Stephen Willats

Stephen Willats, born in 1943, London, is one of the most important and influential British artists of his generation. His artistic position frequently serves as a point of reference for the latest developments in contemporary art. Since the 1960s, he has been examining the function and meaning of art in society, a project fuelled by his interest in cybernetics and Black Box theories. Willats’ wide range of preferred artistic mediums include drawing, photographic documentation, wall installations, and computer-driven communication devices and animation. Willats often uses diagrams as tools to illustrate the dynamic flow of information and relations within social networks. He sees diagrams as speculative instruments and as a means to describe social relationships and depict new philosophical, social and ideological points of view.

Stephen Willats received his training at Ealing School of Art. Since 1962, Willats has been the editor and publisher of Control Magazine. In 1991, the Stephen Willats Printed Archive was established at Victoria & Albert Museum in London. From 1979 to 1980 Willats lived and worked in Berlin as DAAD fellow. Important solo exhibitions include the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (2017), The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm (2016), Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo (2015), Whitechapel Gallery (2014), Raven Row, London (2014), Modern Art Oxford (2013), DAAD Galerie, Berlin (2013), South London Gallery (2012), Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe (2010), Tate Modern (2006), and Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Siegen (2006). Willats has also been part of numerous group exhibitions, including the ZKM, Karlsruhe (2016/17), Tate Britain (2016), Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2016), Berlinische Galerie (2015), Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp (2015), Shanghai Biennale (2014), MIGROS, Zurich (2013/14), Generali Foundation, Vienna (2013), Central Museum, Utrecht (2010; 2012), Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2008), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2008), Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2007). His work is part of numerous international public collections including Generali Foundation, Vienna, Southampton City Art Gallery & Museum, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Tate, Stedelijk Museum, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Contemporary Art Society, London, The Arts Council of England, Victoria & Albert Museum, The British Museum, Städtische Galerie Stuttgart, Museum of Contemporary Art, Utrecht, FRAC Rhone-Alpes, Middlesbrough Art Gallery, South London Art Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Museum Folkwang, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne. Stephen Willats lives and works in London.

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