Cover Yinka Shonibare, “Decolonised Structures”, (2022-23) (Photo: Stephen White & Co., courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and New York; James Cohan Gallery, New York and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York, © Yinka Shonibare CBE)
Yinka Shonibare, “Decolonised Structures”, (2022-23) (Photo: Stephen White & Co., courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and New York; James Cohan Gallery, New York and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York, © Yinka Shonibare CBE)
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From Andy Warhol who elevated Campbell’s soup cans as a pop culture emblem to Lorna Simpson, who spotlights African American perspectives, these are 5 fiery August-born artists to know for quiz nights
Some of the most renowned and influential visual artists in history and pioneering contemporary artists were born in August. From the iconic pop art of Andy Warhol to the textile artworks of Yinka Shonibare that examine the tropes of colonialism, the works of artists born under the August sun channel their creator’s heat and passion and have made a lasting fiery impact on art history. At Tatler, we bring you five such artists to know and admire—and recall for quiz nights, if needed.
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Andy Warhol, August 6 (1928-1987)
Above Andy Warhol’s “Self-Portrait” (1986) installed at the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, 2006 -2007 (Photo: Getty Images)
Andy Warhol’s “Self-Portrait” (1986) installed at the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, 2006 -2007 (Photo: Getty Images)
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From Campbell’s soup cans to Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol’s subjects span the expansive range of ordinary to the ultra-glamorous. The artist was known for defining the pop art movement in the 1960s, exploring celebrity and pop culture themes, as well as consumerism, and popularising various modes of media including photography, silkscreen printing and film.
Yinka Shonibare, August 9 (b. 1962)
Above Yinka Shonibare, “Decolonised Structures”, (2022-23) (Photo: Stephen White & Co., courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and New York; James Cohan Gallery, New York and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York, © Yinka Shonibare CBE)
Yinka Shonibare, “Decolonised Structures”, (2022-23) (Photo: Stephen White & Co., courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and New York; James Cohan Gallery, New York and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York, © Yinka Shonibare CBE)
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British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare is best known for his use of Dutch wax printed textiles to create figurative and sculptural installations that challenge and reposition ideas of cultural identity and race in the context of colonialism, post-colonialism and globalisation. His use of the textile signals the complex and diverse idea of African identity, while simultaneously alluding to the material’s colonial history of being produced in the Netherlands for the Indonesian market in the 18th and 19th centuries. Shonibare currently has a solo exhibition, Suspended States, on view at Serpentine Galleries.
Danh Vo, August 5 (b. 1975)
Artist Danh Vo’s practice is shaped by his personal life, his family fled from Vietnam to Denmark when Vo was a child, and his family’s experience of migration and his diasporic upbringing have made their way into his work. Through his art, he examines the constructs of historical, cultural, and social narratives and how they define collective and individual identity. His sculptural installations are made of found objects and combine personal and historical elements.
He also curates projects that include the work of other artists such as his Venice exhibition at Fondazione Querini Stampalia, where his work was shown alongside Japanese artist Noguchi’s lantern-paper sculpture and Korean artist Park Seo Bo’s canvases, all sharing a common conceptual thread that meditated on the idea of belonging. Vo has a solo exhibition this October at White Cube’s Mason Yard location in London.
Lorna Simpson, August 13 (b. 1960)
Lorna Simpson is a multimedia artist who highlights African American perspectives—which were previously marginalised by society—through photographs, collages and videos. Her work challenges conventional ideas of gender, cultural and racial identities and brings the African American historical narrative to the forefront. She combines text with images sourced from old magazines, such as Ebony and Jet, that were published for African American readers. Often, she adds images of natural phenomena to the mix, resulting in surreal or slightly absurdist collages.
Man Ray, August 27 (1890-1976)
Visual artist Man Ray was a pioneering figure in the surrealist and Dada art movements and became famous for employing experimental techniques in photography that subverted a photograph’s purpose of documentation by incorporating abstraction and distortion.
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