Pete Davis: Observations, Collections, Recollections. A Lifetime in Photography
23.02.2017
On 4th March 2017, a special exhibition of the work of the photographer Pete Davis opens at Gregynog Gallery, The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
This is a major retrospective exhibition of photographs spanning six decades, along with new work highlighting the photographer’s lifelong fascination with particular aspects of the world around us.
Photographer Pete Davis said:
“The opportunity to review and exhibit six decades of work comes along very rarely for any individual. However, this is more than just a nostalgic ‘looking back’, the exhibition also contains new work which offers a glimpse of how my photography might develop further and builds on previous ideas and themes that have interested me over the years.
Most of the major bodies of work I have undertaken over the years are represented in this exhibition, in addition to images never before seen or printed. I have always loved almost every aspect of life and our environment and it has always been my intention to capture those seemingly mundane moments and surroundings that might pass unnoticed unless observed by a sympathetic eye. These observations have then been collected into coherent bodies of work that allow for the recollections in the future.”
Highlights of the exhibition include a unique and nostalgic collection of observational photography taken on the streets of Cardiff in the late sixties and early seventies, the quirky ‘Great Little Tin Sheds of Wales’ and the beautiful haunting images of Cader Idris. Around 150 images highlighting the career of the photographer will be on show alongside a fascinating personal collection of cameras and ephemera from the photographer's studio.
Linda Tomos, National Librarian added:
‘We are absolutely thrilled to exhibit Pete’s work in his 70th year here at the Library. These represent an important record of the culture of Wales and something which should be treasured for future generations’
Further Information
Elin-Hâf 01970 632471 or post@llgc.org.uk
Related Events
Official Opening:
The exhibition will be officially opened on the 4th of March by Professor Paul Hill, De Montfort University.
Talk:
15.03.2017
1.15 p.m
To coincide with his exhibition at the Library, Pete Davis discusses his work and influences and how his ideas have developed with work made In Wales and abroad.
Exhibition:
Pete Davis: Observations, Collections, Recollections. A Lifetime in Photography
4 March 2017 - 17 June 2017
Gregynog Gallery
The National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth
Biography:
The large format photography of Welsh photographer Dr Pete Davis can be seen in many important national and international art collections. These include The Arts Council of Wales, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, National Library of Wales, Museo Genna Maria, Sardinia, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Pete has been taking photographs since the age of eleven. After leaving Splott Secondary Modern School in Cardiff at the age of fifteen and working at Cardiff University, he spent ten years as an advertising and fashion photographer in Cardiff. Pete moved to rural West Wales in 1977 from where he has embarked on field trips around the British Isles, Europe and the USA with his large format camera. For eighteen years Pete was senior lecturer in documentary photography at the University of Wales, Newport and for nine of those years the course leader. Pete is currently a visiting lecturer at a number of universities and also engaged with his photographic projects and research collaborations. He has received numerous research grants and awards and was the winner of the 2002 Wakelin Purchase Prize for Welsh artists.
Pete has been a visiting lecturer at the Karel De Grote-Hogeschool, Antwerp, Belgium, the North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History in New York, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Hague, Netherlands, the University of Toronto, and at the FotoMuseum, Antwerp. He has also been a guest lecturer at Aberystwyth and Cardiff Universities. Recent international exhibitions have included the Festival Interceltique in Lorient, Brittany, Gallery International, Baltimore, USA, at the Feick Arts Center, Poultney, Vermont, USA and at the Fotomuseum, Antwerp. Pete was also been an artist in residence and conducted masterclasses at the Polytechnic, Porto, Portugal, Green Mountain College, Vermont, USA,and as part of the Ulster Arts Festival, Belfast.
He completed his Ph.D in Fine Art at Aberystwyth University in 2009.
Pete Davis Website