Ivor Davies

Ivor Davies, Welsh artist, art historian and activist, is one of the foremost figures in contemporary Welsh art. He was born in Treharris, South Wales, in November 1935, and studied at Cardiff and Swansea Colleges of Art between 1952 and 1957, and later at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, completing a PhD on the Russian avant-garde. He taught art history at the University of Wales and at the University of Edinburgh, before becoming head of cultural studies at Gwent College of Higher Education in 1978, where he remained until retiring from teaching in 1988.

Much of Davies' work is inspired by Welsh culture and politics. In the 1960s he created works of art using explosives, reflecting his idea of the element of destruction in the world and in society, and he was involved with the Destruction in Art Symposium in London in 1966.

Davies was elected Vice President of the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1995, won the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the National Eisteddfod in St David's in 2002, and was made an MBE in the 2007 New Year's Honours list. He is also a member of the Welsh arts movement Beca, founded by Paul Davies in the 1970s and continued into the 21st century by Paul's brother Peter and other artists such as Peter Finnemore, Iwan Bala and Tim Davies.

Ivor has travelled and exhibited widely — with over 60 one-man shows — and his work can be found in many public and private collections around the world. He is based in Penarth, South Wales.