About the artist

Born in 1963, Alex Hartley has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally at venues including Watou, Belgium, as part of Watou 2022 (2022); Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, UK (2021); KØS Museum for art in public spaces, Koge, Denmark (2019); Witley Court, Worcestershire, UK (2019); Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (2017); Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, Warwickshire, UK (2017); Contemporary Arts Centre, Ohio, USA (2014); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (2013); Fundación Canal, Madrid, Spain (2008); and The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (2001).

In 2017, the artist’s work featured in the Yokohama Triennale while in the same year the monumental, site-specific installation, Wall, was on view as part of the Folkestone Triennial. In 2013, Hartley undertook a residency with the National Trust for Scotland. Earlier important projects include Nowhereisland. In 2004, while participating in the Cape Farewell Arctic expedition, Hartley went to the High Arctic searched for and discovered an island that had been revealed from within the melting ice of a retreating glacier. The island was taken out into International Waters where it was declared a new nation. In 2012, this new nation – Nowhereisland – embarked upon a 500-mile journey around the south-west coast of England as part of the Cultural Olympiad.