Martin Creed, Work No. 890, DON’T WORRY (2008). Image courtesy of the Tate Liverpool.
Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed brings seven new works to the Tate Liverpool this spring as part of their ARTIST ROOMS collection, in conjunction with the National Galleries of Scotland. Creed’s works range in media from paintings to a neon installation; “Refreshing, unexpected and humorous, Creed’s work challenges our preconceptions and rearranges the rules of conceptual art,” reads the exhibition’s press release.
Martin Creed, Work No. 944 (2008)
For ARTIST ROOMS, Creed has donated a yellow neon installation that reads “Don’t Worry” (aptly titled, Work No. 890 (Don’t Worry)), a twenty-one part drawing of colored blocks (Work No. 944), and a 2011 series of four pyramidal paintings in various shades of red and orange. These works exemplify Creed’s dedication to minimalism, which has been both lauded and criticized. The most notably contentious example of Creed’s minimalism is his 2001 Turner Prize-winning installation Work No. 227, the lights going on and off, which was simply an empty room in which the lights turned on and off at five second intervals. While the work earned Creed the sought-after prize, it also garnered disparagement from other artists, many of whom protested his win.
Martin Creed, Work No. 1102, Work No. 1103, Work No. 1104, Work No, 1105 (2008).
Creed, the first contemporary artist to join the ARTIST ROOMS collection since it began four years ago, expands the scope of the collection. “The aim of the collection is to create a new national resource of contemporary art that will be shared with museums and galleries throughout the UK so as to inspire new audiences, especially of young people,” says Tate.org.
The ARTIST ROOMS collection originated in 2008, when art dealer Anthony d’Offay donated his collection to the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland on behalf of the nation. Now, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund, and the Scottish and British Governments, the collection of over 725 works, organized by individual rooms devoted to particular artists, is able to tour museums across the UK.
—A. Stone
Related Links:
Exhibition Site [Tate Liverpool]
Artist Site [Martin Creed]
ARTIST ROOMS [Tate Online]
