Studio with Gloves at Storiel, see Library’s Collection in a New Space

Phoebe Murray-Hobbs, Community Loans Officer, National Library of Wales

18 June 2025 | Minute read

When I started as Loans Officer for CELF at the National Library of Wales last May, one of the first things I did was catch the T2 bus from Aberystwyth to Bangor (four hours, direct) to talk to Esther Roberts, the curator at Storiel.

Choosing artworks for an exhibition

Eager in my new role - to facilitate loans of the Library’s contemporary art collection to the 9 CELF network galleries across Wales – I arrived at Storiel with a printed out spreadsheet of details and images, mostly taken on my phone (the Library’s collection was still in the process of being digitised for the CELF site), of art works in the Library’s collection that Esther had expressed an interest in.

Among them was the painting Studio with Gloves by Shani Rhys James. It shows the interior of an artist’s studio, tables covered in tubes of paint and turps, and white gloves strewn across the floor. Gloves are a protective barrier against the toxic art materials that surround the artist, but the painting also brings to the fore the psychological hazards of making art. Red dominates the scene, with bold, bright brushstrokes giving the painting a rawness that mirrors the expression of the artist who looks up from her work at the back of her cluttered studio. Hanging at the end of the Upper Central Hall in the Library, visitors would be struck by the vast, vibrant depiction of creative space as they went around the display, followed by the intense eyes of the artist.

Almost exactly a year after my trip to Bangor, Studio with Gloves would make the same journey (however, not by public transport!), leaving its place on display at the National Library and travelling up to Storiel, to feature in the exhibition Gofod Mewnol/ Inner Space.

Shani Rhys James and Stephen West are two artists who have been living and working together for more than 45 years. The exhibition brings together works by both artists which depict people in different spaces – the artist is seen in the studio and the domestic kitchen space in Shani’s oil paintings, while in Stephen’s large charcoal drawings people move through and within architectural structures (sometimes those of the Storiel building itself) that relate to one another in improbable, dreamlike ways. In both cases, the inner space of the figures depicted – what we are left to interpret about their thoughts and emotions – is linked to how they interact with their physical surroundings. The relationship of the artist to their studio practice; the way Stephen’s figures move in and out of doorways, trapdoors and windows, appearing sometimes peaceful, sometimes fugitive.

From one physical space – the converted barn that is Shani and Stephen’s home and studios – two very different styles have emerged. As artworks from the collections of the Library, Amgueddfa Cymru, Newport Museum and Art Gallery and MOMA Machynlleth are brought together for this exhibition, they connect and contrast in Storiel’s gallery space to reveal more about the inner spaces of the two artists, intertwined from living and working together, yet distinct.

But how did they get there? Between a curator asking to borrow an artwork and seeing that piece in the exhibition, there are several stages and many people that contribute to ensuring the safe transportation of the piece.

Preparing artworks for loan

Once a loan request comes in, a range of people needs to consider the safety of sending one of the Library’s artworks or objects to a different location. As Jaimie Thomas, who has been Loan Officer at the Library for 24 years, explained to me, the job is about increasing access to, but also protecting, the collection. We will always loan when possible, but risks must be considered. For example, we need to think about how fragile the work is. If a painting is unglazed, like Studio with Gloves, it has less protection from the outside environment; if the work were unframed, or on a fragile support (surface) like canvas cloth, it would be even more easily damaged. These risks need to be mitigated. In this instance, the painting is on wooden board and framed, so the conservation team decided it was stable enough to be transported.

The suitability of the host venue where the art will be displayed also needs to be reviewed. This means checking data about the temperature and levels of light and humidity in the Gallery, as well as how secure the building is. Along with the other CELF galleries, Storiel received funding to complete works on their gallery spaces so that they can receive loans from the National Library and Amgueddfa Cymru, which made this part of the process relatively straightforward.

By contrast, preparing Studio with Gloves for transport was quite an operation. Because of the size of the painting, a special crate had to be borrowed to transport it. This was then modified by Exhibition Technician who added extra block supports so that the painting fitted snugly and would travel smoothly. Once we had taken the painting down from its prominent spot in the Library, we needed to complete a full condition report which involves looking carefully at each section of the piece (including the frame!) and meticulously recording any losses, scuffs, scratches, abrasions, cockling (wrinkles) or cracks. This report can then be used as a reference as the painting leaves and eventually returns to the Library.

After lowering it into its crate, Studio with Gloves was secured and wrapped to create a controlled microclimate for the artwork.

Ready to be transported, the work was safely stored until the week before exhibition opening. A specialist art transportation team came to expertly manoeuvre the (heavy!) 1990 x 2940 x 195 cm crate through the Library and into their van, which had come to Aberystwyth all the way from Penzance, collecting and depositing artworks along the way. This bit appeared easy, which was certainly because the teams involved were highly practiced, and logistical questions that were occurring to me in real time (How will the crate fit around that corner? Who will stay with the other artworks in the van? How best to slide the crate along the corridor?) had been thought through well in advance.

Studio with Gloves was then driven up to Bangor the next day, where Esther and the team installing the new exhibition there set about hanging it alongside the other works.

The loaning of the national contemporary art collection to galleries within the CELF network is an essential part of the CELF project. As well as increasing chances for people across Wales to see the collection in person, showing these artworks in different physical spaces, and alongside other artworks, creates a new dynamic that can lead to richer experiences of a work.

At the time of writing, the painting Studio with Gloves hangs in the entrance hall of the exhibition Gofod Mewnol / Inner Space. Moving around Storiel’s gallery spaces and seeing the painting alongside the other loans and new artworks by both Shani and Stephen, we have an unique chance to see the relationship between the two artistic practices, and how each has changed over time. In this context, we may interpret new meanings and respond with fresh thoughts and emotions within our own inner spaces.

You can see Studio with Gloves by Shani Rhys James in Gofod Mewnol/ Inner Space at Storiel in Bangor until the 28^th of June 2025.

Phoebe Murray-Hobbs is Community Loan Officer for CELF at the National Library of Wales since May 2024. She studied Modern Languages before completing a Master’s degree in Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London, focussing on medieval manuscripts (at which point she discovered the collection of the National Library of Wales!). After working as a secondary school teacher in North West London she moved to Aberystwyth, where she is enjoys the opportunity to practice Welsh and Breton dancing.

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