A multi-media artist from Gwynedd, who creates work in two and three dimensions inspired by everyday items, is the winner of the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the Wrecsam National Eisteddfod 2025
The award will be presented to Gareth Griffith in a special ceremony on the Eisteddfod Maes on the opening day of the festival.
The artist, who lives in Mynydd Llandygai near Bangor, said he was delighted to win the award, "I’ve exhibited my work at Y Lle Celf at the National Eisteddfod several times since the 1970s, but this is the first time I’ve won this award. I’m very happy to receive it – it’s quite an honour for an artist to be recognised in this way," he said.
Gareth added that he had presented five items for the selectors to consider for exhibition at Y Lle Celf, the Eisteddfod’s annual art exhibition, “The three of them came to the studio to see the work and they were delighted. So much so that I was asked to display over 20 items in total. The organisers have arranged for me to have a space of about four metres by three for the work to be shown," he said.
Among the works is a large portrait of the artist painted on mirrors, surrounded by smaller images of well-known people and significant events, "I’ll stand in front of it and see myself in the picture, with the smaller images around it – and it’s constantly changing," explained Gareth.
There’ll also be a series of drawings of a work shirt Gareth received from his eldest son as a gift. The shirt was accidentally washed along with the dog’s blanket, leaving it covered in hair, "The shirt was hung in the studio for a while, waiting to be cleaned, but slowly I began to draw and paint it – eventually it became a new series of works," he said.
The piece, Triptych Crys Gwallt, was co-winner of the BEEP Painting Biennale 2022 in Swansea.
Gareth Griffith grew up in Caernarfon. His father, Robin Griffith, was an artist who contributed cartoons to the Urdd’s magazines for many years.
He studied at Liverpool College of Art in the early 1960s. After a period, teaching in a primary school in the city and two years in Jamaica, he returned to Wales and spent most of his career as an art teacher in schools in the Bangor area. He has lived in Mynydd Llandygai for forty years.
After retiring, he built a new studio in his garden and has produced some of the best work of his career since then.
His work is represented in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru, the Walker Art Gallery, and the Arts Council Collection.
"I’ve been inspired by all sorts of things. I look for connections between the constructions I make and the paintings – there’s a symbiosis between the two.
"Adapting to the circumstances we’re in feels more relevant now than ever in my life. There’s a narrative running through my work that can only be mine.
"Inevitably, there are political references in the work. My time in Jamaica and my experience of living in a new, post-colonial country – one that was highly polarised and often dangerous – is similar to the current situation that affects all our lives," Gareth said.
According to selectors Bedwyr Williams, Angela Davies, and Anya Paintsil, they were impressed by the overall quality and depth of the submissions across all categories, "The craft, knowledge and honesty evident in the artist’s use of materials has resulted in a body of work that feels skilful and deeply considered. Many of the applications showed clear sensitivity and integrity, which struck a chord with the panel," they said.
Gareth Griffith’s work will be on display at Y Lle Celf at the National Eisteddfod in Wrecsam from 2–9 August 2025. More information about the festival is available online: https://eisteddfod.cymru
