Mike Nelson (artist)

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Michael Nelson
Born (1967-08-20) 20 August 1967 (age 56)
Loughborough, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materChelsea College of Art
Known forInstallation art

Michael Nelson RA (born 20 August 1967) is a contemporary British installation artist. He represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2011.[1] Nelson has twice been nominated for the Turner Prize: first in 2001 (that year the prize was won by Martin Creed), and again in 2007 (when the winner was Mark Wallinger).

Education[edit]

Nelson studied at University of Reading from 1986–1990 for a BA Fine Art.[2] From 1992 to 1993 he studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design for an MA Sculpture.[2][3]

Working practice[edit]

Nelson's installations always only exist for the time period of the exhibition which they were made for. They are extended labyrinths, which the viewer is free to find their own way through, and in which the locations of the exit and entrance are often difficult to determine. His "The Deliverance and the Patience" in a former brewery on the Giudecca was in the 2001 Venice Biennale.[4] In September 2007, his exhibition A Psychic Vacuum was held in the old Essex Street Market, New York.[5] Essays on Nelson's projects, '24A Orwell Street King's Cross Sydney'[6] and 'The Deliverance and the Patience'[7] have been written by artist/curator Richard Grayson.

His major installation The Coral Reef (2000), was on display at Tate Britain until the end of 2011. It consists of fifteen rooms and a warren of corridors. This work and its showing at Matt's Gallery earned him his 2001 Turner Prize nomination.

His piece Untitled (public sculpture for a redundant space) won the Royal Academy of Arts Wollaston Award in 2018, for most distinguished work in the Summer Exhibition.[3]

In 2019, from March to October, he transformed the Duveen Galleries in Tate Britain with his new installation called 'The Asset Strippers', a collection of objects from post-war Britain that framed his childhood.[8] [9]

His work has been collected by Hayward Gallery, British Council, Poju Zabludowicz, Tate, MAMCO and Moderna Museet .[3]

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^ Charlotte Higgins, "Mike Nelson to represent Britain at Venice Biennale 2011," The Guardian, 31 March 2010
  2. ^ a b "Mike Nelson". New Contemporaries. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Mike Nelson | Artist | Royal Academy of Arts". Royal Academy of Arts. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Mike Nelson: The Deliverance and The Patience" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, peeruk.org. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
  5. ^ "Creative Time presents Mike Nelson A Psychic Vacuum", creativetime.org. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
  6. ^ "Mike Nelson: 24A Orwell Street Kings Cross Sydney", essay by Richard Grayson. Retrieved 08 Feb 2009.
  7. ^ "Mike Nelson: The Deliverance and The Patience", essay by Richard Grayson. Retrieved 08 Feb 2009.
  8. ^ "Fire sale Britain: Mike Nelson on why he turned the Tate into a big salvage yard". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "O' MAGIC POWER OF BLEAKNESS". Tate Britain. 18 March 2019.

External links[edit]