Irina Kulik will draw parallels between two London-based artists who have in many ways been shaping the British art scene in the recent decades.
Representing the Young British Artists generation, Michael Landy (b. 1963) graduated from Goldsmiths in 1988 and contributed to the legendary Freeze show initiated the same year by Damien Hirst. Landy’s practice undermines and critiques a variety of phenomena, especially focusing on the consumer society and contemporary culture preoccupied with the idea of commercial success. Break Down (2001) arguably remains his most hyped project to date, for which the artist rented a former store on Oxford Street where he destroyed all his belongings, from artworks to clothes, bank cards, and even an automobile. In 2010, Landy invited artists, collectors, and the public to use the spaces of South London Gallery as a bin for “failed” artworks, entitling the show Art Bin. In spite of these and other provocations, in 2008 Landy was inducted into the Royal Academy of Arts. He lives and works in London.
Mark Wallinger (b. 1959) is a British artist who has exhibited since the 1980s. A graduate of and later a teacher at Goldsmiths College. Participant of the influential Sensation show at Saatchi Gallery (1997), nominee (1995) and winner (2007) of the Turner Prize, Wallinger works with almost any mediums, including painting, sculpture, video, photography, and prints. In 1999, he became the first artist whose work (Ecce Homo) won the Fourth Plinth Commission contest and was installed on Trafalgar Square. In 2001, Wallinger represented Great Britain at the 49th Venice Biennale. Along with “big” narratives, such as history, religion, and national and cultural identity, his practice investigates more intimate and personal themes. He lives and works in London.
