Portrait of Anthea Hamilton
© Valerie Sadoun
Tate Britain today announces Anthea Hamilton as the next artist to undertake the Tate Britain Commission. Unveiled for the first time on 21 March 2018, Hamilton will reveal a major new work, transforming the heart of Tate Britain into an immersive installation that will combine sculpture and performance. The annual commission, supported by Sotheby’s, invites a contemporary British artist to create a new artwork in response to Tate Britain’s grand Duveen Galleries.
Shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2016, Anthea Hamilton is renowned for her bold, often humorous works which incorporate references from the worlds of art, design, fashion and popular culture. She has exhibited widely with recent large-scale, site-specific installations including her Turner Prize nominated exhibition Lichen! Libido! Chastity! at the SculptureCenter in New York, re-staged at Tate Britain in 2016, and Anthea Hamilton Reimagines Kettle’s Yard at The Hepworth Wakefield.
Anthea Hamilton was born in London in 1978 and studied at Leeds Metropolitan University and the Royal College of Art. Research is at the centre of her work, with subjects as diverse as art nouveau design to 1970s disco, studied closely and used as a lens through which to view the world. Hamilton is strongly influenced by the early 20th century French writer and dramatist Antonin Artaud and his call for the ‘physical knowledge of images’. It is this bodily response to an idea or an image that she wants the viewer to experience when encountering her work and its use of unexpected materials, scale and humour.
Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain, said: “We are delighted that Anthea Hamilton will undertake the next Tate Britain Commission. Anthea has made a unique contribution to British and International Art with her visually playful and thoughtful works that seamlessly weave together captivating images and narratives. She creates unforgettable experiences that both provoke and delight and I’m excited to see how she will transform this unique space next year.”
Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Art, Europe said: “Following her provocative and playful installation for the 2016 Turner Prize, Anthea Hamilton is one of the most-talked about artists of the moment, and the unveiling of new work by the artist in the magnificent Duveen Galleries is sure to be an eagerly anticipated fixture on the 2018 arts calendar. Year on year, the ambitious Tate Britain Commission continues to surprise and challenge audiences, and we look forward to seeing what this next instalment brings.”
Tate Britain Commission 2018: Anthea Hamilton is curated by Linsey Young, Curator of Contemporary British Art, Tate, and Sofia Karamani, Assistant Curator of Contemporary British Art, Tate.