Sanctuary: Britain’s artists and their studios
The shake-up of the British art scene is finally complete, and the enfants terribles are the new establishment. Not that the original establishment ever really left - they just took a back seat, happy to let the young turks take centre stage. Now the working practices of 120 distinguished members of the British artistic community, from Maggi Hambling through to the Chapman brothers, have opened up their workspaces and working methods for the definitive state of the nation monograph.
Sanctuary is subtitled 'Britain's artists and their Studios,' but it may as well be called a field guide to the habitats of the contemporary artist, so comprehensive is its overview of the working environments of 120 of the country's best-known practitioners.
Here are the lofts, mews, sheds, warehouses and purpose-built studios of the new artistic elite, a diverse range of work spaces that help contemporary chart art's shift towards large-scale productions - the factory-like set-ups of Tony Cragg or Antony Gormley.
There are smaller practitioners on display as well, offering a rich insight into the emerging creative enclaves that have helped re-draw London's socio-economic map in the past few decades.
Each profile is made up of a Q&A that attempts to uncover the artist's relationship to their studio and the wider world beyond it, be it in London's East End or the wilds of Gloucestershire, and the role that space, time and solitude have on their work.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
An Indian mud house - and more, on Sketch Design Studio's natural material wonders
Sketch Design Studio in Rajasthan, India does wonders with the simplest ingredients
By Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar Published
-
Experience this Singapore apartment’s Zen-like qualities and cocooning urban haven
Welcome to Singapore apartment The Rasidence, a spacious, Zen-like interior by Right Angle Studio
By Daven Wu Published
-
The Park: step inside Jeremy King's mid-century diner
One of several 2024 openings from restauranteur, Jeremy King, food critic Ben McCormack books in at The Park
By Ben McCormack Published
-
‘This blood that is flowing is my blood, and that should be a positive thing’: Tracey Emin at White Cube
Tracey Emin’s exhibition ‘I followed you to the end’ has opened at White Cube Bermondsey in London, and traces the artist’s journey through loss
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Studio Lenca nods to Salvadorian heritage with riot of colour in Margate
Studio Lenca considers boundaries in ‘Leave to Remain’ at Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate
By Emily Steer Published
-
Politics, protest and potential: the Barbican explores the power of textiles in art
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art’ at the Barbican Centre in London explores how far the medium has evolved in the last sixty years
By Emily Steer Published
-
At Melbourne’s NGV Triennial 2023, artists consider magic, matter and memory
Melbourne’s NGV has opened its third triennial, uniting art, design and architecture from around the world
By Elias Redstone Published
-
The Weight of Things: Damien Hirst curates his retrospective in Munich
The Weight of Things, at The Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, Munich (MUCA), was curated by Hirst himself and comprises work spanning four decades
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Frieze London 2023: what to see and do
Everything you want to see at Frieze London 2023 and around the city in our frequently updated guide
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Grayson Perry unveils first permanent public sculpture in London
Grayson Perry illuminates the courtyard of A House for Artists with his new permanent public artwork in London, Inspiration Lives Here, a monument to the history of Barking & Dagenham
By Martha Elliott Published
-
Tracey Emin interview: ‘If I hadn’t made art, I would be dead by now’
We speak to British artist Tracey Emin in her hometown of Margate, where she has created a new painting to raise funds for TKE Studios, a pioneering complex serving the next generation of radical creatives. ‘I don’t want to die being an artist that made really interesting work. I want to make a future.’
By Sheila Lam Last updated