Conversations: Michala Gyetvai and George Wagstaffe
Image: Michala Gyetvai
Opening times
Sunday 1 – Friday 27 March 2026
Open Sundays to Fridays (closed Saturdays)
10am – 4pm
FREE admission
Image: George Wagstaffe
An exhibition of sculpture, textiles, and paintings by artists George Wagstaffe and Michala Gyetvai.
The Latin and origin of the word “conversation” is “conversatio” which comes from the verb “conversari” This verb is a compound of “con”- ( meaning “with” or “together”) and “versare” ( meaning “to turn”) Hence it literally meant “turning together”.
Artists come together to gain mutual support and share common values. ‘Sharing’ is also through a sense of belonging, to a tradition, to an environment, to an iconography. Although the artistic trajectories of the two artists have been markedly distinct—with Gyetvai’s work characterized by ‘soft,’ rhythmic, painterly textiles and Wagstaffe’s by ‘hard’ and occasionally ‘dislocated’ sculpture—there remains a significant convergence in their underlying concerns and thematic concepts.
The works exhibited here exemplify such a coming together and explore in quite diverse ways those un-seen and powerful forces that continue to determine the human condition. This artistic connection is rooted in the British Neo-Romantic tradition, which encourages an individual interpretation and simultaneously incorporates the landscape's iconography and symbolism. Their work is regarded as visionary, featuring anthropomorphic qualities and consistently exploring themes of life, death, and rebirth. Their art practice maintains a refreshing optimism (a counterpoint to modern cynicism), one depicting the forces of nature and love.
The artists worked together on “Phoenix Tree”, a commission for Coventry University. The work depicts George’s experiences of the devastation and rebuilding of Coventry symbolically through a tree, but also a warning of the perils of climate change and the threat of an ever-changing world. Michala’s art found its origins in childhood in the Northamptonshire countryside, where she recalls the death and destruction of the Elm trees through the 1970s, which has had a lasting influence on her work.