In Residence: Martin Creed

From April 2016, British artist and musician Martin Creed will be in residence at The Maltings studios in Bruton. The six-week residency will take place ahead of Creed’s highly anticipated solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, opening Saturday 21 May 2016.

What is key to Creed’s practice is the investigation into why he’s moved to create anything at all, encompassing various forms of expression in unison and embracing non-conformist approaches in order to make art that is often witty, surprising and hard-hitting. It is this intuitive translation of everyday experience, through music, art, spoken word and performance that has allowed the artist to permeate barriers between art and life. Over the course of several years Creed has logged various forms of daily voice recordings, from personal to-do lists and candid memos to poignant thoughts or prayers. The residency period will provide valuable time for the artist to delve into this extensive autobiographical material and develop a new body of work to feature in the upcoming exhibition.

Martin Creed was born in Wakefield, England in 1968 and grew up in Glasgow. He lives and works in London and Alicudi, Italy. He has exhibited extensively worldwide, and in 2001 he won the Turner Prize for ‘Work No.227 The lights going on and off’. Recent major solo exhibition and projects include Kunsthalle Vogelmann, Kunstverein Heilbronn, Heilbronn, Germany (2015); Hayward Gallery, London, England (2014); The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh PA (2013); Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield CT (2013); ‘Work No. 202’, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada (2012); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago IL (2012); ‘Work No. 1059’, The Scotsman Steps, Edinburgh, Scotland (2011); Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas TX (2011); ‘Things’, The Common Guild, Glasgow, Scotland (2010); ‘Work No. 409’, Royal Festival Hall Elevator, London, England (2010); ‘Work No. 245’, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France (2009); Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan (2009); and the Duveens Commission, Tate Britain, London (2008).

Martin Creed’s solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset runs 22 May – 11 September 2016. He will also be exhibiting in New York’s Park Avenue Armory Program, curated by Tom Eccles and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, running from 8 June – 7 August 2016.

Photo: Maria Baranova, 2015