Bethan Huws

Bethan Huws is a Welsh artist whose work delves into themes of place, identity, and language. Employing a variety of media, she often integrates architectural elements and text into her pieces.

Biography of Bethan Huws

Bethan Huws was born in 1961 in Bangor, Wales. She pursued her artistic education at Middlesex Polytechnic from 1981 to 1985, followed by further studies at the Royal College of Art in London from 1986 to 1988.

Huws made her significant solo exhibition debut at Art Cologne 1989, hosted by Koelnmesse GmbH in Cologne. Two years later, she relocated to Paris. 

The artist received the prestigious Adolf-Luther-Trust Art Award in 1998. Subsequently, she deepened her artistic exploration through The Henry Moore Sculpture Fellowship at the British School at Rome, which she held from 1999 to 2000.

Huws gained international recognition by representing Wales at the prestigious 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. Her artistic achievements were further lauded with the 2006 B.A.C.A. Europe Laureate prize at the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht. Building on her success, Huws was awarded the DAAD Artist-in-Residence position in Berlin from 2007 to 2008.

Her recent solo exhibitions include "Bethan Huws" at Galerie Tschudi in Zurich (2024), "Artist's Choice: Bethan Huws" at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein in Vaduz (2024), "Medieval Neon" at Galerie Thomas Schulte in Berlin (2022), and "The Ash and the Elm" at Vistamare in Milano (2022).

Additionally, Huws' works have been featured in numerous group shows held at various galleries and museums worldwide, including Wehrmühle Museum in Biesenthal, Museum Ludwig in Köln,  Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Millennium Gallery in Sheffield, Städtliche Galerie in Wolfsburg. among others.

Currently, the artist lives and works in Berlin, Germany. 

Bethan Huws' Art Style

Huws' artistic practice revolves around transforming spaces through intervention. By employing a diverse range of media, she challenges and alters perceptions. Drawing inspiration from Duchamp, her work frequently employs satire and parody to reinvent spaces, often through the use of lettering. Identity is another key theme, as she explores her experiences as a Welsh artist. Huws' landscapes, often depicting rural scenes from North Wales, are typically created from memory.

Bethan Huws' work is a multifaceted exploration of language and space. Through installations, sculptures, neon, photography, film, drawing, and writing, she engages in poetic experimentation and art-historical inquiry. Writing serves as a foundational point for her personal reflections, while a keen critical eye informs her methodical and subtly ironic approach to the world around her.

The artist delves into the role of the artist by examining pivotal moments in art history. Her work creates liminal spaces that reveal an intimate artistic process. A central theme is the interplay between familiar locations and everyday language, as well as the convergence of sound and words.