Lucy Orta
Encyclopedia
Lucy Orta is a British contemporary visual artist living and working between London and Paris where she resides since 1991. She was born in 1966 in Sutton Coldfield, Great Britain.
After graduating with an honours degree in fashion-knitwear design, she began practicing as visual artist in 1991. Her sculptural work investigates the boundaries between the body and architecture exploring their common social factors such as communication and identity. She uses the medium of sculpture
, public art
, video
and photography
to realise her work. The most emblematic artworks include: Refuge Wear and Body Architecture (1992–1998), portable architecture, lightweight and autonomous structures representing issues of survival. Nexus Architecture (1994–2002) are participative interventions in which a variable number of people wear suits connected to each other, shaping modular and collective structures, when recorded in photography and video visualise the concept of social link. Urban Life Guards (2004–2008) are wearable objects that reflect on the body as a metaphorical supportive structure.
Lucy Orta’s work has been the focus of major survey exhibitions at the Wiener Secession Vienna, Austria in 1999; CAM Florida, USA for which she received the Andy Warhol Foundation grant in 2001; Barbican Art Gallery London in 2005; She has participated in international art biennales: Venice, Italy; Kwangju, South Korea; Havana, Cuba; Johannesburg, South Africa; Athens, Greece.
In 1993 she founded Studio Orta together with her partner Jorge Orta Jorge Orta, Artist with whom she now collaborates. Their major artworks include: Connector, OrtaWater, 70 x 7 The Meal, Antarctica. Lucy + Jorge Orta began restoration on a complex of artist studios and residencies at The Dairy and Les Moulins, former industrial buildings situated along the Grand Morin river in Marne La Vallée, as a living extension of their practice: “The staging of a social bond ”( Pierre Restany
, Process of Transformation. Ed. JM Place Paris 1996 ). Their collaborative work often deals with sustainable issues has been the focus of major exhibitions at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venice, Italy (2005); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Rotterdam in 2006; Galleria Continua San Gimignano/ Beijing / Le Moulin in 2007, Biennale del fin del Mundo, Antarctica in 2007, Hangar Bicocca spazio d'arte Milano in 2008, Natural History Museum
London in 2010.
In 2007 the artists received Green Leaf Award for Sculpture, for artistic excellence with an environmental message, presented by the United Nations Environment Programme
in partnership with the Natural World Museum
, at the Nobel Peace Centre Oslo, Norway.
Lucy Orta holds a BA Hons and an Honorary Master of Fine Art both from the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University
. She is a Professor of Art, Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion
, University of the Arts London
. Lucy Orta was the inaugural Rootstein Hopkins Chair at London College of Fashion from 2002–2007, and former Head of the Man & Humanity Master in Industrial Design for the Design Academy Eindhoven, a pioneering master program that stimulates socially driven and sustainable design solutions, alternative systems and products which she co-founded in 2002.
After graduating with an honours degree in fashion-knitwear design, she began practicing as visual artist in 1991. Her sculptural work investigates the boundaries between the body and architecture exploring their common social factors such as communication and identity. She uses the medium of sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, public art
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
, video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
to realise her work. The most emblematic artworks include: Refuge Wear and Body Architecture (1992–1998), portable architecture, lightweight and autonomous structures representing issues of survival. Nexus Architecture (1994–2002) are participative interventions in which a variable number of people wear suits connected to each other, shaping modular and collective structures, when recorded in photography and video visualise the concept of social link. Urban Life Guards (2004–2008) are wearable objects that reflect on the body as a metaphorical supportive structure.
Lucy Orta’s work has been the focus of major survey exhibitions at the Wiener Secession Vienna, Austria in 1999; CAM Florida, USA for which she received the Andy Warhol Foundation grant in 2001; Barbican Art Gallery London in 2005; She has participated in international art biennales: Venice, Italy; Kwangju, South Korea; Havana, Cuba; Johannesburg, South Africa; Athens, Greece.
In 1993 she founded Studio Orta together with her partner Jorge Orta Jorge Orta, Artist with whom she now collaborates. Their major artworks include: Connector, OrtaWater, 70 x 7 The Meal, Antarctica. Lucy + Jorge Orta began restoration on a complex of artist studios and residencies at The Dairy and Les Moulins, former industrial buildings situated along the Grand Morin river in Marne La Vallée, as a living extension of their practice: “The staging of a social bond ”( Pierre Restany
Pierre Restany
Pierre Restany , was an internationally known French art critic and cultural philosopher.Restany was born in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Pyrénées-Orientales, and spent his childhood in Casablanca. On returning to France in 1949 he attended the Lycée Henri-IV before studying at universities in France,...
, Process of Transformation. Ed. JM Place Paris 1996 ). Their collaborative work often deals with sustainable issues has been the focus of major exhibitions at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venice, Italy (2005); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans . Much of the museum's original collection was destroyed in a disastrous 1864 fire...
Rotterdam in 2006; Galleria Continua San Gimignano/ Beijing / Le Moulin in 2007, Biennale del fin del Mundo, Antarctica in 2007, Hangar Bicocca spazio d'arte Milano in 2008, Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
London in 2010.
In 2007 the artists received Green Leaf Award for Sculpture, for artistic excellence with an environmental message, presented by the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
in partnership with the Natural World Museum
Natural World Museum
The Natural World Museum was a mobile and global cultural institution based in San Francisco that presented art as a catalyst to inspire and engage people in environmental awareness and action....
, at the Nobel Peace Centre Oslo, Norway.
Lucy Orta holds a BA Hons and an Honorary Master of Fine Art both from the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
. She is a Professor of Art, Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, offering undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therapy and lifestyle industries...
, University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London
The University of the Arts London, formerly known as the London Institute, is a collegiate university comprising six internationally recognised art, design, fashion and media colleges in London, England...
. Lucy Orta was the inaugural Rootstein Hopkins Chair at London College of Fashion from 2002–2007, and former Head of the Man & Humanity Master in Industrial Design for the Design Academy Eindhoven, a pioneering master program that stimulates socially driven and sustainable design solutions, alternative systems and products which she co-founded in 2002.