Gillian McDonald : Presence in Time
In this exhibition, Gillian McDonald evokes the ancient standing stones of Pembrokeshire as luminous thresholds between history and imagination.
Gillian's paintings rise from the same ancient ground that anchors Pembrokeshire’s standing stones—silent sentinels that have watched over the land for millennia. These monoliths, shaped by time and human devotion, serve as vessels of memory and myth. In Gillian’s work, they become points of stillness in a living landscape, connecting the rhythms of the earth to the enduring pulse of creativity.
Her layered mixed-media surfaces echo the textures of weathered stone—eroded, luminous, and charged with quiet authority. Each composition invites the viewer to stand in that threshold between presence and absence, where the stones speak not through language but through resonance.
This exhibition explores the dialogue between permanence and transformation: how ancient forms continue to shape the imagination, and how landscape holds the imprint of those who first sought meaning in its vastness. Gillian’s art invokes the standing stones not merely as relics, but as living presences—guardians of light, time, and the shared human impulse to create.
Exhibition runs 31 March-25 April
Drinks Reception 11 April 1-3pm
All Welcome
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Gillian McDonald, Abereiddy Slate I -
Gillian McDonald, Abereiddy Slate II
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Gillian McDonald, Abereiddy Slate Study
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Gillian McDonald, Blue Stone II
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Gillian McDonald, Blue Stone Study I
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Gillian McDonald, Goddess Stone
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Gillian McDonald, Preseli Stones II
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Gillian McDonald , Preseli Stones III
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Gillian McDonald, Preseli Stones IV
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Gillian McDonald , Standing Stone Study III
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Gillian McDonald, Preseli Stones I
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STANDING STONES AND LIVING ECHOES:
ART CELEBRATING THE RETURN OF THE EISTEDDFOD TO CARDIGAN AT CANFAS GALLERY
Gillian McDonald & Nicola Beattie at Oriel Canfas, Cardigan
Drinks reception & Meet the Artists
Saturday 11 April, 13:00-15:00
Exhibition runs 31 March – 25 April 2026
As spring unfurls across West Wales, Cardigan and Oriel Canfas are preparing to celebrate the long-awaited return of the Eisteddfod- more than 850 years after it was first held at Cardigan Castle.
In the run-up to welcoming the Eisteddfod back to Cardigan later this year, Oriel Canfas Gallery, Sponsor of the 2026 Eisteddfod Gold Medal for Fine Art, presents Standing Stones and Living Echoes, two interwoven exhibitions by painter Gillian McDonald and sculptor Nicola Beattie, whose practices are deeply rooted in the landscapes of West Wales. Drawing inspiration from Pembrokeshire’s ancient stones—enduring markers of time, imagination, and belonging—the artists explore the land as both memory and material, where surface, light, and texture become languages of endurance and renewal.
This year’s Eisteddfod takes place in Carreg Las, an area named for the striking local bluestone that defines both the region and its creative heritage. It is this same landscape that informs the work of McDonald and Beattie, grounding their art in the elemental dialogue between stone, time, and human touch.
“With the Eisteddfod returning to Cardigan after so many centuries, there’s a strong sense of homecoming,” says James Horan, Director of Oriel Canfas. “These exhibitions grow from the same landscape that shaped our poetry and art, celebrating the land and the spirit that continue to define Cardigan’s creative core.”
Together, McDonald and Beattie’s exhibitions echo the spirit of Eisteddfod y Garreg Las, honouring its return to the town where the first Eisteddfod was first held. Their work forms a visual counterpart to the songs, poems, and performances that will once again enliven Cardigan—a gathering of voices and visions that reflect the continuing power of Welsh creativity.
Oriel Canfas, at Manchester House, Grosvenor Hill, Cardigan SA43 1HY, welcomes visitors from near and far to experience these conversations between land, history, and imagination. The exhibition runs from 31 March to 25 April 2026, with a convivial spring drinks reception on Saturday 11 April, 1–3pm, offering an opportunity for the community to meet the artists, reconnect, and celebrate this historic year for Cardigan.
About Canfas: Canfas Gallery Cardigan is sponsor of the 2026 Eisteddfod Gold Medal for Fine Art. The gallery was founded in 2019 and has established itself as one of the leading galleries in Wales. It has been featured on BBC One News, S4C, and in National newspapers and magazines. Under new ownership, the gallery aims to collaborate with other galleries and showcase the work of established and emerging Welsh artists, and to bring to West Wales exemplary artwork from other nations. Canfas aims to curate beautiful and powerful art. Art that inspires us to see the world from different angles. Art that explores what it is to be human as well as our relationship with nature. Art that pushes cultural, political, and stylistic boundaries.
