Stone-Ideas.com 
Bertha Shortiss believes sculpture in public spaces is all about communication, as it is accessible to everyone and not bound by walls or educational or social divides. Thus, although she cannot project her perception of the world to others, she states that viewers can form their own authentic perception through her art, based on their life experiences.
And, vice versa: “Art needs public space, art is for people, it can be like a window opening a view to a different world.”
While working with stone, particularly large-scale sculptures, is demanding and probably not a contemporary choice, she says she has no other choice. Her passion for the material and the creative process itself shape her artistic undertakings.
She also says that even with the major shift brought by modern technologies, including CNC machines and 3D scanners, nothing matches the enthusiasm of the creative process. As she mentions, all the energy poured into the creation always “flows back” to her when the resulting piece is complete.
Her poetic approach to her artistic creativity appears in the continuous lines of her work, featuring the shapes of waves, bodies, strings, and natural forms.
Her work evokes shapes that remind us of the flow of time, and representations of nature, both in human silhouettes and natural structures. Mrs. Shortiss finds inspiration through reflection and the atmosphere around her. Discovering new horizons is what inspires her and feeds her curiosity.
Her participation in the Dhofar International Sculpture Festival 2026 clearly illustrates this connection to working in distant lands with diverse cultures and surroundings. The artist’s sculpture designed and created for the festival was “shaped by the environment and the distinctive climate.” Her desire to learn and find more about the world may have stemmed from the fact that she grew up in the Swiss mountain area as the seventh child of an Irish immigrant and Swiss emigrant, so getting used to divergent perspectives was never far from her private experience.
Passionate about monumental works, Mrs. Shortiss’ further plans for 2026 involve an exhibition of smaller works in late October 2026 (see below). She has also worked on models for monumental sculptures she intends to submit in collaboration with an artistic organization. She is also working on an application for an exhibition next year featuring a work to be showcased in a public space in her homeland, Switzerland, all of this balanced and interspersed with small-format pieces, participation in other festivals & symposia, and lots of studio work.
Bertha Shortiss began working with stone in her younger years, venturing into different materials such as wood, bronze, recycled materials, and, of course, snow and ice. She apprenticed as a stonemason, took sculpture classes in Müllheim and drawing classes at the Glassel School of Art in Houston, USA, and studied at the Free Academie of Art, Basel. She was invited to many symposiums worldwide and now works between Ireland and her studio in Altdorf, Switzerland.
Exhibition “Holz Stein Farbe” (Wood Stone Color) with works by Stefan Bissig, Bertha Shortiss und Andrea Furrer-Stadler in Altdorf, UR (October 29 – November 03, 2026).
Photos: Bertha Shortiss
