A dramatic exhibition of new work celebrating the Welsh landscape alongside paintings of Patagonia following his recent expedition exploring this historic region opens at The Albany Gallery.

Celebrating the Welsh landscape and its history has been a passion for Peter Kettle for 10 years. This collection marries together some of the loved spaces in Wales where he enjoyed growing up and revisiting, with a recent expedition to Patagonia in November 2017. His journey retraced the story of the Welsh settlers’ voyage 152 years ago from a 21st century perspective.

Peter has brought together scenes of the Pembrokeshire coast, Laugharne and Port Talbot Steelworks, places he knows and paints with avid excitement, alongside paintings of the expansive deserts, glacial mountains and lush green valleys of Patagonia. He travelled with his friend and filmmaker, Al Green, to the Welsh settlers’ first point of contact, Puerto Madryn, and Welsh heritage towns of Trelew and Gaimon. Here they met the second-generation descendants of the settlers and enjoyed the legacy of a cream tea at their tea house 'Ty Gwyn'.

Peter painted across the Andean Foothills of Trevelin and Cym Hwfrydd, on the border to Chile, to pay homage to Kyffin Williams' arrival here 50 years ago. Following in the footsteps of Kyffin and the Welsh settlers made an indelible mark on this journey. It was also important to present a story of the Patagonia he personally experienced by documenting the journey through film, sketches, and hiking to the summit of Patagonia's vast and formidable Andean Mountains, Fitz Roy and Torres Del Paine and by producing large en plein air paintings to celebrate the link between Wales and Patagonia.

After four weeks and 2000km exploring this historic region, the dramatic landscape, generosity and hospitality of the people made this period a prolific, inspiring and an enriching chapter in his life.

The show continues until Saturday 7 April, 2018.