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Richard Wentworth artwork

Richard Wentworth

By transforming and manipulating industrial and/or found objects into works of art, Wentworth subverts their original function and extends our understanding of them by breaking the conventional system of classification.

Richard Wentworth has played a leading role in New British Sculpture since the end of the 1970s. His work, encircling the notion of objects and their use as part of our day-to-day experiences, has altered the traditional definition of sculpture as well as photography. By transforming and manipulating industrial and/or found objects into works of art, Wentworth subverts their original function and extends our understanding of them by breaking the conventional system of classification. The sculptural arrangements play with the notion of ready- made and the juxtaposition of objects that bear no relation to each other. Whereas in photography, as in the ongoing series Making Do and Getting By, Wentworth documents the everyday, paying attention to objects, occasional and involuntary geometries as well as uncanny situations that often go unnoticed.

Richard Wentworth lives and works in London, UK. Major solo presentations include Istanbul Modern, Turkey (2023); SWG3, Glasgow, UK, (2018); Galerie Azzedine Alaïa, Paris, France (2017); Indianapolis Museum of Art, IN, USA (2015); Bold Tendencies, Peckham, London, UK (2015), Black Maria with Gruppe, Kings Cross, London, UK (2013), Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (2010), 52nd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2009), Tate, Liverpool, UK (2005), Artangel, London, UK (2002), Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany (1998), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1994) and Serpentine Gallery, London, UK (1993). Recent group shows include Foundling Museum, London, UK (2016), MAC, Belfast, Ireland (2016), Hayward Gallery, London, UK (2015) and Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK (2014).

“Lots of the photographs are about people trying to make the world do what they want it to do. I like these little circumstantial geometries or comedies.”

Past Exhibitions

  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    , 2013

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  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    London, 2005

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  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    London, 1999

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  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    London, 1995

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  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    London, 1989

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  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    London, 1986

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  • Richard Wentworth

    Richard Wentworth

    London, 1984

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Other artists

Richard Wentworth - Lisson