Richard Wentworth (born 1947) is a British artist, curator and teacher.

Life and career

Wentworth was born in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

—then a province of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

—in 1947. He studied art at

Hornsey College of Art Hornsey College of Art (a.k.a. Hornsey School of Art) was a college in Crouch End in the London Borough of Haringey, England. The HCA was "an iconic British art institution, renowned for its experimental and progressive approach to art and design ...

in North London from 1965, and then at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

where he was a contemporary of Zoë Wanamaker and Tony Scott. Between 1971 and 1987, Wentworth taught at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

and his influence has been claimed in the work of the

Young British Artists The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...

. From 2002 to 2010, Wentworth was 'Master of Drawing' at the

Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and was the head of the Sculpture department at The Royal College of Art, London from 2009 - 2011. In August 2014, Wentworth was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Making Do and Getting By

Since the early 1970s Wentworth has been capturing chance encounters of oddities and discrepancies in the modern landscape in the ongoing photographic series known as ''Making Do and Getting By''. Mundane snapshots and fragments of the modern landscape are elevated to an analysis of human resourcefulness and improvisation, whereby amusing oddities that would otherwise go by unnoticed become the subject of intense contemplation.

New British Sculpture

In the early 1980s Wentworth became identified with the New British Sculpture movement. Wentworth’s interest is the juxtaposition of materials and found elements that do not belong together. In the work ''Shower'', Wentworth attached a small propeller to an ordinary table creating the impression that the furniture is about to take flight. For his 1995 solo show at the

Lisson Gallery Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with locations in London and New York, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents over 50 artists such as Art & Language, Ryan Gander, Carmen Herrera, Richard Long, John Latham, So ...

he created ''False Ceiling'' a flock of books suspended by wire from the gallery’s ceiling. For Art and Sacred Places in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

he created ''Recall'' which speculated how the structure of the Cathedral might have been supported during its construction. Wentworth is also interested in the bizarre coincidences of urban life. His ongoing series of photographs, ''Making Do and Getting By'' (1974 onwards), captures the provisional ways in which people modify their local environment. In April 2010, Wentworth participated in a major sculpture exhibition curated by Peter Kardia entitled "From Floor to Sky", alongside artists Roderick Coyne and Alison Wilding. He is represented in London by Lisson Gallery and in New York City by Peter Freeman, Inc.

Exhibitions

Wentworth has lived for many years in the Kings Cross area of London and in 2002 he realised the Artangel project ''An Area of Outstanding Unnatural Beauty'' in which for three months he took over a plumbing supply shop in the area converting it into a base for visitors to explore and engage with the area. In 1996, his ''Marking the Parish Boundaries'' along the River Tees in County Durham was the first

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

project to be funded by the National Lottery. Major solo presentations include Galerie Azzedine Alaïa, Paris, France (2017), Bold Tendencies, Peckham, London, UK (2015), Black Maria with Gruppe, Kings Cross, London, UK (2013), Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (2010), 52nd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2009), TATE, Liverpool, UK (2005), Artangel, London, UK (2002), Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany (1998), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1994), Serpentine Gallery, London, UK (1993).

Curatorial projects

In July 2009, he curated the Lisson Gallery's Summer show '' oule to Braid'' featuring a large number of works from his personal collection and that of Lisson director

Nicholas Logsdail Christopher Nicholas Roald Logsdail OBE (born June 1945) is a British art dealer, the owner of the Lisson Gallery, a contemporary art gallery on Bell Street, Lisson Grove, London, founded by Logsdail in 1967, and was joined shortly after by Fio ...

. In 2000, together with

Fischli & Weiss Peter Fischli (born 8 June 1952) and David Weiss (21 June 1946 – 27 April 2012), often shortened to Fischli/Weiss, were a Swiss artist duo that collaborated beginning in 1979. Their best-known work is the film '' Der Lauf der Dinge'' (''Th ...

and

Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco (born April 27, 1962) is a Mexican artist. He gained his reputation in the early 1990s with his exploration of drawing, photography, sculpture and installation. In 1998, Francesco Bonami called Orozco "one of the most influentia ...

he worked in "Aprendiendo menos" (Learning Less), curated by

Patricia Martín Patricia Martín Méndez (Mexico City) is a curator and art writer. She has conceptualized and directed three of the most relevant contemporary art foundations in Latin America: Colección Jumex, Fundación Alumnos 47 Fundación Casa Wabi In addit ...

and presented in Centro de la Imagen, Mexico city. Three different perspectives through photography, where the artists are a means to portray street findings within the urban landscape, its surroundings and its objects. In 1998 - 99 he curated ''Thinking Aloud'', a national Touring exhition organised by the Hayward Gallery at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge and Camden Arts Centre, London that explored the creative process as well as the profligate nature of mass production and consumerism.

Honours

Wentworth was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to art.

References and notes

External links

Lisson Gallery: Richard WentworthTate: Richard WentworthTate Liverpool: Richard WentworthBBC audio interview (02/2006)Galería NoguerasBlanchard: Richard Wentworth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, Richard British curators 1947 births Living people 20th-century British sculptors British male sculptors 21st-century British sculptors 21st-century male artists Academics of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English contemporary artists 20th-century British male artists 21st-century British male artists