Fiona Banner

At the core of Fiona Banner’s unique body of work of sculpture, drawing, performance art, books, and installation is what the Tate describes as the artist’s “enduring fascination with the framing or definition of a subject.” Whether making hand written “wordscapes”, printed texts that retell in her own words fictional, yet historically rooted movies such as Apocalypse Now or recreating an art historical nude by narrating a portrait of it and the process of seeing it, she reveals the power of the written language.  She is also a publisher, working under the title of Vanity Press, under which she has published books, objects, and performances.    

At the 46^th Venice Biennale in 1994, Banner was included in the Young British Artists, a group of artists including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin known for revitalizing the British art scene.  Additionally in 2002 she was shortlisted for the Turner Prize for a “wordscape” billboard titled, Arsewoman of Wonderland, a personal description of a pornographic film.  She has an impressive resume of group and solo exhibitions including shows at the MoMa and Power Plant in Toronto and in 2010 she was selected to create the 10^th Duveen Hall commission at the Tate Gallery.