MAKERS MERGE

wales / south tyrol
30 June - 9 September 2018

Artists and curators Gabi Veit and Beate Gegenwart selected for the Makers Guild Wales an exciting body of work by artists from their reciprocal regions of Wales and South Tyrol. 

South Tyrol, on the edge of Italy to Austria and Switzerland, the linguistic boundary of German and Italian. Wales on the edge of an island, bordering with England, having the dual languages of English and Welsh.

Ten artists were invited to pair with one another, five from Wales (MGW members) and five from South Tyrol. The pairing selection influenced by the observation of similarities in the artists sense of design within their practice, but not necessarily working in similar materials. The artists were invited to correspond in their pairs over the past year, whether by telephone, skype, email or if possible by studio visits to learn more about one another's approach to their practice. As the project developed, a strong connection of landscape to artistic practice was emerging. Individual design and choice of materials and process, strongly influenced by the rugged mountain, forested landscape of South Tyrol or the softer curves of rural Wales and its craggy coastline.

Beate Gegenwart / Othmar Prenner
Shelley Doolan / Alessandra Piazza
Rauni Higson / Gabi Veit
Jon Bull / Laurenz Stockner
Karen Williams / Daniela Chinellato

You can see Guild member Rauni Higson working in her studio in this artist commissioned short film available on youtube