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How my opinion on contemporary art has changed.

has my opinion on contemporary art shifted? 

I started doing this blog in the hopes of seeing how my opinion on contemporary art has shifted during the last few months. Recently I have found myself more open to discuss contemporary art and I feel like I am asking more questions about the art pieces, contemporary art in general and the artist. I believe now that it is important to consider the artist when looking at contemporary art. I say this because contemporary artists are free and have many different approaches to their art and work through many different mediums. Many contemporary artists want to tell different stories often without portraying people at all sometime with only colour. Because contemporary artists work through different mediums and have many ways of portraying stories or messages. This is why it is important to research the artist before analysing a contemporary art piece so that we don’t get the wrong message and we are familiar with the artist’s work and style. 

When I started the blog, I will admit I was not the biggest fan of contemporary art. I wasn’t open to it. I usually tend to stick to what I know when it comes to art however, recently I have been finding myself being more open to contemporary art, asking questions and just take it all in. At first, I didn’t take much notice to the art pieces I just sort of looked at them for a short amount of time and then leave. I would then question 

Why can’t I like contemporary art? 

Why is it so boring? 

Why is this painting so great if it’s just a blob?

Because my mindset asked questions like these, I couldn’t give my full attention on contemporary art to look at them properly. I would say that maybe my mind was childish about the way it dealt with seeing contemporary art pieces, kind of like seeing a baby eat broccoli in a way. I would just look at the worst bits of the pieces and just made an opinion based on that but now after going to exhibitions I have grown or I hope I have grown in the sense that I can look at contemporary art and ask the right questions and pick out the good bits that I do like. 

My opinion on contemporary art has changed over the past few months. I have gone from hating contemporary art and now I find it cool to an extent; it depends on the artwork and the installation of the art piece. I believe I am now asking the right questions to understand contemporary pieces and connect with them.

Why did the artist choose this medium?

Does the size of the work matter/ is it significant? 

How does the piece effect how I feel? 

Would I come and see his piece again? 

I feel like these questions make it easier to be open to contemporary art and to think about all of it and nothing at the same time. 

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Meet my brother, Owain Jones - Small Local Artist in North Wales

Owain is 16 years old. Currently he is studying GCSE art in school and has had his final exam recently. He has found a love for art in the past few years and has had the joy to share his portraits with many of our family members and friends. A school teacher’s assistant has even commissioned him to draw a portrait for her. I had only ever seen his sketches before the work of his final exam. He usually draws characters and anime however he will occasionally draw his friends and family members. Owain has been getting lost in his art for years, drawing out his imaginations into something real or even replicating other’s work for fun. However, today I am here to talk about Owain’s final piece for his art exam with inspirations from big artist names Bob Ross and JMW Turner. The amount Owain has grown from simple sketches and the art style choosing oil paints which are extremely high maintenance material, it is amazing to see the shift from his usual sketches to meaningful artwork. Owain is not limited to one style of painting this is shown by the shift in artistic style to a more serious, religious and mythological scenes. The time Owain has spent getting lost in his art can be shown in his discipline and true passion for the arts. 

The Dawn of the Morning Star, Owain Jones, 2026

The work is a triptych, meaning that there are three panels meant to be displayed together. The fact that Owain decided to use the triptych adds to the seriousness to the story. 'The Dawn of the Morning Star' is based on Lucifer's story. Lucifer is a fallen angel who is known by many different names in different religions such as Samael or Beelzebub. Traditionally, in Christian theology Lucifer has been portrayed as a beautiful angel who attempted to surpass God his father and was then cast out of Heaven to rule Hell for all of eternity and transform into Satan. This is Owain's portrayal of Lucifer's story. In the first part of the triptych, we see Lucifer wearing a red robe symbolising danger, but he is surrounded by an orange-yellow glow symbolising his hope and faith. As Lucifer falls down to Hell, the glow of hope and faith slowly starts to disappear, showing how Lucifer has lost faith in his religion and his life. At the bottom we can see very little of that orange glow surrounding Lucifer. He is sat on the floor showing how weak he has become. Owain didn’t just capture the event, but he has managed to capture the emotions of loss, pride and transformation.  The story moves down from panel 1 to panel 3 guiding our eyes and tells us a story without the use of words. Choosing a well-known figure at Owain’s age is a very complex story to convey and understand and I think he did that wonderfully, it shows that even at his age he isn’t afraid to tackle these subjects. 

The reason I have chosen to write about my brother is that I genuinely believe that he is a great artist and deserves to be recognised but to also raise focus on small local artists. I believe that there should be a shift from Van Gogh and Picasso to other names that are smaller and people who deserve the chance to be bigger and better. Even local communities aren’t aware of the brilliant artists they have when they should be proud. In schools today there is so much hidden talent and in local communities too that rarely receive recognition. By recognising young artists like Owain it will help encourage young artists to chase their dreams and keep going. Young artists bring new visions to the world; they make art exciting again not bringing all the same things we have seen done before. They see the world differently which will confront people on the way they think and challenge what we know and that is something we need in the art world. It will make for a stronger community, a chance for young people to feel a part of the communities and add something extra to them. 

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'They've Got Your Eyes' Rachel Maclean

Recently I went to an exhibition at Fact in Liverpool called ‘They’ve Got Your Eyes’ by Rachel Maclean a Scottish filmmaker and artist. In her new short film, we follow a Victorian man who is some sort of symbolism for people that work in tech and the man in the short film has discovered how to generate fairies and realises he is in competition with another man who is doing the same thing however as these two men keep asking more of the fairies, instead of flattering the man the fairies begin to mock them. The film is meant to show how bad AI can be but by using AI to mock itself in a way. 

Rachel Maclean uses all the latest technology devises in her work. For this one she uses a green screen and acts all the characters herself then she puts her work into an AI, she generated herself using only her work as a base for the AI, the AI was then asked many different prompts to create the short film. 

My experience

I went to Fact as a visit part of a lecture; we walked in and was instantly greeted with someone telling us all about Fact and what they do and what exhibitions are currently on now. We had to wait 15 minutes so that the short film made sense for us. 

There were 3 rooms, we entered the first room. Everything was dark, just a spotlight lit in the middle of the room where we were meant to stand. Then suddenly the film started, the film was full of complimenting colours a lot of pinks and greens, there were three screens in the room each scene switching from screen to screen and lights in the room to add extra effect. When walking into the other room there were two screens and the same thing happening again. The second part of the film started, and the lights start flashing and the screens kept switching. However, in the third room only one screen showed but there was a 3D printed street showing the green gloop that came from the fairies. As the film showed parts of the model street glowed. At the other end of the room the curtains opened to reveal a bigger screen and at this part of the film the man from the start of the film was transformed into a statue by the fault of the fairies. A spotlight then shined on a mini 3D printed figure of the statue of the floor. 

I really enjoyed this exhibition it just might be my favourite one yet. There were so many things going on and I didn’t know what to expect next. I have a low attention span so the fact that I had to constantly move around and walk to the next room was exciting and thrilling for me. However, I do feel guilty about liking this piece because it was made by using AI which many of us are guilty of using today. The film is meant to show how bad AI is and confront AI slop but the fact that Rachel Maclean did use AI to create the video is kind of contradicting and I don’t know how I feel about that yet. One thought I do have is that Rachel Maclean could have used AI to show that she is guilty of this as well or if I look back at the film the film did go worse as it went on, in the sense of that the graphics were getting worse and worse in quality, was this intentional to not fix those mistakes to show the effects of AI slop and to confront it in that way?

I have so many questions about this film after spending time after going to the exhibition:

Why did the artist use AI to confront it? 

Was the use of the bad graphics intentional? 

Was this a mockery of AI and how it is used? 

What was the purpose of using AI?

Why was it set in the Victorian Era? Was it Maclean’s idea or something that the AI just changed? 

Over the last few months, I have been increasingly open to contemporary art. Seeing ‘They’ve Got Your Eyes’ has made me realise that I do enjoy contemporary art to an extent because I really did enjoy this art piece and its installation at Fact. I do believe the installation is a big part in why I enjoyed it and wanting to go again. It is something new and exciting. Something I haven’t seen done in that way before. An overall amazing experience that has made me realise how happy and lucky I am to be able to go to different exhibitions and I can’t wait for the next exhibitions at Fact. 

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John Moores Painting Prize 2025

The John Moores Painting Prize first started in 1957 and is now held every two years at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The John Moores Painting Prize displays work from artists from all over the UK that are based in Liverpool, aged 18 or over. The first ever John Moores Painting Prize was only meant to be a one-off event however due to the success of the exhibition it became a biennial event. It became a leading showcase in the early 60s for avant-grade painters. John Moores even purchased the work of the prize-winner, and their work would be kept in the Walker’s permanent collection. 

Who is John Moores? 

John Moores (1896-1993) was the founder of a Liverpool-based company, Littlewoods. John Moores had fierce pride in his local community, and he was a keen amateur painter. London's domination in the art scene concerned John Moores; therefore, he established the John Moores Painting Prize as a means of competition. The competition was open to anyone to participate. John Moores also sponsored the exhibition prizes. He earnt his knighthood in 1980 giving him the title Sir John Moores. 

My experience at the John Moores Painting Prize 2025

I have visited the Walker on many occasions such as for lectures and for my own enjoyment. Recently I went to the Walker for a lecture to visit the John Moores Painting Prize to view contemporary art and to spend time with something unfamiliar. We were asked by our lecturer to walk around the exhibition and to spend time with a painting. As I walked along the exhibition I hadn’t been open minded really and stuck to my opinion that I do not enjoy contemporary art as I don’t find it interesting and I feel like sometimes people just put paint on a canvas and call it a day. However, there was one artwork that I kept coming back to again and again. To the untrained eye it just looked like scribbles and lines on a canvas. The painting was ‘Chess Moves’ by Tyler Mallison (2025) acrylic on canvas. As I kept finding myself drawn to the artwork I sat in front and took my time and just looked. I didn’t think. I didn’t guess. I didn’t ask questions. Just Looked. With every passing second, I just knew I was getting closer to something maybe it was the truth that lied within the painting. After a few minutes of just looking I realised something. The artwork was chess moves. And no, I don’t mean the moves that the chess pieces make when playing but the words ‘chess moves’ itself written in a clever way to catch you out. It was spectacular. I couldn’t believe it. I had found the meaning of that painting just by looking and letting my mind go quiet. The whole purpose of the painting was that I wasn’t meant to see the words at first and that I needed to spend time with the artwork to understand. When I finally understood I found myself asking questions such as,

Is this what the artist intended?

Did the artist write chess moves with a chess piece?

If so, what chess piece?

Is the chess piece significant to the artwork?

What is the artists history with chess? 

It is something so profound that I had found in the artwork what I was meant to find. After spending many years disliking contemporary art because I found it boring, but the truth was, I only thought like that because I hadn’t spent time with contemporary art pieces before. I didn’t have an open mind. This is what led me to find contemporary art unattractive. Overall, I am really happy that I went to the John Moores Painting Prize as I got to learn something new about the art world and about myself as well, I had learnt that I needed to have an open mind in the art field and not being bound to a certain genre of painting styles and I believe that this is something profound, to have been able to open my mind and just take in what was in front of me.

Another artwork that instantly drew me in was ‘You Are Everything and Everything Is You’ by Leon Scott-Engel (2024) oil on tailored linen, foam. Wow. What an art piece. It is so fascinating. What drew me in at first was the colours and that it was painted on a small mattress like a child’s mattress. At first glance it just looked like a yellow stained mattress but when I spent time with the painting and let my mind clear it is so much more that a yellow stained mattress. By spending time with the painting, I fell in love with it. Painted on the mattress I could see a parental figure embracing a child in a loving and warm hug. The painting makes me feel comfortable and nostalgic as to when I was a child and needed comfort from my parents. The artwork might be suggesting a story of a mother comforting her child possibly something from the artists past that could have inspired the art piece but this I can only assume. 

I am still finding myself asking questions;

Who is the parental figure?

Why did the artist choose yellow?

Why a mattress?

What happened? 

What emotions are they feeling? 

Is this based on something that has happened? 

Is this something the artist longed for? 

This is a powerful art piece when you spend time with it and touching really. It confronted me if I am being honest and found myself asking questions about my childhood and the comfort that I have received from my parents. It is extraordinary what art can do and how moving it can be. This must be my favourite piece that was displayed in the John Moores Painting Prize just because of how endearing and clever it is. 

John Moores Painting Prize Winner 2025 

The winner of the 2025 John Moores Painting Prize was Ally Fallon with their painting ‘If You Were Certain, What Would You Do Then?’. Fallon (27) became the youngest winner since 1957. What an achievement. I cannot find the word to explain the art piece. It is interesting to say the least. However, my experience with it is that I didn’t find any story within the painting and it threw me off for a while. I am still unsure what the painting is exactly. I don’t understand how it has won but the judges must have found something like what I did with the other two paintings I mentioned above. For me personally I did not find something that sparked something in me. 

Overall, what a fantastic experience I had at the John Moores Painting Prize 2025, and I cannot wait for the next for another opportunity to open my mind and find myself in more contemporary art pieces. Could this be a start to me starting to enjoy contemporary art? I guess I will have to wait and see. 

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So, what is contemporary art?

In the dictionary the word contemporary has two definitions, the first being 'living or occurring at the same time' and the second being 'belonging to or occurring in the present.' When talking about art, the second definition seems to fit better within the context. Generally, contemporary art is agreed to have starting in the span 1920s-80s and is constantly developing today.

Contemporary art is conceptually driven, consistently pushing the limits of what art traditionally is and what art is thought of as being or what it can be understood as/become. The art style is often politically motivated or linked to politics and real-world problems rather than focusing on the beauty of the art. contemporary art can be ugly and confrontational making it the most powerful and raw art form, an artist that everyone is familiar with is Banksy and they explore political themes in their work in the most raw and honest way. Often, the most important method is process over the result. Contemporary art consists of a range of different medias, with increasingly blurring boundaries, including socially engaged practices. Contemporary artists often prioritize experimenting many different medias and techniques that best showcase their workin the way they want to rather than the result. In contemporary art styles everything is fluid, right and wrong answers don't exist - everything is subjective/art is subjective. There is no right or wrong way in looking at contemporary art, it is completely up to the viewer how they see and artwork and how they connect or don't connect with it.

Over the years there have been many great contemporary artists such as Sarah Lucas, she is best known for her sculptures that can be seen as provocative and humorous in some cases. Her works often explores subjects such as gender identity, sexuality and death. An example of her work is 'Nud Cycladic 12' (2010). 

So, what is contemporary art?

Really? It can be anything you want; it can be political, emotional, familiar, unfamiliar, it can be everything and nothing at the same time. Contemporary art is not just one thing, but it is everything and anything you want it to be.

My opinion on contemporary art 

Now I feel like I’m not connected to contemporary art pieces because I have not found a contemporary work that has spoken to me in a way that no other painting has. I feel like I need to have an awakening moment to see something that I enjoy in contemporary art. I do look at some pieces and say that they are okay, nothing special but who knows maybe in my journey to contemporary art in the next few months my opinion will have changed completely. 

My goals currently in contemporary art:

Go to more contemporary art exhibitions 

Be open minded and take in the art works and not just turn a blind eye 

Find something that I really enjoy even if it’s just one artwork 

My journey will now begin, and I wonder what I shall find. Will it be big? Small? A lesser-known artist? A well-known artist? I don’t know yet and don’t fully understand contemporary art, but within the next few months, I will have completed my goals and found something I like. 

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My experience at Brendan Lyons' exhibition, 'Discreet, Discrete'.

Brendan Lyons' solo exhibition 'Discreet, Discrete' at Bridewell Studios is worth seeing. His works are made of paper rolls and towel dispensers, cassette tapes, a black bin bag, and ivy climbing on a barbed wire fence. However, most of these objects were made of acrylic paint alone, which I found fascinating, and I found beauty in these ordinary, everyday objects. The acrylic paint had been manipulated in many ways I had never seen before. It acted as an illusion, made to replicate the real thing, such as the paper towels and the cassette tapes linked to materials so commonly used in our everyday lives.

The exhibition was curated in a white cube, a space so small and with tight windows that the eye focuses only on the artworks hanging on the walls. At first, the atmosphere felt small and intimate as the other people walking around the exhibition were experiencing the same feeling I had. However, it did feel like I wasn’t meant to be there as I did find myself feeling slightly naughty even though there was nothing that I had done wrong. It just felt strange entering someone else’s space and finding myself looking around freely and analysing Brendan Lyons’ work.  Because I was there expecting to be dissapointed because of my lack of enjoyment for contemporary art pieces maybe this is what had led me to feel like i didn't belong in the space.

I walked into the exhibition with a clear head, unaware of what I was about to encounter, as I went with friends who had looked into it beforehand. My initial reaction, well, I was confused as I was unsure what I would find. In front of me stood four paper roll dispensers and what looked like paper towels flowing to the ground. I immediately walked to them first as they caught my eye, and it wasn't until I had looked at it for a while that I realised that the paper roll was indeed paint, admittidley I was impressed by the idea of this alone and even more curious about the techniques used to make the acrylic paint look like it had so much fluidity in it. I really did enjoy these pieces, and it felt like a funny trick to pull on someone to put them in a bathroom when it is acrylic paint. It is quirky and would be a great installation in a house if you are into things like this.

The artwork that stood out to me the most was 'Endemical'. It was acrylic paint on muslin made to look like ivy crawling up a barbed wire fence. Each leaf had been carefully placed and made to look like real leaves. When looking at this art work i felt peace and happiness, it reminded me of old buildings that have ivy covering them. This artwork made me feel happy as I was just so lost in the fact that the artist made everything from acrylic, it looked realistic it was uncanny. 

It was such a pleasure to attend this exhibition and meet Brendan Lyons to talk about the artworks .