A Vale of Glamorgan artist has stormed onto the art scene with his abstract portraits, challenging the traditional approach to portraiture and painting itself.
Mark Youd, who practices art from his home studio in Southerndown, is to have his first solo exhibition at Y Galleri in Caerphilly this October. The exhibition, which will feature only work created by Mr Youd, follows his victory in Caerphilly’s 2016 Open Art competition.
Mr Youd works through the medium of paint and glass to produce abstract, fragmented representations of the human face. His artworks are now being recognised further afield than Wales, with a new exhibition planned for November in central London’s Mall Galleries.
Caerphilly Open Art judges describe the images produced by the Southerndown artist as, “Moving the viewer's mind from a pure exploration of oil and acrylic paint, into a more clearly understood organic form and into a fragmented human face, before the quality of the paint and its application return the viewer to an appreciation of the image's more abstract qualities.”
Vale MP Alun Cairns recently visited Mark Youd’s studio to see work in progress ahead of the Caerphilly solo-exhibition and was surprised to learn that the local painter was self-taught, having only become an artist two years ago. Formerly a draughtsman, he now combines a career in design and technical illustration with his successful artistry.
Alun Cairns said, “I was delighted to see this local success story at work in Southerndown. It is clear that Mark Youd’s abstract faces are making a name for him on the art scene.
“It is important that we recognise and celebrate local talent whenever possible. I will be visiting his exhibition in London and encourage anyone interested to visit Caerphilly’s Y Galleri in October or to take a look at his work on markyoud.co.uk.”