Michael Landy

A member of the infamous and various Young British Artists, who rose to prominence in London in the late 1980s, Michael Landy is know for his diverse and unruly career, which has included performance, sculpture, and printmaking. Landy’s most best known work, his 2001 performance Break Down, featured the artist submitting all of his possessions to a team of 10 technicians who systematically destroyed them. Other works, such as 1995’s Scrap Heap Services or the 1990 installation Market have been similarly critical, alluding to Landy’s intention to reform, from the ground up, the way we think about and make art.

Landy has been highly lauded in the United Kingdom: he was elected as a member of the Royal Academy and has been the recipient of a Paul Hamlyn Foundation award. He has had several major exhibitions at museums around the world, including shows at the Tate London, the Bienal de Sao Paolo, the Royal Academy, and others.