Current Members

Educated at Cheltenham School of Art BA Hons’ Printmaking 1986-89 then went on to Brighton University completing a Fine Art Printmaking Post –Graduate Degree in 1989-91.

Pete Williams is a print-maker, with a long-standing reputation as a professional artist in Wales. He is the co-founder & director of the Print Market Project Cardiff, est’1996 to the present day. Originally at Chapter Arts Centre until 2007 but relocated to a converted 18th Century Barn which now operates as a fully equipped printmaking studio and gallery.

Williams calls it ‘A most Important Space’

Exhibiting both nationally and internationally for over twenty years Williams has formed strong links in the world of Print in particular USA & China. He was made International Projects manager for Wales Arts International during this time and completed many residencies in both Wales and the Republic of Ireland from 2008-10

In 2009-12 he was the temporary exhibition curator for the Howard Gardens Gallery and the CBAT Gallery in Cardiff respectively.

He’s currently an associate lecturer in Swansea & Cardiff Metropolitan Universities and Carmarthen School of Art and more recently runs various print related projects at the Welsh School of Architecture.

In 2014 he was made Fellow of the RSA Wales/Cymru and Chair of the 56GroupWales in 2016.

Peter Spriggs was born in Cardiff. He was awarded a First Class Honours in BA Fine Art at Cardiff Metropolitan University and MA(RCA) from the Painting School, Royal College of Art, London.
Presently, he is a lecturer in Fine Art at Carmarthen School of Art at Coleg Sir Gar.
He is a recipient of Arts Council of Wales Awards: Travel Award – Barcelona and a Creative Wales Award  – Canada. A British Council International Programme Development Award facilitated a further trio to Canada as a Visiting Lecturer at Ontario College of Art and Design and the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
He has shown work in all Painting – Ysbryd/Spirit – Wales exhibitions throughout the 1990’s and all 56 Group Wales exhibitions since he became a member in 1997.
Recently he has worked with printmaking as well as painting and is one of Swansea Print Workshop’s Directors. An on-going project involves producing print-portraits of one hundred poets and writers in Wales.

Born in Sarn, South Wales in 1947, Kevin Sinnott is a contemporary Welsh artist with a truly international reputation. He trained at Cardiff College of Art & Design, Gloucestershire College of Art & Design and at the Royal College of Art, London. Kevin remained in London throughout the 1970s and 80s, building a very successful career, and exhibiting at leading London galleries, major galleries in the USA and mainland Europe.

Kevin’s work is collected worldwide and he is represented in many important public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. His large canvas, ‘Running Away with the Hairdresser’ has proved to be one of the National Museum and Galleries of Wales’s most popular acquisitions.

Kevin returned to live in Wales in 1995 and has quickly established himself at the forefront of the renaissance in Welsh painting. While his work is primarily concerned with human relationships, the influence of the south Wales landscape is strongly felt in his paintings. He was elected to the Royal Cambrian Academy in 2007.

Christopher Shurrock was born and educated in Bristol, from 1955 at West of England College of Art studying Intermediate /Lithography, a rigorous regime of drawing continuing into the Painting School, qualifying with National Diploma in Painting (Special) 1959. Post graduate at Cardiff College of Art/University of Wales, Art Teachers’ Diploma (Dist’) 1960.

He was Art Advisor/Community Tutor, University Settlement, Barton Hill, Bristol 1961-2. Full time Assistant Lecturer with Cardiff College of Art from 1962, progressing to Senior Lecturer/Director of the Foundation Course in Art & Design, retiring in 1991.

Thereafter lecturing part time, founding Co-ordinator for Cardiff Open School and visiting lecturer for HND courses. Later developing structured life drawing programmes until 2011.

Invited to exhibit initially with Howard Roberts Gallery, Cardiff & Axiom Gallery, London from 1960’s
Represented in permanent public collections including, National Museum of Wales, Contemporary Art Society of Wales, Bristol City Art Gallery, National Gallery of Slovakia, Bratislava, County Council, University and private collections.

Memberships:-
Royal West of England Academy elected 1971
Printmakers Council 1970-1976
South Wales Group 1960’s

Peter Seabourne was born in 1944 and trained at Newport College of Art, Manchester College of Art and Design, Cardiff College of Art (UWIC) and the University of Wales Aberystwyth. He taught in schools and colleges in both England and Wales eventually becoming Faculty Head at Coleg Gwent. He has exhibited throughout the UK including several one-man shows. He has work in a number of private collections and is a member of the 56 Group.

Corinthe Rizvi was born in the UK, but grew up in Hong Kong and Canada and has traveled extensively. She studied Fine Art at Central St Martins School of Art and Design, and Arts Computing at Goldsmiths College in London. Alongside making & exhibiting she also has a creative social practice working primarily with people with additional support needs.

Born in Essex, Oben studied at Camberwell and the University of Glamorgan, where she received both BA and MA.  Her graduate show won the Arts Council Wales Brian Ross Graduate Award and the University of Glamorgan Purchase Prize.  Oben continues her relationship with the university, teaching art history, theory, criticism at BA and MA levels.  Alongside teaching, Oben continues to make and exhibit her own artwork and has exhibited widely through out Wales and England including Tate Modern.  Following her two year fellowship with the 56 Group Wales, Oben was offered full membership and accepted the role as group secretary.

Alison Lochhead studied art and ceramics at Loughborough College of Art and Design and Wolverhampton Polytechnic from 1971 – 1975.  During this period she became very interested in weaving and she received a scholarship to study tapestry weaving in Poland for a year.  On her return to Britain she set up as a tapestry weaver.  Alison has always loved traveling and in 1981 she got a job for three years in the Sultanate of Oman working alongside the Bedouins.  Alison was inspired by the incredible rock formations in Oman and back in Britain started to work with paper pulp creating large wall pieces and continued to work with paper until about 1997.  Alison then returned to working in clay, and in the last 8 years has incorporated cast iron within her sculptures; increasing the tensions of materials with the firing of the ceramic and the pouring of molten iron within the fired work. Recently Alison has started working with collograph prints, increasing her exploration of textures and layered imagery.

After working in Oman, Alison became very interested in participative development and the gender politics that surround the development process, as well as daily life.  She continued to work internationally in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and Asia until September 2013.  The experiences from this work are reflected in her artwork. 

Alison Lochhead was born in Cardiff and grew up in Swansea. She was one of the founding members of the Swansea Arts and Designers in Wales (AADW) group in Swansea, who brought the present Mission Gallery to life, as well as the artists’ workshops above the Dylan Thomas theatre. After travelling the world Alison moved back to West Wales in 1994. She has exhibited widely from 1977 to the present day, with 20 one-person shows and over 60 group exhibitions.

Alison is a member of Sculpture Cymru and the chair of Celf Ceredigion Art, an organisation who ran the contemporary art space in Aberystwyth; Gas Gallery/Oriel Nwy from May 2013 – September 2015.

Kay Keoghs artwork takes a critical view and works on the proposition that we regulate what is reveal and what is conceal about ourselves. This has stirred an interest into the sense of the uncanny, where secrecy is disguised with openness, a marked turn in general from reassurance toward a fascination with anxiety and angst. This generates a kind of negative aesthetic within her work.

Martyn Jones is a contemporary painter who works from his studio based in Cardiff, Wales, U.K. Jones graduated M.A. Fine Art, at Chelsea School of Art, London and was awarded Junior Fellowship at Bath Academy of Art. Among his tutors were the British artists Patrick Heron and Peter Kinley.

New work for 2016 will be represented at Art Fair Cologne, Bebb Fine Art U.K. and Espacio 120, Barcelona. Solo shows have included Robert Steele Gallery New York, Artefact Pardo Gallery, U.S.A., Ffin-y-Parc Gallery and Kooywood Gallery, Wales. Work has also been exhibited at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales.