening of Wednesday 19th July there will be a party at the Gallery. More info will be available soon.

For writing about Bernard’s inspiration for this work, please see his blog.

Lunchtime music sessions at the gallery 1-2 Wednesday to Sunday

St John’s Hall Gallery, studio to two artists, Reyna Rushton and Bernard Barnes, is slowly coming back to life with a programme of live music, coffee for sale each day from Wednesday to Sunday from 1 -2 . A lunch break music fix.

Any passing musician with acoustic instrument is welcome to join us.

Free entrance, to look at the many paintings.

Witness the transformation of the space as the new exhibition is gradually hung in front of the previous show. Spotlights will direct attention.

Work in Progress of Resident Artist Bernard Barnes

Bernard is busy working on a series of 1m square canvases that he intends to exhibit in the summer at the gallery under the title “In Quest of Erotokritos”. He has posted some images on Facebook of the individual canvases, but those don’t give a sense of scale. So we took a few pictures of him with his work to give you an idea. These pieces are inspired by his visit to Crete earlier this year that he intends to blog about soon on his own website. He is working in charcoal and pastels on canvas.

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CERDDORIAETH WERIN | FOLK MUSIC : DYDD LUN | MONDAY : 7:30

Update: Unfortunately there are currently no planned Monday Music Unplugged sessions at the gallery, as was previously advertised. If you are interested, please ring Bernard on 07895 607795 to register interest if they start up again.

These sessions first started in June 2016 but had a big gap while the gallery was closed in 2020 and 2021, and over the winter when it is too cold in the hall. These sessions are open mic (but without the mic) with a folk music bias. If you are a musician or like to listen, please come along.  All are welcome.

A Poem Inspired By The Art

This is a poem by Bernard Young that was inspired by the art of Bernard Barnes. The poem was written to accompany this photo of a section of one of the paintings in the current exhibition at the gallery.

Painting copyright Bernard Barnes

Interpretation

They appear
to have been taken by surprise. In awe?
I see quizzical, aghast, disappointed.

One’s surely shocked,
hand at heart,
afraid it will stop beating?

Three, maybe four,
are looking away.
Perhaps they’ve seen enough

of our wonderful dreadful world
and are wondering why
it’s inadequately cared for.

Maybe they are in awe.
But they’re so ancient
they must have witnessed it all before.

Cerddoriaeth Werin | Folk Music : Dydd Lun | Monday : 7:30

Monday Music Unplugged sessions have begun again at the gallery. They will be every other Monday from 11th July, starting (as before) at 7:30pm.

These sessions first started in June 2016 but had a big gap while the gallery was closed in 2020 and 2021. These sessions are open mic (but without the mic) with a folk music bias. If you are a musician or like to listen, please come along. If you haven’t been before, please ring Bernard on 07895607795 to get the details and let him know you want to come. All welcome.