Michael Craig-Martin Retrospective, RA
September 21 - December 10
£22
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In September 2024, the Royal Academy of Arts is set to host the most extensive retrospective of Michael Craig-Martin RA’s work in the UK. Craig-Martin, born in 1941, is a pivotal figure in British art and one of the most impactful artists and educators of his era. The exhibition, curated in close collaboration with Craig-Martin, will showcase a wide array of his work over a sixty-year period. Displayed throughout the Royal Academy’s Main Galleries, the retrospective will feature over 120 significant pieces from the 1960s to the present, including sculptures, installations, paintings, drawings, and works newly created for this event.
Michael Craig-Martin
Born in Ireland, Craig-Martin pursued his studies in America before settling in London in 1966, where he has resided ever since. His art, a blend of pop, minimalism, and conceptual styles, reimagines familiar objects—from everyday household items to mobile devices, iconic artworks to modernist architecture—using vibrant colors and straightforward lines. These elements coalesce to evoke the grandeur of historical paintings, portraits, or still lifes, mirroring contemporary existence through the prism of defining objects. Beyond his artistic creations, Craig-Martin’s legacy as an educator has influenced successive generations of artists, notably the Young British Artists (YBAs), who left an indelible mark on the art world in the 1990s, with figures like Damien Hirst, Gary Hume RA, Sarah Lucas and Fiona Rae RA among his protégés.
Exhibition
The Main Galleries will chronologically exhibit works from Craig-Martin’s career, showcasing the experimental beginnings of his practice with seminal early pieces that incorporate found objects like buckets, milk bottles, and mirrors. Featured will be “On the Table, 1970” (Collection Irish Museum of Modern Art, Purchase, 2004), where four metal buckets filled with water balance a suspended table, and “An Oak Tree, 1973” (Courtesy of the artist), which consists of a glass of water on a shelf accompanied by a text where the artist declares he has transformed the simple object into an oak tree. This iconic piece, marking the peak of his conceptual work, emphasizes the power of belief in the interaction between artist, artwork, and viewer. After “An Oak Tree,” Craig-Martin encountered a ‘full stop’ and subsequently pursued a new path beyond conceptual art.
Another section of the exhibition will showcase how a renewed emphasis on drawing led to Craig-Martin’s expansive wall drawings made with tape, crafted using projections. Works like Interlocked (MoMA project 1990), 1990 (courtesy of the artist), which will be re-created directly onto the gallery walls, highlight ordinary objects that, while often overlooked, are essential to our everyday existence. Craig-Martin has developed a lexicon of chosen motifs over time, which he has reinterpreted and modified for various spaces and contexts. These motifs are especially evident in the vibrant, large-scale paintings that became central to Craig-Martin’s work in the 1990s, such as Eye of the Storm, 2003 (held in the collection of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, acquired in 2005), which he is most recognised for today.
The exhibition will showcase the diverse aspects of Craig-Martin’s artistic journey, featuring his portrayals of individual objects that trace the evolution of his themes; from the buckets and ladders that symbolize the post-industrial Western world to the mobile phones and iPads that represent today’s luxury symbols forming personal identities. These pieces will be displayed alongside his word paintings like Untitled (Painting), 2010 (Gagosian, London), where he delves into the interplay between text and imagery. A separate area will be devoted to his reinterpretations of seminal works from art and design history, including Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917) and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair (1929).
The exhibition will culminate with pieces specifically created for this event. A gallery will host a large-scale, interactive digital installation with wall-to-wall projections, and the Central Hall will be transformed into a vibrant, color-rich installation tailored to the architecture of the venue. Additionally, the RA’s Annenberg Courtyard will feature several of Craig-Martin’s striking, large-scale line sculptures of everyday items.
When Is Michael Craig-Martin Retrospective?
It will be from 21 September to 10 December 2024; 10am – 6pm Tuesday to Sunday; 10am – 9pm Friday
Where Is It?
Main Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts.
How Much Does It Cost?
Tickets are from £22; under 16s go free,16 to 25 year olds can access a half-price ticket (T&Cs apply). Advanced booking with pre-booked timed tickets is recommended via (royalacademy.org.uk) or over the phone (0207 300 8090).
Main image: Michael Craig-Martin, Common History: Conference, 1999. © Michael Craig-Martin. Image courtesy of Gagosian
