Rebecca Gouldson

Rebecca works in a variety of metals to create one-off wallpieces and other forms. The quality of surface is vitally important - her aim is to juxtapose the solid and precise nature of metalwork with spontaneous, expressive surfaces, using etching and silversmithing techniques to mark, texture and colour metal in an intuitive way. Thus the etched plates, instead of being the means to a final piece, become the finished work.

Rebecca came from a metal-smithing background and studying a variety of materials at college, rather than purely metal, had a profound effect on her work. A spell in the printmaking department fuelled a love for the process of acid-etching, which allowed her to explore her love of drawing, in the medium of metal. It is the solidity, and permanence of metal that initially attracted Rebecca, and its versatility that has continued to fuel her passion for the material.

Imagery from both the built and the natural environment influence the marks, patterns and textures she applies to metal. She is attracted to repetitive motifs; endless identical windows on a skyscraper, a neatly ploughed field, tide marks on a beach. Equally influential are scarred and eroded architectural facades; peeling wallpaper revealing patterns of mould and mildew, the remains of a staircase on a half-demolished building, protruding pipes and electricity wires. The paintings of Antoni Tapies and Ben Nicholson, and the jeweller Manfred Bishcoff have also influenced her work.

Rebecca graduated in 2003 and a Crafts Council 'Next Move' and later a Development Award provided support in setting up her practice. She lives and works in Liverpool, her studio being part of a 19th Century police station, now an artists' cooperative. Her metal pieces are shown through Shirley Crowther contemporary art in London and other UK venues and she has also exhibited at the Craft Council show Origin, Collect at the V&A and SOFA Chicago.