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The exhibition in Cardiff presents over 40 works made from the early 1950s to the 1980s, giving special insight into the untold story of the influence of Wales on Ayres’s work.

From the 1950s Ayres was a regular visitor to Wales, staying in her sister’s cottage at Corris, near Cader Idris. The experience of the landscape had a powerful influence on her paintings.  In describing this period in her life Ayres said she started ‘to see the world like painting [..] When you went up a mountain there were these clouds coming in.  One really started to see everything in paint’.   This connection to Wales strengthened when she lived and worked on the Lleyn Peninsula in north-west Wales between 1981 and 1987.

During this time she lived and worked in the small village of Llaniestyn on the Lleyn Peninsula. This period was one of the most prolific of Ayres’s career and visitors to the exhibition will be able to view large scale canvases of the time, thickly painted  in vibrant colours.  The striking surfaces of the paintings were manipulated into gestures and patterns using brush, fingers, and paint squeezed directly from the tube.

This exhibition takes visitors on a reverse chronological journey, starting with work made when Ayres was living and working in north Wales in the 1980s, through a period of stylistic change in the 1960s and ‘70s, beforeending with her pioneering abstract works from the 1950s.

Born in London in 1930, Ayres studied at Camberwell College of Art between 1945-50 and worked initially in London, later moving to Wales and then to Cornwall, where she currently lives. Ayres was elected Royal Academician in 1991, awarded an OBE in 1986 and a CBE in 2011.

Ayres, who turned eighty seven in February, continues to forge her own individual path regardless of fashion or opinion. The preparation for this major celebration of Ayres’s work has brought to light an unseen monumental painting from the early 1970s that references the late lily paintings by Claude Monet, an archive of preparatory works, drawings, and paintings, as well as unpublished photographs.

Throughout her career Ayres has maintained a lifelong commitment to abstraction, and to this day continues to reinvent her own abstract language from her home and studio in Devon.

Melissa Munro, Curator of the exhibition, said, “Since the 1950s, Gillian Ayres has been a pioneer of abstract painting in Britain and we’re delighted to be hosting her work at the museum.

“The dramatic landscape of north Wales has been a key inspiration for artists for centuries and occupies an important role in Ayres’ own experience of Wales.

“The large, heavily textured canvases of the 1980s ‘Welsh period’ have become her most recognised and critically acclaimed paintings and it’s wonderful to have so many of them together on display here.

“The paintings will appeal to all ages but I think the colourful space will especially appeal to young people and we’ve organised a programme of fun and creative events for families with young children and I hope they will take the opportunity to enjoy and create colours and shapes in this exciting space.”

A special programme of events suitable for families and young children accompanies this exhibition. From messy art workshops, toddler time, create and make your own painted work of art and painting colours and shapes, there’s plenty of creative and fun opportunities for all ages.

The exhibition has a strong focus on interpretation for families with children under 5 years old with colourful trails leading children through the gallery, fun activity areas, sensory toddler boxes, a dress up area and more. A selection of paintings has been interpreted with children’s labels which help develop skills for exploring and thinking about art, and encourage families to talk about the artworks.

Gillian Ayres is supported by the Colwinston Charitable Trust with additional support from the Alan Cristea Gallery, Simon Beaugie Picture Frames, and a Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Research Grant from Art Fund.

The exhibition will be open from 10am every day apart from Mondays (with the exception of Bank Holidays), with last admission at 4pm.

Entry to the Museum and the exhibition is free, thanks to the support of the Welsh Government.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven museums across Wales including National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National History Museum, the National Roman Legion Museum, Big Pit National Coal Museum, the National Wool Museum, the National Slate Museum and the National Waterfront Museum.