‘Mapusa Plant Scene’ Oil on canvas, 107 x 130cm, 2020-21 (Private Collection, Dorset, UK)
‘Banana Leaf Forms VIII’ Oil on canvas, 46 x 35cm, 2021 (Private Collection, Usk, Wales)
‘Banana Leaf Forms VII’ oil on canvas, 35 x 46cm, 2021 (Private Collection, Guernsey)
Installation Shot Cardiff M.A.D.E Gallery, Wales, May 2021
‘Banana Leaf Forms VI’ oil on panel, 20 x 18.5cm, 2021 (Private Collection, Porthcawl, Wales)
‘Banana Leaf Forms V’ Oil on panel, 21 x 19cm, 2021
‘Banana Leaf Forms IV’ oil on panel, 20 x 33.5cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Cardiff, Wales)
‘Banana Leaf Forms III ’ oil on panel, 19.5 x 31.5cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Cardiff, Wales)
‘Banana Leaf Forms II’ oil on panel, 19.5 x 31.5cm, 2020
‘Lilies ’ oil on panel, 19 x 31.5cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Wiltshire, UK)
‘Old Goa Scene’ oil on canvas, 35.5 x 46.5cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Bonn, Germany)
‘Monstera Study’ oil on canvas, 46 x 35cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Germany)
‘Plant Study’ oil on canvas, 51 x 69cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Cardiff, Wales)
Installation Shot Cardiff M.A.D.E Gallery, Wales May 2021
‘Leaves’ oil on canvas, 44 x 56cm, 2020 (Private Collection, Porthcawl, Wales)
‘Banana Plant Porvorim’ oil on canvas, 30 x 25.5cm 2020 (Private Collection, Cardiff, Wales)
‘Banana Plant Scene IV’ oil on canvas, 175.5 x 130.5cm, 2020
‘Banana Plant Scene III’ oil on canvas, 175 x 130cm, 2019-20 (Private Collection, London)
‘Banana Plant Scene II’ oil on canvas, 107 x 130cm, 2019 (Private Collection, Cardiff, Wales)
‘Banana Plant Scene I’ oil on canvas, 122 x 183.5cm, 2019-20
‘Untitled (Banana Plant)’ oil on canvas, 150 x 228.5cm, 2019
Installation Shot Cardiff M.A.D.E Gallery, Wales, May 2021
Encounters
‘Encounters’ is a series of paintings that developed from a 3–month artist residency at the Aamir Art House, Goa, India in 2018. The series was exhibited in May 2021 as a solo exhibition at Cardiff M.A.D.E gallery, his second solo show with the gallery. Curated by Zoë Gingell & Lucia Jones.
Exhibition text:
Having seen the progression of Aidan Myers’ practice over the past 5 years since I was his postgraduate mentor and curator of his first solo show he has always dealt with a sense of the epic. A Feeling of drama and theatricality in the presentation of form as an image. Aidan’s series: ‘Encounters’ began as a series during the residency in India 3 years ago. Confronted by the lush surroundings at a scale which was ‘overwhelming’ according to Myers; his painterly response marked a massive shift in his work. Moving away from the large abstract forms based on the axis of body/landscape into more descriptive paintings of the leaf forms as if grappling with the green, which he might become consumed by.
The form of the banana leaf has remained as a motif in all of the works since returning to Cardiff. It is as if it has taken on the resonance of a figure and Myers’ most recent paintings play with our sense of scale and focus amongst the shapes and green tones, with the introduction of other colours into the palette. Playing also with the shifts and clarity of foreground and background and where and how the eye can rest. He seems to have found his own way though the jungle now and expert navigator amongst the abundant vegetation. His handling of paint and gesture is evident in the works, whether describing a leaf, stem or sky and it’s as much as what he wishes us to see now rather than needing to pin it all down. The works in this show go from oil on small boards to large–scale canvases and in all the work the sense of the epic encounter with that environment remains. Having been unable to show these works due to the pandemic, this is the first time these works will be seen together.
Zoë Gingell, Gallery director, Cardiff M.A.D.E
May 2021