Valerie Wartelle

September 4th – 28th
Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat. 11am – 5pm

Valerie’s main fascination lies within the manipulation of fibres and textiles as an expressive art form. Taking the rural environment as her inspiration, she explores long-term interests of texture, colour, form and process to create contemplative and ethereal artworks.

Using a traditional wet felting technique, her compositions are built in layers, hinting at what may lie beneath, and use translucency and light to create absorbing moods. These are highly textured felt pieces in which cloth is embedded and threads unraveled as a painter with her brush.

In 2015, Valérie was awarded the Embroidery Magazine’s Best Emerging Textile Artist at SIT Select Showcase, as well as Best Picture in Show at the Great North Art Show.

Brought up in France and French Polynesia, Valérie originally came to the UK to study textile design. Drawing on this expertise and inspired by her own artwork, it naturally followed for her to develop a collection of luxury stoles, digitally printed on superfine wool & cashmere blend.

Valérie works and lives in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

“Understanding the mechanics of a craft has always been fundamental to my practice. The making is haptic, rhythmic and muscular, allowing space for a more sensory & emotional engagement.

More recently, I started working on larger size pieces, which has allowed me to embrace a more intuitive approach to the work, both in subject and composition.”

Fate of Threads

Le-Moulleau-Arcachon