Michael Robert Watson

Last updated

Michael Robert Watson
Born1979 (age 44–45)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater Goldsmiths, University of London
Occupation(s)Art critic, cultural theorist

Michael Robert "Mike" Watson (born 1979) is a British-born art critic, media and cultural theorist, and curator, currently based in Finland.

Contents

Education

In 2012, Watson completed his PhD thesis at Goldsmiths College, University of London, in the department of Visual Cultures, under the supervision of Alex Duttmann, moderated by Howard Caygill and Peter Hallward. His thesis examined the relationship between Theodor Adorno's Shudder and Conceptual Art.

Career

In 2012, Watson founded Joan of Art: Towards a Free Education, [1] in collaboration with Nomas Foundation of Rome, which envisaged a free education system set up within a network of art spaces. Additionally, he has curated numerous international projects and exhibitions including at the MACRO Museum and Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Rome; the Venice Biennale in 2013 and 2015 and Manifesta12 in 2018.

As a writer, Watson has regularly contributed to Frieze, [2] [3] Art Review, [4] [5] [6] Nero [7] and Radical Philosophy, [8] on topics such as art, social activism and education.

Watson has curated performance events and exhibitions with well-known political artists such as Oliver Ressler, Marinella Senatore, and the Russian collective Chto Delat, as well as performing as a VJ in collaboration with audio and visual artist Simone Bertugno, in venues including the Parco Auditorium della Musica and Galleria Nazionale dell'Arte Moderna, Rome. [9] He also conceived the artistic performance work Machines of Loving Grace in collaboration with artist Harold de Bree at the opening of the 55th Biennale di Venezia. [10]

His first book entitled Towards a Conceptual Militancy, published by ZerO books, came out in May 2016. Can the Left Learn to Meme: Adorno, Video Games and Stranger Things was released in November 2019 and The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism and What To Do About It in October 2021, both also published by ZerO books.

In 2024 he founded Revol Press with author and migration lawyer Dan Melo https://www.revolpress.com.

He has taught as a visitor in Communications, Art Theory, and Writing at The New Centre for Research and Practice, [11] The Royal College of Art, London, Estonia Academy of Arts, Tallinn, IULM, Milan, Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW, Switzerland, besides others. He teaches long term in Oulu, Finland. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolas Bourriaud</span> French curator and art critic (born 1965)

Nicolas Bourriaud is a French curator and art critic, who has curated a great number of exhibitions and biennials all over the world.

Scott Benzel is an American visual artist, musician, performance artist, and composer. Benzel is a member of the faculty of the School of Art at California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA.

Cerith Wyn Evans is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker. In 2018 he won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sami Rintala</span> Finnish architect and artist

Sami Rintala is a Finnish architect and artist. He studied architecture at Helsinki University of Technology, completing his studies in 1999. Rintala’s own work is based on narrative and conceptualism. The resulting work is a layered interpretation of the physical, mental and poetic resources of the site.

# Susan Kleinberg - Artist Biography

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz West</span>

Franz West was an Austrian artist.

Sunjung Kim is a Seoul-based curator and Professor at the Korea National University of Arts who has played a pivotal role in linking Korean contemporary art and the international art world.

Massimiliano Gioni is an Italian curator and contemporary art critic based in New York City, and artistic director at the New Museum. He is the artistic director of the Nicola Trussardi Foundation in Milan as well as the artistic director of the Beatrice Trussardi Foundation. Gioni was the curator of the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013.

Omar Kholeif is an Egyptian-born artist, curator, writer and editor. Kholeif's curatorial practice focuses on art that intersects with the internet, as well as works of art from emerging geographic territories that have yet to be seen in the mainstream.

The 56th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between May and November 2015. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Okwui Enwezor curated its central exhibition, "All The World's Futures".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossella Biscotti</span> Italian visual artist

Rossella Biscotti is an artist whose practice cuts across sculpture, performance, sound works, and filmmaking.

Frame Contemporary Art Finland is a foundation whose mission is to promote Finnish contemporary art internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angolan pavilion</span> Venice Biennale national pavilion

The Angolan pavilion, representing the nation of Angola, has participated in the Venice Biennale since 2013. As one of the biennial international art exhibition's national pavilions, Angola mounts a show in a Venetian palazzo outside Venice's Giardini. The first Angolan pavilion, which featured the photography of Edson Chagas, became the first African national pavilion to receive the biennial's top prize, the Golden Lion for best national pavilion. Chagas displayed poster-sized photographs of resituated, abandoned objects and weathered architecture in the Angolan capital of Luanda. Reviewers praised the interplay between the photographed subject matter and the Italian Renaissance artwork that adorned the hosting palazzo's walls. The 2015 Biennale hosted a group show of five Angolan artists on themes of intergenerational dialogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Bellini (curator)</span> Italian contemporary art curator

Andrea Bellini is an Italian and Swiss curator and contemporary art critic based in Geneva, Switzerland. Since 2012, he is director of the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, and artistic director of the Biennial of Moving Images.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean pavilion</span> South Korean presence at the Venice Biennale

The Korean pavilion houses South Korea's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nordic pavilion</span>

The Nordic Pavilion houses the national representation of the Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, and Finland during the Venice Biennale arts festivals.

The Ruya Foundation, or Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq, is an Iraqi registered not-for-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 2012, Ruya Foundation's board is made up of Tamara Chalabi (chair), Reem Shather-Kubba, and Shwan Ibrahim Taha.

Michael E. Smith is an American artist whose minimal sculptures often juxtapose appropriated, discarded everyday items found in urban decay and on eBay. His works have been shown in MoMA PS1, SculptureCenter, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum and the 2019 Venice Biennale.

Lim Tzay Chuen is a Singaporean contemporary artist known for his conceptual works that involve designing or constructing subtle interventions within systems, leading viewers to re-evaluate their perceptions and assumptions of social, economic, cultural and political processes.

Azu Nwagbogu is a Nigerian art curator and National Geographic Explorer at Large. He is the Founder and Director of the African Artists' Foundation, the LagosPhoto Festival and creator of Art Base Africa, an emerging virtual space dedicated to exploring and understanding contemporary African art and diaspora. He was awarded "Curator of Year" by the Royal Photographic Society in 2021, and included on the ArtReview list of the 100 most powerful people of the art world in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He will curate Benin's inaugural pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Joan of Art". www.joanofart.net.
  2. ↑ "Postcard from Rome | Blog | Frieze Publishing". blog.frieze.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Postcard from Rome: Teatro Valle | Blog | Frieze Publishing". blog.frieze.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Art Review, Now Hear This, Mike Watson, Rome, What is art for? / Art Review". artreview.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Why art and politics? by Mike Watson / Art Review". artreview.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Machines of Loving Grace at Venice Biennale / Art Review". artreview.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "NERO MAGAZINE » Interview with Mike Watson – The Gallery Apart". www.neromagazine.it. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Whose future?". Radical Philosophy. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "New Project by Professor Mike Watson: The Revolution Will be Live-Streamed". 14 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Machines of Loving Grace".
  11. ↑ "Mike Watson".
  12. ↑ Luukinen, Maippi (22 October 2020). "Oululaistunut britti Mike Watson aikoo tutkia, millainen rooli taiteella voi olla kuntavaalityössä" [Oulu-based Briton Mike Watson plans to examine what kind of role art can play in municipal election work] (in Finnish). Kansan Uutiset.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.