Bethan Huws

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]

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]

• 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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bethan Huws.

• Konrad Bitterli and others, Bethan Huws, Buchhandlung Walther Konig (2007), ISBN 3-86560-115-4
• Michael Archer and others, Bethan Huws: Singing to the Sea, Artangel (2006), ISBN 2-9525304-0-8