Bio
Bethan creates works on paper in pencil, Indian ink and oil bar. Her work is inspired by nature, consciousness and impermanence, and it is informed by her own explorations into the nature of consciousness, Buddhist philosophy, observational drawing, and the work of artists such as Chinese ink painter Liu Dan, illustrator Ralph Steadman, outsider artist Guo Fengyi, and author Herman Hesse.
Her practice is driven by her need to express herself freely and effectively, without using her voice. Having struggled with social anxiety her whole life, and finding it difficult to explain herself orally, her natural instinct has always been to draw her thoughts.
Through combining a process of spontaneous mark making in ink or oil bar with a disciplined drawing practice, she is searching for, and occasionally succeeds in finding, balance.
Since completing a BA in Drawing at Camberwell College of Art (University of the Arts London) in 2008, she has exhibited her fine art work in a number of exhibitions, solo, joint and juried, in the UK and abroad. She has also been commissioned to create illustrations for an environmental journal and a recently published non fiction book.
Usually based in London, UK, Bethan is currently living in Falmouth, where she has just completed a Masters in Prosthetic Effects at Falmouth University. She intends to use her new found skills to create more sculptural work, and is enjoying noticing how her year of working in 3D has begun to influence her drawing style. New work coming soon…!
CV
2022: Open Studio, SE21, London https://dulwichfestival.co.uk/openhouse/bethan-mcfadden/
2022: Illustrations published in The Meat Paradox by Rob Percival (Little, Brown) https://rob-percival.com/
2021: Interbeing, with Anders Gramer, Unit 3 Gallery, Loughborough Junction, London. Bethan and Anders presented a series of collaborative works combining ink and graphite with photography. Drawing on a shared interest in biological processes and the nature of mind, ‘Interbeing’ offered a visual exploration of the interconnectedness of organic life, examining the impermanence of the body and the possibilities of transformation.
2021: She Answered, Art, with the South London Women Artists, curated by Gita Joshi
2020: Illustrations published in Dark Mountain Issue 18 : Fabula
2020: Touch, online group exhibition curated by Chicago-based Woman Made Gallery
2019: Visions of the Unseen, KCL Psychiatry dept, Camberwell, London. Group exhibition curated by the Psychedelic Trials Group, KCL. The PTG are investigating psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat depression.
2019: Being, Jeannie Avent Gallery, Dulwich, London. Solo exhibition of pencil and ink drawings exploring the impermanent nature of thoughts and emotions.
Interview with Dulwich on View from ‘Being’.
2017: Grass Roots, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, USA. ‘Growth of the Soil’ was selected for inclusion in this group exhibition, showing works that investigate the natural environment and our place within it.
2017: Kuuki, The Roper Gallery, Bath, UK. Juried exhibition with the aim of “using art as a platform for debate and collective awareness regarding environmental concerns.”
2016: Vanishing Species pt.ii, The Crypt Gallery, Euston, London. For this solo exhibition Bethan presented a large body of work reflecting on the deteriorating state of the animal kingdom. The exhibition featured a menagerie of life-size drawings and sculptures of endangered animals from Britain and around the world. The exhibition was presented in collaboration with World Land Trust and coincided with the UN International Day for Biological Diversity. 25% of sales were donated to the World Land Trust’s Atlantic Forest conservation project.
2015: Selected for the Limner Gallery’s annual Christmas exhibition. Hudson, New York
2015: Vanishing Species, Co-Exist, Bristol, UK. As part of the Big Green Week in Bristol, Bethan exhibited life sized drawings and sculptures of endangered animals & gave a percentage of the profits of sales to the Soil Association.
2014: A Dip in the Potion, collaborative show with The Minesweeper Collective, London (Group)
2014 (& 2016): Malmesbury Art Collective exhibition, The John Bowen Gallery, Wiltshire, UK.
2012: Residency at Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi wild animal refuge in the Amazon rainforest, Bolivia. During a one month period at the refuge, Bethan drew rescued wild cats, monkeys and birds. Her works were commissioned or auctioned off to raise funds for the charity.
2011: Monsters International, Galerie Espace, Montreal (Juried)
2011: In the Between, The Horse Hospital, Bloomsbury, London (with Cian O’Neill)
2010: 50 Years Fantastic (Society for Art of Imagination group show), La Galleria, Pall Mall, London (Juried)
2010: Limbo, Supine Studios, Hackney, London (with Cian O’Neill)
2009: Brain Squeeze, The Foundry, Old st, London (Group)
2008: Shortlisted for DLA Piper Art Award
2007: Beneath the Surface, The Foundry, Old st, London (Group)
Education
2022 to 2023: MA Prosthetic Effects (Distinction), Falmouth University
2005 to 2008: BA Drawing, Camberwell College of Art, London
