Mark Wallinger

Description

Mark Wallinger (b. 1959), winner of the Turner Prize in 2007, is one of the most thoughtful, unpredictable and acclaimed artists working in Britain today. Since his earliest works of the mid-1980s, Wallinger has become known as an artist who never repeats himself, and his art - driven by passions including sport, history, politics, science and poetry - has ranged from meticulous paintings of racehorses to the first public statue of Jesus Christ in England since the Reformation. As the writer Martin Herbert demonstrates, however, certain themes and strategies thread through this dizzyingly diverse body of work that also includes photographs, videos and installations as well as a performance dressed in a bear suit and a commission for a giant white horse at Ebbsfleet in Kent. Wallinger is revealed as an artist committed to making art that is not only conscientious and politically incisive but also brilliantly accessible and witty. This is the first comprehensive monograph on Mark Wallinger's work, and it draws on extensive interviews with the artist, giving vital insights into his practice, thinking and working methods. It spans his entire career to date and is extensively illustrated with images of nearly all of the artist's work, including installation views and video stills. The book also features Wallinger's unrealized projects as well as a selection of his published and unpublished writings, together with a full exhibition history and bibliography. It provides a superb and definitive chronicle of the work of one of today's most dynamic contemporary artists.

Martin Herbert's writing has appeared in magazines including Artforum, frieze and Art Monthly, and in catalogues for institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art, Tate Britain and the Hayward Gallery. He is a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, and associate editor of ArtReview.

'Successfully negotiates the various themes throughout Wallinger's oeuvre into a highly comprehensive and informative text' - Aesthetica 'A first class text published to the usual exemplary standards of Thames & Hudson. A timely review of the YBA phenomenon accessed through one of its leading talents' - State magazine