Young British Artists

Young British Artists or YBAs is the name given to a group of conceptual artists, painters, sculptors and installation artists based in the United Kingdom, most (though not all) of whom attended Goldsmiths College in London. The term has dropped out of use as most of the YBAs are now in their forties. The work of the group was dubbed Britart, the phrase being attributed to a series of exhibitions organised at the Saatchi Gallery in 1990/1. The term has dated somewhat.

Becoming part of the Establishment

In addition to (and as a direct result of) Saatchi's patronage, the Young British Artists benefited from intense media coverage. This was connected to controversy surrounding the annual Turner Prize, (one of Britain's few major awards for contemporary artists.) The Young British Artists re-vitalised (and in some cases spawned) a whole new generation of contemporary commercial galleries such as Karsten Schubert, Sadie Coles, Victoria Miro, Interim Art, and Jay Jopling's White Cube, and Antony Wilkinson Gallery. With the advent of Tate Modern, and the Tate's ties with the Turner Prize, the whole of the British Art Establishment swung in line behind the Young British Artists very quickly. Hirst rapidly became an internationally recognised major artist, with shows in Europe and the USA.

Related Topics:
Turner Prize - Karsten Schubert - Sadie Coles - Victoria Miro - Interim Art - Jay Jopling - White Cube - Antony Wilkinson Gallery - Tate Modern

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The Young British Artists from an early stage were more socially than aesthetically connected. Sarah Lucas has had relationships with, in turn, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume and Angus Fairhurst. Gillian Wearing had relationships with Mark Wallinger and Michael Landy. Tracey Emin had a relationship with Carl Freedman and Mat Collishaw. Places where it would be possible to spot YBAs included the Groucho Club, St. Johns Restaurant and pubs around Hoxton.

Related Topics:
Damien Hirst - Gary Hume - Angus Fairhurst - Mark Wallinger - Michael Landy - Carl Freedman - Mat Collishaw - Groucho Club - Hoxton

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Much of the Young British Artists artistic output is still owned by Charles Saatchi. A major exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in 1997 called Sensation, (containing much of his personal collection, and also shown in Berlin and New York) in some senses brought the initial period of the Young British Artists to an end: they had arrived as part of the establishment.

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In 2002 Britart was heavily criticised by the leading conductor Sir Simon Rattle, who was, in return, accused of having a poor understanding of conceptual and visual art.

Related Topics:
2002 - Simon Rattle - Conceptual - Visual

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In Spring 2003 Saatchi opened a new gallery in London, housed in the County Hall building on the South Bank. The older Saatchi Gallery in St John's Wood being closed. The new Saatchi Gallery still exhibits the work of the Young British Artists.

Related Topics:
2003 - County Hall - South Bank - Saatchi Gallery

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On 24 May, 2004, a fire in a storage warehouse destroyed many works from the Saatchi collection.

Related Topics:
24 May - 2004 - Fire in a storage warehouse

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Beyond the core group of the artists from Freeze a second wave of Young British Artists appeared in 1992-3 through exhibitions such as 'New Contemporaries' and 'New British Summertime'. This included Douglas Gordon, Christine Borland, Fiona Banner, Tracey Emin, Tacita Dean and The Wilson Sisters. The composition of the Young British Artists at their height is documented in the catalogue for the 1995 British Art Show.

Related Topics:
Douglas Gordon - Christine Borland - Fiona Banner - Tracey Emin - Tacita Dean - The Wilson Sisters - British Art Show

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