Michael Landy: Saints Alive

British artist Michael Landy (b. 1963) is known primarily as an installation artist. His work, along with others associated with the Young British Artists (YBAs), was first catapulted to the world spotlight when it was featured in the notorious Sensation exhibition (1997). His sculptural installations and performances explore political and social themes, such as the nature of consumerism and commodity.

In 2009, Landy began a three-year artist residency at the National Gallery, London. He chose to focus his project on representations of saints and their accompanying stories, often gruesome, which were once part of common culture but are now largely unknown. Landy’s preoccupation with recycling narratives and repurposing imagery results in Saints Alive, the subject of this book, conceived to include drawings, collages, and a series of kinetic, interactive sculptures with moving parts and sounds.

Exhibition Schedule:

The National Gallery, London(05/23/13–11/24/13)

Colin Wiggins is special projects curator and Jennifer Sliwka is Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Fellow in Art and Religion, both at the National Gallery, London. Richard Cork is an art critic and writer based in London.