Mat Collishaw

Mat Collishaw
Name	Mat Collishaw
Birth date	1966
Birth place	Nottingham, England
Nationality	British
Known for	Photography, installation art, video art
Training	Royal College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art

Mat Collishaw is an English artist associated with contemporary photography and installation practices who emerged from the Young British Artists movement in the late 1980s and 1990s. His work often engages with historical imagery, optical technology, and themes of spectacle, perception, and mortality, shown in major venues and collected by leading museums and galleries. Collishaw's practice crosses media including photographic montage, film, animated sequences, and immersive installations that reference scientific instruments and popular culture.

Early life and education

Born in Nottingham, Collishaw studied in the English arts education system, attending regional art programs before enrolling at the Royal College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art. During his student years he became connected to a cohort that included figures from the Young British Artists circle and participated in exhibitions associated with venues such as the Gagosian Gallery, Saatchi Gallery, and the Tate Modern network. His education exposed him to histories of visual culture ranging from Baroque art and Victorian era spectacle to contemporary practices at institutions like the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Serpentine Gallery.

Career and major works

Collishaw rose to prominence alongside contemporaries such as Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Gary Hume, and Nick Knight through shows that shaped the 1990s British art scene. Early notable works include photographic tableaux and montages that recalled 19th-century taxonomies found in collections like the Natural History Museum, London and the visual archive of Étienne-Jules Marey. In later years he produced installations and films including large-scale projections and mechanized displays referencing devices such as the zoetrope and the magic lantern. Signature projects—often exhibited with institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, National Gallery, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles—demonstrate a dialogue with collectors, curators, and critics across the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe.

Artistic style and themes

Collishaw's style synthesizes historical imagery from sources like medical illustration, natural history illustration, and Victorian photography with contemporary technologies including digital projection, 3D printing, and cinema techniques associated with filmmakers such as David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stanley Kubrick. His thematic interests align with subjects explored by artists and writers like Francis Bacon, Edvard Munch, Hieronymus Bosch, and Goya—notably the representation of violence, eroticism, decay, and the aesthetics of spectacle. Collishaw often interrogates perception through devices related to optical illusion, referencing scientific figures such as Antony van Leeuwenhoek and Louis Daguerre while situating his work within exhibition histories shaped by venues like Whitechapel Gallery and Hayward Gallery.

Exhibitions and installations

Major solo and group exhibitions featuring Collishaw's work have occurred at museums and galleries such as Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Saatchi Gallery, White Cube, Gagosian Gallery, Hayward Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, V&A, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Centre Pompidou, Fondation Beyeler, and Palais de Tokyo. His installation formats—sometimes using immersive cinema, motorized sculpture, or analogue projection—have been included in biennials and international exhibitions organized by institutions like the Venice Biennale, Documenta, Frieze Art Fair, Art Basel, and the Edinburgh Art Festival. Collishaw has collaborated with producers and curators affiliated with Tate Modern programs, the British Council, and major commercial galleries to tour exhibitions across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

Awards and recognition

Throughout his career Collishaw has received critical recognition and awards from bodies connected to contemporary art, including prizes and nominations that align him with peers such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. He has been acknowledged by organizations including the British Council, national arts trusts, and museum acquisition committees at institutions such as the Tate and the V&A for his contributions to contemporary visual culture. His practice is frequently discussed in critical surveys alongside movements represented by curators from the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Serpentine Gallery, and academic departments at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Royal College of Art.

Collections and acquisitions

Works by Collishaw are held in major public and private collections including the Tate Collection, V&A Collection, MoMA Collection, National Gallery of Art, British Museum, MOCA LA Collection, and regional museums in Nottingham and across the United Kingdom. His pieces have been acquired by corporate and private collectors who also collect artists such as Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama, Cindy Sherman, and Richard Hamilton.

Personal life and influences

Collishaw's personal and professional life intersects with cultural figures and institutions from the Young British Artists era, as well as historians and curators at the Tate, V&A, British Museum, and university departments at institutions like University College London, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. Influences on his work range from historical practitioners such as Hieronymus Bosch, Francis Bacon, Edvard Munch, and Gustave Doré to contemporaries including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, and filmmakers and photographers like David Lynch and Nick Knight. He continues to live and work in the United Kingdom while exhibiting internationally.

Category:British artists Category:Contemporary artists