RAiR | 1983-84

Astrid Furnival

Born in Stendal, East Germany, Astrid Furnival (1940- ) left with her grandmother in 1945, arriving in London, England in 1957. She met and married RAiR artist John Furnival in 1960. Astrid was self-taught as a mixed-media artist, specializing in fiber artworks made from her own natural, hand-dyed wool. She collaborated artistically with her husband from 1970 as well as other artists and poets, winning a South West Arts Association Award in England in 1978. From the 1970s to the 2000s Astrid’s work was exhibited throughout England and Europe. The exhibition Afts and Carts which she organized in the late 1980s continued to tour into the early 1990s. In 2018 the Arts Council of England awarded Astrid and John Furnival, a grant for a travelling exhibition touring England and Europe.