Bethan Huws

Bethan Huws (born 1961) is a Welsh multi-media artist whose work explores place, identity, and translation, often using architecture and text.^[1]^[2] Her work has been described as "delicate, unobtrusive interventions into architectural spaces".^[2]

Huws was born in Bangor, Wales in 1961.^[3] English is her second language, with Welsh being her vernacular.^[4] She studied at Middlesex Polytechnic between 1981 and 1985^[5] and at the Royal College of Art, London, between 1986 and 1988.^[5] At her graduate show, Huw's presented an empty studio 'having chiselled clean, inch by inch, the entire wooden-floor'.^[6]

Huws' first major solo exhibition was Art Cologne 1989 at Koelnmesse GmbH in Cologne.^[7] Other notable exhibitions include the Anthony Reynolds Gallery (1988), Riverside Studios (1989), Kunsthalle Bern (1990), Luis Campana Gallery (1991), the Venice Biennale (2003) and the Ingleby Gallery (2011).^[2]^[8]^[9]

In 1991, Huws moved to Paris, France.^[6]

In 1993, Huws made a film called Singing for the Sea in which eight Bulgarian women sing and dance on a beach on the North Sea coast in Northumberland, wearing traditional Bulgarian dress. The performance took place over three evenings in front of a live audience, and the resulting 12-minute film was exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp.^[9]

Huws was awarded the Adolf-Luther-Trust Art Award in 1998.^[10]

Between 1999 and 2000, Huws undertook The Henry Moore Sculpture Fellowship at the British School at Rome.^[10]

In 2004, she won the Ludwig Gies-Award for Small-sized Sculpture by LETTER Trust, Cologne, Germany.^[10]

She won the B.A.C.A. Europe 2006 award given by the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht.^[10]

Huws was the DAAD Artist-in-Residence between 2007 and 2008 in Berlin, Germany.^[10]

Huws has lived in Berlin since 2010.^[4]

Artistic style

Huws' work is centred around the re-imagining of spaces through intervention.^[11] Through the use of multi-media materials, her work interrupts and redirects understanding.^[11] Self-investigation is also required by the viewer to create a new interpretation of space.^[3] There is a universal commentary within her work, conveying messages that can be understood without language.^[6] Heavily basing her practice on Duchamp, Huws' work is often satirical, reinventing spaces in a parodical way.^[3] This is achieved through her use of lettering, exemplified in works such as 'Piss off I'm a Fountain'.^[1] Similarly, Huws plays with readymade elements to construct artistic perspectives.^[12] She is also influenced by René Magritte's intellectual work.^[3] Identity is another theme central to Huws' work, often reflecting on her life as a Welsh artist.^[3] Her landscapes are usually created from memory, typically depicting farming scenes in North Wales.^[6] From a young age Huws has used reeds to make miniature boats.^[1] These boats carry subjective value to Huws due to their link to Wales and are incorporated creatively into her work.^[12]

Exhibitions

Royal College of Art, London, UK (1987)^[10]
Institute Sainte Marie, Brussels, Belgium (1987)^[10]
56/57 Rivington Street, London, UK (1988)^[10]
Royal College of Art, London, UK (1988)^[10]
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London, UK (1988)^[10]
Les Grâces de la Nature, Sixièmes Ateliers Internationaux des Pays de la Loire, Gétigné, France (1989)^[10]
Riverside Studios, London, UK (1989)^[10]
Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland (1990)^[10]
The British Art Show, The South Bank Centre, London, UK (1990)^[10]
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK (1991)^[10]
Gemischtes Doppel, Wiener Secession, Vienna, Austria (1992)^[10]
Oh! Cet echo!, Centre Cultural Suisse, Paris, France (1992)^[10]
Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany (1992)^[10]
Galerie Luis Campaña, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (1992)^[10]
Galerie Friedrich, Bern, Switzerland (1993)^[10]
A Work for the North Sea, Alnwick, organised by Artangel, London, UK (1993)^[10]
Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany (1993)^[10]
On Taking a Normal Situation..., Antwerp 93, Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerpen, Belgium (1993)^[10]
Welt-Moral, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (1994)^[10]
Galerie Luis Campaña, Cologne, Germany (1994)^[10]
Uscita di sicurezza, Sala Cassero, Castel San Pietro Terme, Italy (1995)^[10]
Galerie Luis Campaña, Cologne, Germany (1995)^[10]
Galerie Friedrich, Bern, Switzerland (1995)^[10]
Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany (1996)^[10]
Life/Live, ARC – Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (1996)^[10]
Life/Live, Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisboa, Portugal (1996)^[10]
Galerie Friedrich, Bern, Switzerland (1997)^[10]
Résonances, Galerie Art’o, Aubervilliers, France (1997)^[10]
Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997, Westfalisches Landesmuseum, Munster, Germany (1997)^[10]
Eté, Centre Genevois de Gravure Contemporain, Geneve, Switzerland (1997)^[10]
Pictura Britannica, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia, touring exhibition (1997–98)^[10]
Voice Over, National touring exhibition from the Hayward Gallery, London, UK (1998)^[10]
New Art from Britain, Kunstraum, Innsbruck, Austria (1998)^[10]
Ethno-Anthics, Nordiska Museum, Stockholm, Sweden (1998)^[10]
Clean Slate, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (1998)^[10]
7. Triennale der Kleinplastik, Forum Sudwest LB, Stuttgart, Germany (1998)^[10]
Watercolours, Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, D; Kunstmuseum, Bern, CH; Oriel Mostyn Art Gallery, Llandudno, GB (1998–99)^[10]
Oakville Galleries, Oakville, Canada (1999)^[10]
Bonakdar Jancou Gallery, New York, USA (1999)^[10]
Readymades belong to everyone, Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany (1999)^[10]
Am Horizont, Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany (1999)^[10]
Drawings, Bonakdar Jancou Gallery, New York, USA (1999)^[10]
Mixing Memory and Desire, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland (2000)^[10]
Watercolours, The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK (2000)^[10]
Finale de partita, Biagiotti Arte Contemporanea, Firenze, Italy (2000)^[10]
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany (2000)^[10]
Galerie Friedrich, Bern, Switzerland (2000)^[10]
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK (2001)^[10]
Sammlung Thomas Olbricht, Neues Museum Weserberg, Bremen, Germany (2001)^[10]
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (2001)^[10]
R, Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany (2001)^[10]
Self/Portrait, National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff, UK (2001)^[10]
Zeitmaschine-Time Machine, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland (2002)^[10]
Regarder la mer, repenser le monde, Le Grande Café, Saint Nazaire, France (2002)^[10]
The Museum, the Collection, the Director and his Loves (curated by Udo Kittelmann), Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2002)^[10]
Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany (2002)^[10]
Word-Vitrines, K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany (2003)^[10]
ION ON, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, GB (2003)^[10]
Galerie Friedrich, Basel, Switzerland (2003)^[10]
Foyer, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany (2003)^[10]
ION ON (curated by Michael Nixon and Patricia Fleming), Wales at the Venice Biennale, Italy (2003)^[10]
The Translator's Notes (curated by Irene Amore), Café Gallery, London, UK (2003)^[10]
Celebrate/Dathlu, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, UK (2003)^[10]
Further, Aberystwyth Art Centre, Aberystwyth, Wales; Glynn Vivian Art Centre, Swansea, Wales; National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff, UK (2003–04)^[10]
ION ON, Singing for the Sea, Tate Modern, London, UK (2004)^[10]
Galerie Tschudi, Glarus, Switzerland (2004)^[10]
9. Triennale der Kleinplastik Fellbach, Stuttgart, Germany (2004)^[10]
Summer Show, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland (2004)^[10]
Hauptwerke der Sammlung, Kolumba, Diozesanmuseum, Cologne, Germany (2004)^[10]
ERYRI-A Sense of Place, Gwynedd Museum & Art Gallery, Bangor, Wales, UK (2005)^[10]
Art Made of Chocolate, Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany (2005)^[10]
Over & Over, Again & Again, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Latvia (2005)^[10]
A Brief History of Invisible Art, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco, USA (2005–06)^[10]
Brought to Light, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales, GB (2005–06)^[10]
Textual Works, New Langton Arts, San Francisco, USA (2006)^[10]
Detail(s), Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2006)^[10]
DI-SEGNI, Studio Trisorio Napoli & Roma, Italy (2006)^[10]
Filme, Institute für Kunst und Medien der HGK, Zurich, Switzerland (2006)^[10]
Galerie Friedrich, Basel, Switzerland (2006)^[10]
B.A.C.A. 2006, Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht, Netherlands (2006–07)^[10]
PURE, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA (2007)^[10]
100 Days=100 Videos, GL. Strand, Copenhagen, DK, 10 selected by Anna-Catharina Gebbers (2007)^[10]
Inky Toy Affinitas, Cerealart, Philadelphia, USA, curated by Anna-Catharina Gebbers (2007)^[10]
Bookish Relations, Anna-Catharina Gebbers | Bibliothekswohnung, Berlin, Germany (2007)^[10]
Lines, Squares and Cubes, Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany (2007)^[10]
Learn to Read, Tate Modern, London, GB, curated by Vincent Honoré & Maeve Polkinhorn (2007)^[10]
University Gallery, University of Massaschussetts, Amherst, USA (2007)^[10]
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland (2007)^[10]
Museu Serralves, Porto, Poland (2008)^[10]
Young Ladies, Old Chaps, and Some Thai Friends, Galleria SpazioA, Pistoia, Italy (2009)^[10]
VOIDS. Eine Retrospektive über leere Ausstellungen, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland (2009)^[10]
We would like to thank (again) the curators who wish to remain anonymous, Galerie Anne Barrault, Paris, France (2009)^[10]
Espèces d’espaces, Yvon Lambert, New York, USA (2009)^[10]
The Making of Art, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/Main, Germany (2009)^[10]
Vides, Une rétrospective, Centre Pompidou, Musée National d´Art Moderne, Paris, France (2009)^[10]
Ph-Projects, Berlin, Germany (2009)^[10]
Bethan Huws, Kestnergesellschaft, Hanover, Germany (2010)^[10]
Die Natur ruft!, daadgalerie, Berlin, Germany (2010)^[10]
25 Jahre Galerie Tschudi, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland (2010)^[10]
Next Generation. Einblicke in junge Ostschweizer Privatsammlungen, Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen, Switzerland (2010)^[10]
Passion Fruits Picked From The Olbricht Collection, Me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany (2010)^[10]
Louise Lawler, Allan McCollum, Bethan Huws, Galerie Isabella Czarnowska, Berlin, Germany (2010)^[10]
Bethan Huws: Drawings, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (2010)^[13]
Art Now Lightbox: Bethan Huws, Tate Britain, London, UK (2010)^[13]
More Pricks Than Kicks, The David Roberts Arts Foundation, London, UK (2010)^[10]
Bethan Huws: Capelgwyn, Whitechappel Art Gallery, London, UK (2011)^[13]
Bethan Huws: Billboard for Edinburgh, Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (2011)^[13]
A Text Is A Thing, Vistamare Benedetta Spalletti, Pescara, Italy (2011)^[13]
Art and Philosophy, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (NBK), Mitte, Berlin, Germany (2011)^[13]
Zwei Sammler - Thomas Olbricht and Harald Falckenberg, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany (2011)^[13]
Problem Play, Koenig & Clinton, Brooklyn, New York, USA (2012)^[13]
A House of Leaves, The David Roberts Art Foundation, London, UK (2012)^[13]
Ahoy, an Island!, Fondation d'Entreprise Ricard, 8e, Paris, France (2012)^[13]
Bethan Huws & The Bistritsa Babi: 'Singing for The Sea' (1993), Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal, UK (2013)^[13]
Editions of the Aargau Art Association 1991 – 2013, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland (2013)^[13]
Rhythm in it, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland (2013)^[13]
Cleaning Up, Johannes Vogt, Upper East Side, New York, USA (2013)^[13]
Bethan Huws, Vistamare Benedetta Spalletti, Pescara, Italy (2014)^[13]
Bethan Huws: Reading Duchamp, Research Notes 2007-2014, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland (2014)^[13]
Billboard For Edinburgh, Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (2014)^[13]
Boom She Boom: Works from the MMK Collection, MMK, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, Germany (2014)^[13]
Playing by Heart, Kolumba, Kunstmuseum des Erzbistums Köln, Cologne, Germany (2014)^[13]
Beating around the bush Episode #3, Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht, Maastricht, Netherlands (2014)^[13]
Bethan Huws: Culture, Language & Thought, Kolumba, Kunstmuseum des Erzbistums Köln, Cologne, Germany (2016)^[13]
30 Years Kunsthalle Bern Foundation, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland (2016)^[13]
Do you get what you see?, Grieder Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland (2016)^[13]
Horizons, Vistamare Benedetta Spalletti, Pescara, Italy (2016)^[13]
The Astonishing Reality of Things, Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich, Germany (2016)^[13]
Bethan Huws, Vistamare Benedetta Spalletti, Pescara, Italy (2017)^[13]
Bethan Huws, Barbara Cross Galerie, Munich, Germany (2017)^[13]
A boat is a floating piece of space, toward the Horizon, Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy (2017)^[13]
Bethan Huws: Works on Paper, Barbara Cross Galerie, Munich, Germany (2018)^[13]
Bethan Huws, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland (2018)^[13]
Reflection about Reflection, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland (2018)^[13]
The Sculpture Collections, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK (2018)^[13]
RE-SET: Appropriation and transformation in Music and Art since 1900, Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland (2018)^[13]
Reading Duchamp- Research Notes 2007-2014, Kunstaele Berlin, Germany (2019)^[5]
Federn: Wärmen, Verführen, Fliegen, Gewerbemuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland (2019)^[13]
Sans réserve, Frac Bretagne, Rennes, France (2019)^[13]
Monde(s) Merveilleux, Galerie Art Attitude Herve Bize, Nancy, France (2019)^[13]
Cambio. New Additions to the Collection, Kunstmusuem St. Gallen, Switzerland (2020)^[13]
The World is Gone, I Must Carry You, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (2020)^[13]
I Reflect What You Are: From Nan Goldin To Roni Horn. Intimacy In The Collection Lambert, Collection Lambert en Avignon, France (2020)^[13]
Art From A Hundred Years: Highlights Of The Daimler Art Collection 1920-2020, Daimler Contemporary, Berlin, Germany (2020)^[13]
Ècoute, Galerie Tschudi · Zuoz, Switzerland (2021)^[5]
Bethan Huws: Works on Paper / Word Vitrines, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Reinhart am Stadtgarten, Winterthur, Switzerland (2021)^[13]
Bethan Huws: Works on Paper / Word Vitrines, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Beim Stadthaus, Winterthur, Switzerland (2021)^[13]

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Artistic style

Exhibitions

References

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