The acclaimed British painter and writer opens the talk with a poignant poem by Barbara Chase-Riboud, one of the many inspirations she has encountered over the years. Literature is central to Yiadom-Boakye’s practice, reflecting that reading was her “first contact with any kind of creative form”.
Opening up about finding an artistic medium while studying at the prestigious Royal Academy in London, she reveals that although painting was the most difficult… “I kept going back to it, because it felt like it had the most scope for what I wanted to do.” Today, Yiadom-Boakye is celebrated for her enigmatic paintings, and the Turner Prize finalist has recently opened a solo-exhibition at Tate Britain, London.
“It's very difficult to put into words how to make a mark” she says. Instead, learning how to look at paintings “you start to see the world differently.”
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye in conversation with Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director at the Serpentine Galleries. Artist Talks is a series presented by UBS and the Fondation Beyeler which explores the life and work of some of the most influential contemporary artists working today.
