Michael Craig-Martin

Thonet Chair

2019

Michael Craig-Martin is a British-Irish conceptual artist and influential educator, renowned for his vivid depictions of everyday objects and significant contributions to contemporary art. Born on August 28, 1941, in Dublin, Ireland, he grew up in the United States and later studied at Yale University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts. Craig-Martin's early work in the 1960s and 1970s aligned with the conceptual art movement, focusing on the relationship between objects and ideas. One of his most famous works, An Oak Tree (1973), embodies the conceptual art ethos, presenting a glass of water on a shelf and claiming it is an oak tree through the power of artistic transformation. This piece became a defining moment in his career and a cornerstone of conceptual art. By the 1990s, Craig-Martin shifted towards a more visual approach, creating large-scale paintings and installations featuring flat, vibrant colors and crisp outlines of ordinary objects such as lightbulbs, shoes, and laptops. These works explore the cultural significance of mass-produced items, elevating the mundane into symbols of modern life. Beyond his artistic practice, Craig-Martin is celebrated as an influential teacher. As a professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, he mentored numerous artists who became leading figures in the Young British Artists (YBA) movement, including Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, and Gary Hume. His role as an educator significantly shaped the trajectory of contemporary British art. Over his career, Craig-Martin has exhibited internationally, with major retrospectives at institutions such as the Serpentine Gallery in London and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. He was knighted in 2016 for his services to art and education. Today, Michael Craig-Martin continues to push artistic boundaries, using his distinctive style to reflect on consumerism, technology, and the evolution of visual culture. His work remains a vibrant exploration of the intersection between art, objects, and ideas, cementing his legacy as a pioneering figure in modern and conceptual art.