Collection: Alex Boyd Jones

Mae Alex yn darlunio a phaentio yn ei stiwdio yng Nghanolbarth Cymru. Mae hi yn cael ei swyno gan rinweddau materol y ddau, ond mae lluniadu’n allweddol yn ei hymarfer oherwydd ei uniongyrchedd a’r cysylltiad corfforol o ddefnyddio cyfryngau amrywiol ar wahanol bapurau ac arwynebau eraill. Trwy drochi ei hun ym mhrosesau cymhwyso a golygu marciau, mae gwahanol agweddau yn dod i’r amlwg ac mae ystyron a chysylltiadau dyfnach yn datblygu: mae hi’n mynd ar daith o ddarganfod.

Mae adeiladau a strwythurau dynol sydd wedi’u lleoli’n aml mewn lleoliadau gwledig neu anghysbell yn ei diddori. Mae’n cael ei denu at y rhai sy'n atseinio mewn ffyrdd nad ydynt efallai'n glir ar unwaith. Mae'r adeiladau hyn yn ddifyr oherwydd eu hadeiladwaith, eu hanes a’u pwrpas, boed ar gyfer byw neu weithio. Gwneir darganfyddiad trwy gyfarfyddiad corfforol, delweddau a ddarganfuwyd neu linellau a ddarllenir mewn llyfr, a'r pwyntiau cyfarfod cychwynnol hyn, yn real ac yn ddychmygol, sy'n tanio'r broses greadigol.

Mae Alex wedi bod yn canolbwyntio ar ei gwaith fel artist ers 2020, tra hefyd yn mentora artistiaid eraill a chefnogi prosiectau creadigol ehangach. Cyn hynny, bu ganddi yrfa lawn amser fel curadur celf am dros ugain mlynedd mewn nifer o orielau celf cyhoeddus yn y DU, gan weithio gyda artistiaid cyfoes cenedlaethol a rhyngwladol a churadu casgliadau celf hanesyddol a chyfoes.

‘Ar y Bryn Du’

“Cyfres o ddarluniau siarcol a ysbrydolwyd gan y nofel, On the Black Hill gan Bruce Chatwin wedi’i  lleoli ar ffîn Cymru a Lloegr rhwng Swydd Henffordd a Maesyfed.

Mae’r gweithiau hyn yn canolbwyntio ar y fferm, The Vision, sy’n ganolog i’r stori a’r cymeriadau sy’n byw ynddi. Roedd y fferm wedi'i lleoli reit ar y ffin gyda'r grisiau yn hollti'r tŷ rhwng y ddwy wlad. Roedd yr olygfa o flaen y tŷ yn edrych dros ‘fryniau tonnog’ Lloegr tra bod coedlan o goed llarwydd o amgylch y cefn.

Mae’r cysylltiad teuluol a’u gwreiddiau yn y lleoliad, y fferm a’r tir o gwmpas wedi fy nghyfareddu yn ogystal a chymhlethdodau’r gwahanol gymunedau a bortreadir yn y llyfr.”

From her studio in Montgomery, Mid Wales, Alex works across both drawing and painting. She is intrigued by the material qualities of both, but drawing is key within her practice due to its immediacy and the physical connection of using various media on different papers and other surfaces. Through immersing herself in the processes of applying and editing marks, different aspects reveal themselves and deeper meanings and connections unfold: a journey of discovery is undertaken.

Alex’s practice is distinctly preoccupied with buildings and other human-made structures often situated in rural or remote locations. She finds herself drawn towards those that resonate in ways that may not be immediately clear. These places, for living or working, serve as repositories and markers of individual and collective experience, both in their construction and purpose. Discovery is made through physical encounter, found images or lines read in a book and it is these initial meeting points, both real and imagined, that spark the creative process.

Alex has been focusing on her work as an artist since 2020, while also mentoring other artists and supporting wider creative projects. Previously, she had a full-time career as an art curator for over twenty years in a number of UK public art galleries, working with national and international contemporary artists and curating historical and contemporary art collections.

On the Black Hill

A series charcoal drawings inspired by the novel, On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin set on the Welsh / English borders of Herefordshire and Radnorshire. 

These works focus on the farm, The Vision, central to the story and the characters who reside within it. The farm was positioned right on the border with the staircase splitting the house across the two countries. The view from the front of the house overlooked the ‘rolling hills’ of England while the back was surrounded by a copse of larch.

I am intrigued by the family connection and rootedness to the location, farm and surrounding land as well as the complexities of the different communities portrayed in the book.