Michael Craig-Martin

Why this artist matters now

Michael Craig-Martin works across painting, sculpture, and installation, rendering everyday manufactured objects, such as light bulbs, filing cabinets, and mobile phones, in flat, bold outlines and saturated colour that strip familiar things down to pure sign. His most celebrated conceptual work, An Oak Tree (1973), repositioned a glass of water as a tree through written declaration alone, a provocation that remains a touchstone of British conceptual art. As an emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths, London, he shaped a generation of artists that came to define the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s. His memoir, On Being An Artist, published by Art/Books in 2015, extends his thinking about practice and intent into written form.

Source: Gagosian · Trust score: 100% · Updated 2mo ago