Valerie Coffin Price
Associate Member
As an artist-letterer my work deals with issues to do with the environment, language and cultural identity. A sense of place is fundamental to my work, much of which is made in response to a given location. The poetic resonance of language and its connection to the environment drives my work which is concerned with how the environment is defined through language and cultural identity.
In recent projects I have been exploring ideas of mapping in relation to a sense of place, as well as an understanding of community and landscape, looking at the relationships between the human and natural, or manmade, environment.
The work involves a process of archeo-visual research using drawing and textual traces to construct works inspired by elements of natural and human geography, revealing the multi-layered structure of culture, language and nature. These traces include fragments of objects, memories, history and remnants of text and sound. It is these ‘unseen paths’ that connect us to nature, to the liminal, to the invisible world of currents, winds, ideas and language that drives my work.
I tend to work, in blocks of 5-10 years, towards an overall subject matter, existing within this overarching focus are a number of streams of inquiry, or practice. My current area of practice, Intimate Cartographies, involves research into internal and external human geographies, the use of language and their connection to an interior sense of self. The first stage of this work explores the poetic responses of various writers to the landscape and looks into the diversity of languages that we use to connect to our internal and external human geography. One aspect of this is looking at the relationship between walking and creativity. Another is exploring the connection between maps and topography in relation to the idea of the landscape as ‘a region of the mind’.
By bringing together divergent languages and landscapes to form a subjective map, we can document the landscape, almost as a palimpsest* , and connect to an interior sense of self, whether verbal, physical, cultural or personal.
*Palimpsest: parchment etc used for second time after original writing has been erased (leaving a faint echo of the original)
Education
- 1986-87
- City & Guilds of London Art School Post-grad diploma, Sculpture
- 1973-76
- Chelsea School of Art, London BA (Hons), Fine Art
Solo Exhibitions
- 2020
- Berlin Water, StAnza Literary Festival, St Andrews
- 2015
- The River Next Door,Oriel y Bont, University of South Wales
- 2011
- Intimate Cartographies Cardiff, Gloucestershire and Fishguard, Pembrokeshire
- 2007
- Distant Voices Newport Museum & Art Gallery
- 2003
- Territories Montmagny, Québec, Canada
- 1996
- Vessels of Sound Brecnock Museum, Brecon
- 1995
- The Grave Stanzas Norwegian Church, Cardiff Prema Arts Centre, Uley, Gloucs
- 1993
- Memory Boxes Hereford Library & Museum
- 1992
- Wyeside Arts Centre, Builth Wells
- Karl Marx Foundation of Culture, Moscow, Russia
Two Person Exhibitions
- 2006
- Shadows National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff
- Distant Horizons The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff.
- Residues Llantarnam Grange, Cwmbran
- 2005
- One World, Many Voices Artworks Wales, Cardiff
- 2004
- From There to Here Swansea Museum
- 2000
- Sea Garden The Gallery, Stratford-upon-Avon
- 1996
- Untitled Ruthin Craft Centre, Clwyd
- 1994
- Memories & Traces County Hall, Cardiff
- Castle Museum, Nottingham
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2022
- Paper Exchange Thinking, Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China Courtyard Arts, Hereford
- 2021
- Sculpture Cymru at Twenty-one, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
- 2019
- Cartographic Imaginaries, Oriel Davies, Newtown; National Library of Wales; Swansea Museum
- Thinking, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
- Line & Form, Oriel Canfas, Cardiff; ArtCentral, Barry
- Paper Exchange, BayArt, Cardiff
- Open Books, Art Central, Barry
- 2018
- Fields of Vision, Boundary Arts, Cardiff Bay
- Sculptural Investigations, Bleddfa Centre, Bleddfa
- 2017
- Place, Dyffryn Gardens, S Wales
- Open Books, Jaipur, India
- The Library of Pilgrimages, Trowbridge Arts Centre
- 2016
- Open Books, LAC, Ottawa, Canada
- Place, Sculpture Cymru, Dyffryn Gardens
- 2015
- New Numbers: New Approaches, University of Gloucestershire
- 2013
- RiverMap, Museum in the Park, Stroud/Ruskin Mill
- River Walking, Site 13, Stroud Brewery, Stroud
- 2012
- Earth, Water, Wind, Sky, Site 12, Old Passage, Arlingham, Gloucs
- Shades of Grey, Craft in the Bay, Cardiff
- 2011
- Poetry & Place, Exhibition/conference, Gloucs
- WaterWay, Site 11, Old Passage, Arlingham, Gloucs
- Flood, Exhibition/conference, Gloucs University
- Beyond the Comfort Zone, Photo Stroud, Ruskin Mill, Gloucs
- 2010
-
- The Moment Privacy has Passed Usher Gallery, Lincoln
- 2006
- 100 Hours Hereford School of Art
- 2003
- Voyage Out Dock Museum, Barrow-in-Furness
- Presence and Absence Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews
- Touring in Scotland; Highlands & Islands
- 2002
- Waterlines Newport Museum & Art Gallery
- 1995-07
- Made in the Middle Touring show: MAC, Birmingham; Stoke-on-Trent/Wolverhampton Museums
- 1995
- Gweled Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen
- 1992
- Words and Letters Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
- Fragments Wyeside Arts Centre, Builth Wells
- The Welsh Margam Sculpture Park, Port Talbot
- Gweled Cyfartha Castle, Myrthr Tydfil
- 1991
- Inside Out Hackney Museum, London
- 1990-01
- Still & Silent Objects Natural History Museum, London
- 1989
- Critic’s Space V Air Gallery, London
- 1988
- Gathering Rites Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
- 1983
- Independent Artists Exhibition Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin
- 1982
- Hayward Annual Hayward Gallery, London
Public Commissions, Fellowships & Residencies
- 2022
- Créations sur le Champ, Land Art Festival, Mont-St-Hilaire, Québec
- 2019
- Hosking Houses, Warwickshire, Artist-in-Residence
- 2016
- Connected Studio, BBC-Nesta digital innovation
- 2011
- OLA, Cardiff Artist-in-Residence
- 2009
- Digital Studio Digital Residency
- Sensual Garden
- 2007
- Ty Dyfan, Barry Artist-in Residence
- 2005-06
- Hereford School of Art aa2a residency
- Welsh Refugee Council Artist-in Residence
- 2002
- Est-Nord-Est, Québec, Canada Artist-in-Residence
- Sites of Meaning, Derbyshire Marker Stone for the Millennium
- Newborough Warren, Anglesey Slate fence for ‘Creu-ad’
- Europe Centre, Canberra, Australia Finalist, International Commission
- 2001
- Stoke-on-Trent Council ‘Tree of Life’: oak
- 2000
- Newport Council Design and Consultancy
- Stoke-on-Trent NHS Trust Lead Artist
- 1998
- Boréal Art/Nature, Québec, Canada Artist-in-Residence
- 1997
- Chicago, USA Visiting artist
- SUSTRANS, Bangor - Caernarfon Artist-in Residence
- 1995
- Margam Sculpture Park Public seating and tables: Oak
- 1994
- Neath Community Education National Eisteddfod, 6 schools
- 1993
- Powys County Council Commemorative plaque: Slate
- Royal Welsh Agricultural Society Commemorative plaque: Slate
- 1992-93
- Gloucester Public Art Project ‘Benches’: Limestone and Oak
- 1992
- Garden Festival Wales, South Wales ‘Font’: Bath stone
- Margam Sculpture Trust Artist-in Residence
- Gloucester Public Art Project Artist Placement
- Hereford Arts-in-Action Community Arts Project
- 1991-02
- Moscow, Russia Visiting artist
Grants
- 2004
- Arts Council of Wales: Creative Wales grant
- 2003
- Wales Arts International, Travel Grant
- 2002
- Wales Arts International, Research Grant
- 1998
- Oppenheim-Downes Award
- Arts Council of Wales Travel Grant
- 1991
- Arts Council of Wales Travel Grant
- 1985
- Arts Council of Great Britain
Publications
- 2021
- Troeon - Turnings 2018 A Part of the Main
- 2015
- A Fold in the River
- 2013
- Thinking Like a Wetland
- 2011
- Landscape Explorations
- 2010
- Landscape Explorations Visual Diary
- 2009
- Tidal Wales (with Mary Husted)
Publicity
- 2011
- Interview Stroud FM
- 2009
- Tidal Wales ITV
- 2004
- Arts for the Rural Environment Crefft
- 2002
- Article re residency in Canada by VCP a-n
- 2001
- ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ review by VCP a-n
- Review of Dilys Jackson sculpture ‘Sculpture’ exhibition by VCP
- 1999
- Sioe Gelf S4C
- 1998
- interview Radio Wales
- 1996
- Review by Darren Waters Western Mail
- 1995
- Article ‘Valerie Coffin Price’ Brecon & Radnor Express
- 1994
- Review ‘Exhibition of Memories’ by Jaques Rangasamy ‘Untitled’
- Interview on arts review programme The Slate, BBC1
- Article ‘Artist-in-Residence’ Uned Gelf
- Article ‘Exhibition of Memories’ Gweled
- Catalogue ‘Memories & Traces’
- 1993
- Article Gloucester Citizen
- 1992
- Article Hereford Times
- Article Gloucester Citizen
- 1991
- Article ‘Friday’s People’ Western Mail
- Review ‘Still & Silent Objects’ Women’s Art Magazine
- Article ‘Still & Silent Objects’ Artist’s Newsletter
- Interview ‘Gathering Rites’ CV Journal of the Arts
- Review by Jane Norrie Arts Review
- 1990
- Post Dated Kensington News
- Sculpting Man’s Future Hammersmith Chronicle
Valerie Coffin Price
e-mail: vcprice@me.com
http://www.axisweb.org/p/valeriecoffinprice