Robert Greetham
My work over time culminated in 2021 with a self-published book Rites and Traces. This comprised two bodies of work drawn from images made over the past four decades since I first studied art and photography at Aberystwyth University in 1978. Over time the images reflect different preoccupations; from sculpture, architecture and the urban environment to the religious processions of Semana Santa in Spain. However, many of the underlying themes remain the same. My first love in art was the painting of the Italian Renaissance and by extension its iconography, whether religious or classical; sacred or profane. It was not so much the historical or doctrinal meaning that interested me but rather how these strange, mysterious emanations from the past still had the power to resonate so strongly in the present day. And of course they were often beautiful, hauntingly so. Photographs have an almost unique capacity for encapsulating time and place and there is something inherently ambiguous and enigmatic about photographs themselves that seem to mirror the subject matter depicted. Aside from the continuity of the past within the present I also have a fascination with the found cultural object; be it a wayside madonna, a damaged and vandalised statue or traces of long forgotten graffiti and the suggestion of transience, decay and the fleeting gesture. Resilience and entropy walking hand in hand.
If a sense of tradition and the past informs much of Traces then it does so again in Rites albeit from a different perspective. Many years ago I came across Cristina Garcia Rodero’s book Espana Oculta, where she depicted the customs, religious festivals and fiestas of Spain. They conveyed something altogether deeper and more mysterious than is usually associated with life in the latter part of the twentieth century. With these images in mind I have returned to Spain over a period of twenty years to photograph Semana Santa or Holy Week celebrated every Easter. In cities such as Seville and Malaga thousands of people take part in highly formalised processions which are as opulent as they are moving, demonstrating the continuity of the past within the present and the enduring power of ritual, tradition and faith.
Lived Experience
Robert Greetham was born in Cardiff in 1957. He studied, and subsequently taught, at Aberystwyth University School of Art and is a former Director of Ffotogallery, Cardiff. He has received several awards from the Arts Council of Wales and his work is represented in numerous private and public collections including Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum and Galleries and the National Library of Wales.
Solo exhibitions: 2021 - Rites & Traces, Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum & Galleries. 2010 - Semana Santa, St David's Hall, Cardiff. 2008 - Of Fire & Rites, Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum & Galleries. 2005 - Of Fire & Rites, The Gate, Cardiff. 1998 - Robert Greetham: A Retrospective 1978-1998, Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum and Galleries. 1993 - Photographer In Residence, St Davids Hall, Cardiff. 1986 - On The House, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.
Group exhibitions: 2024- Euro-Wales 92 Group: Then & Now, The Turner House, Penarth. 2011 - Tros Gynnal Art Exhibition, Swansea Museum and tour, Swansea 2010 - No Particular Moment, School of Art Gallery, Aberystwyth University 2010 - Tros Gynnal Art Exhibition , Swansea Museum and tour, Swansea 2010 - Welsh Artist of the Year, St David's Hall, Cardiff 2009 - Welsh Artist of the Year, St David's Hall, Cardiff 2008 - Welsh Artist of the Year, St David's Hall, Cardiff 2008 - Yr Lle Celf, National Eisteddfod of Wales, Cardiff 2007 - Alumni Exhibition, School of Art Gallery, Aberystwyth University 2007 - Art 4 Life, Christies, London 2007 - Far Flung Places, Cole & Co, Cardiff 2007 - Group Show, Washington Gallery, Penarth 2007 - Six Photographers, Howard Gardens Gallery, UWIC, Cardiff 2005 - Art 4 Life, Christies, London 2005 - Welsh Artist of the Year, St David's Hall, Cardiff 2004 - Art for Youth Cymru, City Hall, Cardiff 2003 - Welsh Artist of the Year, St David's Hall, Cardiff 2002 - Wales Drawing Biennale, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth 2002 - Wales Drawing Biennale, Wrexham Arts Centre, Wrexham 2001 - 1066 and All That: Acquisitions 1999-2001, School of Art Gallery and Museum, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 2000 - Art Auction, Wrexham Arts Centre 2000 - Just Another Day, Ffotogallery, Cardiff and tour 2000 - NYAD 2000, dfn Gallery, New York, USA 2000 - Summer Exhibition 2000, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1999 - Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park, London 1998 - Art Auction, The Framing Machine Gallery, Mumbles, Swansea 1998 - Artist in Arms, Royal Geographical Society, London 1998 - Summer Exhibition, Y Tabernacl, Machynlleth 1997 - The Welsh Lens: twelve contemporary photographers from Wales, Y Tabernacl, Machynlleth and tour to Zirpoli Gallery, Bellinzona, Switzerland and Villanovaforru, Sardinia, Italy 1997 - Wales Drawing Biennale 97 Aberystwyth Arts Centre and tour 1996 - Ffotoannual, Ffotogallery, Cardiff 1995 - Aberystwyth Artists, Gregynog Hall, Powys 1994 - Caucus II, Old Library, Cardiff 1993 - Aberystwyth Artists, Deffett Francis Gallery, Swansea 1993 - Eurowales '92, Third Wave Gallery, Cardiff 1993 - Ffotoannual, Ffotogallery, Cardiff 1993 - Wales Open Art Show, Aberystwyth Arts Centre 1991 - Aberystwyth Printmakers, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester 1991 - Under the Eye of Saturn, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno 1990 - South Glamorgan Purchases, St Davids Hall, Cardiff 1989 - Special Edition, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno 1988 - Vedute D'Italia, Printworks Ltd, Chicago, USA 1987 - Vedute D'Italia, Ffotogallery, Cardiff and tour
