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

Biography

He studied at St Martins School of Art and Ateliers, Arnhem. In 2004, he won a Paul Hamlyn Award for the Visual Arts and in 2005 he was Welsh artist-in-residence at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. He was shortlisted for the Beck's Futures prize in 2006. His work ''Walk a Mile in My Shoes'' was a rack of 41 pairs of size 13 shoes. 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 boot The Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot. They were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became a staple of pr ...

s filled with straw. His 2011, Lionheart & Lightsout brass sculpture was installed in Swansea Kingsway by Locws international’s Art Across the City event. 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. For 2012

Frieze Art Fair Frieze Art Fair is an international contemporary art fair in London, New York, and Los Angeles. Frieze London takes place every October in London's Regent's Park. In the US, the fair ran on New York's Randall's Island from 2012–19 and in 2 ...

, London, Williams presented ''Curator'' ''Cadaver Cake'' as part of Frieze Projects, in association with

Grizedale Arts Grizedale Arts is a contemporary arts residency and commissioning agency sited in Grizedale Forest in the central Lake District in rural Northern England. It conducts cultural projects locally, nationally and internationally from its bases at La ...

. In a live performance the artists conducted
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,

. ''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 Mostyn is a village and community in Flintshire, Wales, and electoral ward lying on the estuary of the River Dee, located near the town of Holywell. It has a privately owned port that has in the past had a colliery and ironworks and was invo ...

and Oriel Davies and supported by the Arts Council of Wales. Bedwyr recently announced himself as being in favour of Welsh independence.

References

External links

Artist's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Bedwyr Welsh contemporary artists Welsh artists Living people 1974 births Welsh Eisteddfod Gold Medal winners