MEINIR MATHIAS

5 Jul 25 - 14 Aug 25

Tenby Museum is delighted to announce an introspective exhibition by acclaimed artist Meinir Mathias offering audiences a rare glimpse into the private world of her studio and sketchbooks. Titled ‘ O dan yr wyneb’ ( Beneath the surface) this intimate showcase unveils a rarely seen side of Mathias’s practice, featuring unpublished works from her private sketchbooks and studio archives.

Presented in dialogue with the museum’s historic collection of works by Gwen and Augustus John; pioneering Welsh artists who chronicled the lives of musicians, travellers, and bohemian communities in the last century, Mathias’s exhibition offers a contemporary counterpoint. While her well-known oil paintings reimagine Wales’s cultural past through vivid and colourful narratives. This exhibition shifts focus to her present. Etchings, delicate drawings, and candid paintings that capture fleeting moments, and portraits of her own contemporaries: family, friends, fellow artists and travellers who have helped to shape her creative world. This exhibition gives way to the honest quiet poetry of everyday life that fuel her artistic vision. It is not a departure from her celebrated style, but rather a window into the unfiltered foundations of her practice. Mathias’s connection to Pembrokeshire’s landscapes, and stories remains central.

With family ties and childhood connections to the Preseli Hills, she was drawn to Tenby (a place explored on family trips and Sunday school outings) to stage this exhibition. The coastal gallery’s rugged setting mirrors the raw intimacy of her sketches and etchings. Though stylistically distinct from her usual historical scenes, these pieces share their DNA: attention to detail, a love of storytelling, and a commitment to capturing the soul of Wales. By sharing space with Gwen and Augustus John, Mathias draws a throughline between generations, honouring their legacy of documenting creative communities while offering her own contemporary ode to artistic kinship.

‘O dan yr wyneb’ is an invitation to wander the quiet corridors of an artist’s mind.

The exhibition launches on Saturday 5th July, 2-4pm and you’re all welcome to join us!