Fine Art student selected to be part of 'Young Welsh Artists' exhibition

Owain Sparnon, a third year Fine Art student, has been selected to be part of the 'Young Welsh Artists' exhibition

‘Young Welsh Artists’ is a new, annual exhibition established by MOMA Machynlleth to support and promote contemporary art in and from Wales. The first exhibition showcases the work of artists under 30 and has been organised by two emerging curators; Mari Elin Jones and Lloyd Roderick. Works exhibited, including painting, sculpture, photography, installation and film, offer a glimpse of the diversity of contemporary practice in Wales.

Owain was selected to be part of the exhibition after the selectors saw his work in an art exhibition at the Arad Goch Centre, Aberystwyth. Owain's work responds to digital works he created over the summer. It continues the idea of ​​bringing something that is not physical into existence. The pieces reveal his subconscious ideas, thoughts, secrets and experiences through colour, material and markings. He experiments with the border between painting and sculpture and uses unusual shapes and surfaces.

Owain said: “It is a great privilege to be a part of this event and to showcase my work alongside nine such talented artists. To be exhibited in the MOMA gallery, which is so well known and respected, is a great honour. I'm really looking forward to the exhibition - I'm sure it will be interesting and exciting. ”

Two former Swansea College of Art students are also involved in the exhibition - Abby Poulson, who graduated in 2020 in Photography and Tomos Sparnon, who graduated in Fine Art in 2018.

Gwenllian Beynon, Senior Lecturer in Art and co-ordinator of the Welsh language provision at UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art, noted:

"I am delighted to see that Owain and his brother Tomos have been selected to exhibit at this year's exhibition at MOA in Machynlleth. It's great to see our young artists taking risks and having an incredible platform to showcase their work. Despite the current situation these young artists are still creating and working and finding ways to showcase their work to the world. As well as the exhibition, the 10 young artists at this show have had the opportunity to share their work on Instagram. ”

Professor Sue Williams of Swansea College of Art added: “Owain is a great example of a how a student studying Fine Art works – with integrity, passion and commitment. Owain is certainly one of our students who will be at the forefront of the visual arts in Wales in the future and we all in Fine Art Swansea congratulate him on participating in this exhibition.”

More information about the project can be found on the Young Welsh Artists website

You can also see the work of the young artists here and on Instagram.

Further Information

For more information please contact Arwel Lloyd, Principal PR and Communications Officer, on 07384 467076 / Arwel.Lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk