Richard Wilson

Artist biography:

Sequence of images detailing the 3rd movement of the sculpture 'Turning the Place Over' installed at Liverpool as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations

Born in Islington in 1953

Studied at the London College of Printing (1970 -71), Hornsey College of Art (1971-74) and Reading University (1974-76).

Wilson is a sculptor, installation artist and musician. He is a kind of architectural magician who can transform anything from a window to a room, building or boat into something extraordinary, unexpected and even surreal. One of his best known installations, 20:50, was shown at Matts Gallery, London, in 1987 and acquired by Charles Saatchi. It takes the form of a room filled to waist height with used sump oil. The viewer enters via a narrowing channel, becoming virtually surrounded by the dark reflecting mass that effectively turns the world upside down.

Wilson has exhibited widely nationally and internationally for over thirty years and has made major museum exhibitions and public works in countries as diverse as Japan, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Australia and numerous countries throughout Europe. He exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Show in 2006 and at the Saatchi Gallery in 2003.

Richard Wilson has received many awards, most notably the DAAD residency in Berlin in 1992. He was Maeda Visiting Artist at the Architectural Association, London, in 1998 and nominated for the Turner Prize in both 1988 and 1989.