Sue Hiley Harris creates three-dimensional sculpture suitable for public spaces as well as small-scale pieces for domestic settings. Most of her sculpture is handwoven and concerned with space, line, interval and texture as well as with the properties of the materials used. These may best be understood in relation to constructed abstract art generally, whether two or three-dimensional. Material, structure and form are inter-dependent.

 

The forms are often built on pure geometric shapes, repeated or as multiple parts of a complete work. Some, such as Eighteen Faces, Three Spaces and Four White Cubes, Nine Indigo Squares, take their titles from aspects of their geometric construction. In these works the structure and weight of the paper yarn in relation to the sett of the weave not only dictates the appearance of the surface but also the rounded form of the cubes.

 

The concepts for these structures are meticulously worked out and yet they have emotional connotations and impact. They bring together pervasive themes in her life and art encompassing: the study of fine art, a fascination with geometry, an abiding interest in science and the environment, a deep understanding of the structure of yarn and the practice of weaving.

 

Sue was born and brought up in suburban Australia. The Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons on the eastern border of Wales have been her chosen home for over thirty years and it is here that she finds a sense of herself and of her work. In 2013 Sue was awarded a major Creative Wales Award, by the Arts Council of Wales, which is taking her work in new directions. She has in exhibited in many countries including Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Romania, France, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Japan.

Born: Brisbane, Australia.

Lives: Brecon, Wales.

 

Art colleges:

1992-1998  Open University (BSc Hons).

1980-1982  Bradford College (Handloom Weaving).

1968 – 1974  Queensland College of Art (Fine Art).

 

Commissions:

2012. 1944 We Were Here – Black GIs in Dorset (Walford Mill Crafts).

2008/2009. Redevelopment of the ‘Gap’ site, Blaenavon. Torfaen County Council.

2007. Holding 10 - supported by Arts Council, West Midlands.

2006. Beacons Way Art Project, Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales.

Private commissions for interior and exterior sculpture.

Work held in public collections in Wales, England and Italy.

 

Selected exhibitions:

2012: Urbanity, Vancouver, Canada.

2009 / 2011: Ancestor Bags at MOMA Wales & Bankfield Museum, Halifax.

2008: Form, Expression, Memory, The Applied Arts Workshop of Gödöllö, Gödöllö, Hungary with Naoko Yoshimoto (Japan).

2008: Hidden Waves, Llanover Hall Arts Centre, Cardiff.

2007: Confluence, Craft in the Bay, Cardiff with sculptor Richard Renshaw.

2006: Woven Structures, Mount Street Gallery, Brecon, Wales.

2004: Woven Structures, Ararat Gallery, Victoria, Australia.

2003: Woven Structures, Walford Mill Craft Centre, Dorset, England.

2002: Woven Structures, Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery, Brecon, Wales.

2001; Intersections, Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wales.

 

Selected group exhibitions:

2014-15: Winter Exhibition, Joseph Gibson Gallery, Shrewsbury, England.

2012-14: Xe Triennale Internationale des mini-textiles, Angers & Mouton, France.

2012: Agorà - 2012 Miniartextil Como, Italy, touring to Paris and Venice.

2012: 1944 We Were Here: Black GIs in Dorset, Wimbourne, England.

2011: Continere, 7th International Triennial of Textile Arts of Tournai, Belgium.

2010: warp+weft, Oriel Myrddin Gallery, Carmarthen, Wales.

2009: Stad yr Ystad, State of the Estate, Powys, Wales.

2009: Cut, 25 Years International Textile Art Graz, Austria.

2007: International Tapestry Exhibition, Graz, Austria.

2007: Eight Artists on the Trail, The Art Shop, Abergavenny, Wales, Mount Street Gallery, Brecon & Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery, Brecon.

2007: INDIGO: A Blue to Dye for Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, England, then touring to Plymouth, England and Brighton, England.

2006: Sculpture in the Garden 2006, Galanthus Gallery, Hereford, England.

2006: Paperworks, Bury Art Gallery, Bury, England.

2005: Influenced by Architecture, Walford Mill Gallery, Wimborne, Dorset.

2004/05, 2002 & 2000: Trame d’Autore, Biennale D’Art Tessile, Chieri, Italy and touring to Textilmeseum St Gallen, Switzerland.

2003: The Sculpture Trail at Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, England.

2003: Sheep – A celebration by Contemporary Artists. Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery, Brecon, Wales.

2002-2003: Metamorphing Wellcome Trust/ Science Museum Exhibition, Science Museum, London.