Vanessa Beecroft
Year born:
1969
Location:
Genoa, Italy
Website:
Vanessa Beecroft’s work has been shown internationally since 1993, and has shaped performance art, the representation of the female body, and the sociopolitical discussions of art. Her performances (titled VB, followed by the number) have been an ongoing practice for over twenty-five years. Presented across some of the world’s preeminent museums and major contemporary events, Beecroft’s performances highlight the tensions between nakedness and clothing, constraint and freedom, the collective and the individual, and human strength and weakness.
According to gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, “Vanessa Beecroft is one of the rare artists who invented a new way to make a work of art. Ninety-nine percent of artists are treading ground that’s already well established, they are making small innovations, and then there are very rare artists who come up with a whole new concept of how to make a work of art and expand our sense of what a work of art can be. Vanessa Beecroft has done that.”