It’s not often giants like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol turn up in Cardiff, but nevertheless, here they are. An exhibition of posters designed by some of the 20th century’s greatest artists is currently at The Albany Gallery in Roath, Cardiff. The gallery itself is almost hidden on a street dominated by shops and cafés, the entrance wedged between two shops. One of the main things this exhibition seeks to highlight is an appreciation of artists’ posters as art in the own right, and, moreover, as an affordable entry point into art collecting. Many of the posters are for the artists’ own exhibitions; they normally designed their own posters, even writing the text themselves. Thus, each piece is a self-contained bit of history, contextualising the background of an exhibition, providing an insight into the artist’s mind not only as an artist, but as a graphic designer, giving an indication how they wanted their own art to be seen. Posters offer a very different way of appreciating art, as the painting does not fill the whole frame, which one is typically used to. The juxtaposition of image and text is striking, and even sometimes jarring. Each poster, whether it’s by David Hockney, Marc Chagall or Henri Matisse, reflects the artist’s style. A poster by Picasso features details of the exhibition in a hand-scrawled text, while the text for a Chagall exhibition is as dreamlike as the artist’s own work. Despite the age of these posters (their survival is interesting in itself), there is something rather modern about them in their composition and arrangements, at times making it difficult to believe some of these posters are over sixty years old. Considering the mind-melting sums original artworks by these figures often sell for – regularly bothering the tops of “Most expensive paintings ever’ list – the fact that some of these posters are available for the comparatively-paltry number of £300 is quite astounding. However, if you simply want to appreciate art by world-famous artists in a gallery right on your doorstep, this exhibition still offers plenty of appeal.
The Albany Gallery, Cardiff. Until Sat 10 Feb. Admission: Free. Info: 029 2048 7158 / http://www.albanygallery.com/
words CHRIS HAYES