Mhairi Treharne
Born in Toronto 1989, living and working in Builth Wells Mid Wales
instagram @mhairi_treharne + email mhairi.mhairi@gmail.com
Artist Statement
I am motivated to create beautiful objects to last for centuries. My work is often small; surfaces are heavily worked and adorned prior to painting.
Integral frames are formed from stitching and embroidering wire along the edge of the worked panels. My wall-based works involve painting, sculpture, and craft techniques.
Imagery is inspired by my upbringing in rural Canada and life in Mid-Wales. Recently, I am inspired by medieval religious paintings, storied landscapes and my experiences as a mother.
I am entranced by jewel-like objects imbued with a sense of magic, sacredness, danger, and connection to another realm.
Biography
I was born in 1989 in Toronto. My Scottish mother and a Welsh father then settled in Minden - a rural town in Central Ontario. I still feel inspired by the iconic landscapes of that area; filled with marshland and lakes, dense forest and unyeilding granite.
At sixteen, I left home to live in Japan for a year as part of a cultural immersion program. Visual cues and references from that transformative year continue to wash over my work. Later, I lived in the Midwest of the United States and in the South West of England working as a technical designer for international clothing brands.
In my mid twenties I moved permanently to the United Kingdom, and completed a year of mentorship at The Newlyn School of Art in Cornwall. I have exhibited my work throughout the United Kingdom, presented two solo exhibitions, and been featured in international publications.
In 2021, I became a mother - and in 2023, a mother of two. The experience of motherhood has been a source of joy, growth, and inspiration. I work out of my studio in Builth Wells, Mid Wales.
CV
Selected Exhibitions2025 Cyfarthfa Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery: Juxtaposed (Currently)
2024 Velarde Gallery: Kingsbridge: Paradise: see more
2023 Mid Wales Arts Centre, Caesws: Open Exhibition Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy: Open Exhibition
2022 Darle and the Bear Gallery, Woodstock: "Brythonic Dreams" (Solo Exhibition) see more
2022 Birdwood House Gallery, Totnes: "Liminal Space"
2022 Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury: "Wiltshire Creative Summer Open"
2022 Kingshill House, Dursley: "Mind - be here, present / be here now"
2021 Mission Gallery, Swansea: "The Maker" (Solo Exhibition)
2021 Picton Castle Gallery, The Rhos: "Welsh Fables, Magic, & Halloween"
2021 Artizan Gallery, Torquay: "Gossamer Threads"
2021 Birdwood Gallery, Totnes: "Shared Spaces"
2020 Holt Festival Pavillion, Holt: Sir John Hurt Prize Shortlist Exhibition
2020 Jupiter Gallery, Newlyn: "From the Valley, and Beyond"
2020 The GAP Arts Project Space, Birmingham: "Self, Isolated"
2020 Jupiter Gallery, Newlyn: "Turbulent Times"
2020 North London Art Hub, London: "I have no idea how we grew up"
2019 Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens Gallery, Penzance: Summer Exhibition
2019 Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens Gallery, Penzance: "Sol Force"
2018 PZ Gallery, Penzance: "Aquarium"
Permanent Collections
Picton Castle Trust, Picton Castle Gardens: The Rhos: see more
Education
Artist Mentorship Program, Newlyn School of Art, 2018
Publications
SU4IP, TENSION Artist Book, April 2023
Forget Me Not Press: "In The Dark", November 2022 (Cover)
Texlandia 2022/23, October 2022
Yolk Literary Volume 2.2, August 2022
Epoch Journal No. 5 Unholy, August 2022
Self, Isolated: Self portraits from lockdown: The GAP Arts Project, August 2020
photo credit to Lucy Cox
instagram @mhairi_treharne
mhairi.mhairi@gmail.com
mhairi.mhairi@gmail.com
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