Bedwyr Williams

Bedwyr Williams (born 1974 in St. Asaph) is a Welsh artist. He works across varied media including drawing, painting, writing and video..[1]

Biography

He studied at St Martins School of Art and Ateliers, Arnhem.[2]

In 2004, he won a Paul Hamlyn Award for the Visual Arts[3] and in 2005 he was Welsh artist-in-residence at the Venice Biennale.[4]

He was shortlisted for the Beck's Futures prize in 2006.[5] His work Walk a Mile in My Shoes was a rack of 41 pairs of size 13 shoes.[6]

In 2011, Williams won the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the National Eisteddfod of Wales for his mixed media sculptures and artworks, including carved wellington boots filled with straw.[7]

His 2011, Lionheart & Lightsout brass sculpture was installed in Swansea Kingsway by Locws international’s Art Across the City event.[8] The sculpture commemorates two Swansea cage fighter dressed in drag on a night out, who were assaulted. The subsequent fight was documented on CCTV and became an internet hit in 2009.[9]

For 2012 Frieze Art Fair, London, Williams presented Curator Cadaver Cake as part of Frieze Projects, in association with Grizedale Arts. In a live performance the artists conducted a live autopsy on a life-sized curator made from cake, complete with edible internal organs.

In 2013, Bedwyr Williams represented Wales in Venice as an official Collateral Event at the 55th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale.[10] The Starry Messenger was presented at the Ludoteca Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, Venice and explored the relationships between stargazing and the home, the cosmos, and the role of the amateur in a professional world. The project was jointly curated by MOSTYN and Oriel Davies and supported by the Arts Council of Wales.

Bedwyr recently announced himself as being in favour of Welsh independence.[11]

References

  1. ^ Kim Dhillon, Bedwyr Williams Archived 2008-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, Frieze, April 2006.
  2. ^ "walesvenicebiennale.org". Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  3. ^ news.bbc.co.uk, Thursday, 14 October, 2004, accessed April 7, 2008
  4. ^ Adrian Searle, Picture perfect Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, Nov 30, 2004.
  5. ^ arts.guardian.co.uk Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 7, 2008
  6. ^ Oliver Duff, Beck's pushes boundaries with 'Bums Breakfast' and smelly shoes Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, The Independent, March 29, 2006.
  7. ^ "Bedwyr’s tribute to the farmer wins the Gold Medal for Art at the Eisteddfod" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Wales Online, 1 August 2011, accessed 20 January 2011.
  8. ^ http://www.locwsinternational.com/?portfolio=bedwyr-williams&langswitch_lang=en Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, 20 March 2011, accessed 7 March 2016
  9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8296190.stm Archived 2017-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, 8 October 2009, accessed 7 March 2016
  10. ^ "2013 Bedwyr Williams (Wales) | British Council". venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Bedwyr Williams on Instagram: "@yescymru"".