GWEN VAN EMBDEN

(b.1953)

Gwen van Embden is a Cape Town-based artist. In 1990 she graduated from UNISA with a BA (Philosophy). In 1999 she completed a Master of Fine Art (Distinction) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art. Her Master’s work, titled Hand Work for Keeping the Home, explored identity and memory and how meaning is constructed in the domestic space using a family archive of objects and ephemera.

Van Embden’s proclivity for installation evolved into a practice focused on curation and investigating archives, utilising institutional collections and reconfiguring them to generate new outcomes and meanings. Van Embden participated in Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky’s workshop group – both locally and in Italy – which resulted in her new works produced during this time being included in their group exhibitions. These workshops have been formative in shaping her outlook, particularly in exploring notions of the spiritual and the quotidian in contemporary art practice.