Deborah wearing

GILLIAN WEARING

BIOGRAPHY


Born in Birmingham, UK, 1963.
Currently lives and works in London, UK.

Education:

Goldsmiths' College, University of London, B.A. (Hons.) Fine Art, 1987-90

Chelsea School of Art, B.TECH Art & Design, 1985-87

Selected Solo Exhibitions:
 

2023

“reflections,” Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA, November 3 – December 23, 2023

 

2022

“Gillian Wearing: Editing Life,” PHOTO 2022: Being Human, International Festival of Photography, ACMI, Melbourne, Australia, April 29 – May 22, 2022

 

2021

“Gillian Wearing: Wearing Masks,” Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, November 5, 2021 – June 13, 2022; catalogue

 

2020

“Gillian Wearing: Lockdown,” Maureen Paley, London, UK, September 16 – November 1, 2020

 

2019

“Gillian Wearing: Rock ‘n’ Roll 70,” Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, TX, June 1 – August 31, 2019

 

2018

“Courage Calls To Courage Everywhere,&

EDUCATION

1987-90
Goldsmiths' College, University of London, B.A. (Hons.) Fine Art

1985-87
Chelsea School of Art, London B.TECH Art & Design


SOLO EXHIBITIONS
(C) denotes that a catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition.

Upcoming
Behind the mask, another mask: Gillian Wearing and Claude Cahun, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen

2016
Sandra and Gerald Fineberg Art Wall, ICA Boston, USA

2015
Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, IVAM, Valencia, Spain (C)

2014
everyone, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, USA
Rose Video 05, The Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University, Waltham, USA
We Are Here, Maureen Paley, London, UK
A Real Birmingham Family, Centenary Square, Library of Birmingham. Birmingham, UK
We Are Here, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, UK

2013
Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Germany
PEOPLE: Selected Parkett Artists' Editions from 1984-2013, Parkett Space, Zurich, Switzerland
The Apartment, Vancouver, Canada

2012
Whitechapel Gallery, London, touring to K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf and Pinak

Summary of Gillian Wearing

If you have ever logged on to social media and seen an image of someone holding a hand-written sign in front of them, proclaiming a truth or confession about themselves, then you will have seen the influence of Gillian Wearing. Aligned with the YBAs in the 90s in London, she rose to fame by inviting strangers on London streets to hold up a sign saying whatever was on their minds, and then photographing them.

Since Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say (1992 -3) the artist has produced unflinching documents of the masks that constitute our identities, personas and personal histories - often inviting strangers to volunteer their intimate stories to produce affecting, surreal, and emotive portrayals of internal lives.

Accomplishments

  • Confessional art is a type of contemporary art that focuses on intentional revelations of private lives, often showing controversial and intimate experiences and emotions as a way to provoke similar emotion, shock, or empathy, in a viewer. Unlike the majori

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