Richard McVetis British, b. 1983

Overview
Richard McVetis

McVetis’ practice is deeply rooted in process, and intrinsic to this is hand embroidery. His installations, drawings, and embroideries span across the congruity of macro and micro, often monochromatic and labour intensive. He records time and space through multiple dots, lines, and crosses. These meticulously rendered stitches reflect a preoccupation with the repetitive nature of process. McVetis explores the subtle differences that emerge through ritualistic and habitual making. These inscribed patterns mark the hand’s rhythms, a delicate performance of obsessive intricacy, refinement, and gesture. They record human presence, time and decay, each stitch or line acting as a marker for lived time, an embodiment of thought and patience. These physical, tactile, and repetitive modes of creation allow him the time to see and think, to occupy a space.

 

Richard McVetis (b.1983) studied at Manchester School of Art before studying at the Royal College of Art, where he now teaches. McVetis has been shortlisted for several distinguished prizes, including the Jerwood Drawing Prize, UK, 2011 and 2017, and the international Loewe Craft Prize, 2018. In addition, McVetis has shown work nationally and internationally at several exhibitions, including The British Textile Biennial, UK, 2021; RENEW at Kettles Yard, UK, 2019; Loewe Craft Prize, Design Museum, London, UK, 2018; ‘Form + Motion’ – a major exhibition with the British Council, South Korea, 2017. In 2022 his first solo show was at the Craft Study Centre, Farnham.

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Biography
Richard McVetis

Education
2006 - 2008 - The Royal College of Art – MA Constructed Textiles
2002 - 2005 - Manchester Metropolitan University – BA (Hons) Embroidery


Exhibitions
In Quest for Harmony - Ruup & Form - Collect - London, UK, 2023 Into the Night - Cavaliero Finn - London Art Fair, UK , 2023 Shaped by Time - Solo Crafts Study Centre, UK, 2022
60 Drawings plus 10 - The Whitaker, UK, 2022 Conversations - St Barbes Musuem, UK, 2022
Definitions of Drawing - Sunny Bank Mills - Leeds, UK , 2021 Connected Cloth -The British Textile Biennial - The Whitaker, UK, 2021 Monochrome - Ruthin Craft Centre - Wales, UK, 2021
Of Time and Place - Living Object - London, UK, 2020 25 Years - Danielle Arnaud Gallery - London, UK, 2020 RE-NEW - Kettles Yard - Cambridge, UK, 2019 Dialogue - Make Hauser & Wirth - Somerset, UK, 2019 COS - Series IV - Coal Drops Yard - London, UK, 2019
Crafting New Perspectives - Culturesphere – Germany,2019 Seventeen Galley - London, UK, 2019
Uppermost Layer - Jagged Art - London, UK, 2018
British Craft Pavilion - London Design Fair - London, UK, 2017 Loewe Craft Prize - Design Museum - London, UK, 2017 Monochrome - Bluecoat Display Centre - Liverpool, UK, 2017 5x10 - Rolfe Judd Architecture - London, UK, 2017
Stitch - Daniel Raphael Gallery - London,UK, 2017 Craft Forms - Wayne Art Centre – USA, 2017
Make_Shift - Collyer Bristow Gallery - London, UK, 2017
Cheongju Craft Biennial: UK Pavilion - Form + Motion - British Council - S.Korea, 2017 Drawing Open - No Format Gallery - London, UK, 2017
Real to Reel - Craft Film Festival - Crafts Council - London, UK,2017 Three100 - No Format Gallery - London, UK, 2017
Collect Open - Collect - Crafts Council - London, UK, 2017
The Thread Unravelled - V.M. Gallery - Karachi, Pakistan Richard McVetis, 2017 White Show - Clotworthy House - Antrim, N. Ireland, 2016
The Jerwood Drawing Prize - Jerwood Space - London, UK, 2016 Making Space - The 62 Group - Macclesfield, UK, 2016
Craft Forms - Wayne Art Centre – USA, 2015
The Cheongju International Craft Biennial - Cheongju, Korea, 2015 White Show - Flow Gallery - London, UK, 2015
Craft Forms - Wayne Art Centre – USA, 2014 Microtopia - Kingsgate Gallery - London, UK, 2014
Jerwood Drawing Prize, Burton Art Gallery, Devon, 2013 COMMISSIONS / PROJECTS
Crafts Council x TOAST - March 2021

Store Store x Barbican - London Craft Week - October 2020 ReDesign Business - Virtual Festival - Workshop - September 2020 Late at Tate Britain - Tate Collective - August 2020
Institute of Making - Big Make - UCL - London, UK - 2018 / 2020 Mulberry - Take Root Branch Out - May 2020
COS - November 2019
TOAST - Re NEW - October 2019
Cheltenham Science Festival - Make Shack - June 2019 Rolfe Judd Architect - October 2018
The Big Draw - Jerwood Visual Arts - London, UK - October 2016 TALKS
Radical Acts Symposium - Harewood House - Leeds - June 2022 Definitions of Drawing - with Courtney Spencer - Leeds - October - 2021 The Potential of Stitch - The Textile Society - October 2021
The Skill of Narrative & Stitched Textiles - Key note - Fashion & Textiles Museum - London - Jan 2021 Possibilities of Fibre Art - Chaired by Grant Gibson - London - March 2020
Textile Artists in Conversation - Raystitch - London - May 2019 Crafts Council - Home and Abroad - Collect - London - Jan 2017 Embroiderers Guild - Various Locations - 2006 to present Inspiring the Future - Various Locations - March 2016 to present

 

AWARDS

Resident Artist - Xenia - Hampshire – 2023
The Cockpit Arts / Newby Trust Craft Excellence Awards 2019 Loewe Craft Prize - Finalist - 2018
Arts Council England - Grants for the Arts 2017 Collect Open - Crafts Council - Selected Artist - 2017 Jerwood Drawing Prize - Finalist - 2016
West Dean Tapestry Commission - Long listed Artist - 2016 Resident Artist - Textilsetur Islands - Blonduos - Iceland 2016 Cheongju International Craft Competition - Finalist - 2015 Jurors Award - Craft Forms - Wayne Art Centre - 2015 Jerwood Drawing Prize - Finalist - 2011
Embroiderers Guild Scholar - 2006/07 PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Huddersfield Art Gallery - Contemporary Art Society - Omega Fund - January 2022


LISTEN
Material Matters - Grant Gibson
Pursuit of Beauty, In Stitches - Presented by Amber Butchart - BBC Radio 4 - November 2018
Rial Talk - Materials Podcast by Anna Ploszajski - August 2018

Download Artist's CV (PDF, opens in a new tab.)
Exhibitions
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