Cornelia Parker RA (b. 1956)

Cornelia Parker studied at Gloucester College of Art (1974 – 1975), Wolverhampton Polytechnic, BA Hons (1975 – 1978) and Reading University, MFA (1980 – 1982).

She is well known for her large scale, often site specific, installations. Her engagement with the fragility of existence and the transformation of matter is exemplified in two key works: Dark Matter, a cartoon-like reconstruction of an exploded army shed, and Heart of Darkness, the formal arrangement of charred remains from a forest fire. There is an apocalyptic tone to much of her work but she also demonstrates a concern with the more insidious effects of global warming and consumerism.

Parker works in a variety of mediums and has collaborated with institutions such as HM Customs & Excise, Royal Armouries, Madame Tussauds and Victoria & Albert Museum, London. She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1997. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2010 and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the Arts in The Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours List 2022.

Profile

Royal Academician

Sculptor

Born: 1956 in Cheshire, England, United Kingdom

Nationality: British

Elected RA: 8 December 2009

Gender: Female

Preferred media: Sculpture

Works by Cornelia Parker in the RA Collection

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  • Video

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    Cornelia Parker RA at work in London's East End

    Cornelia Parker RA prepares work for her 2013 exhibition at Frith Street Gallery.

  • Video

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    Cornelia Parker RA at the Whitworth Art Gallery

    Cornelia Parker RA talks about her exhibition at the reopened Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester. The exhibition features new commissions alongside her signature works such as ‘Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’ (1991).

  • Selected CV

    • Recent solo exhibitions

      2018 2017 General Election Artworks, Westminster Hall, Palace of Westminster, London
      2017 One Day This Glass Will Break, touring
      Verso, Whitworth Gallery, Manchester
      Frith Street Gallery, London
      2016 The Roof Garden Commission: Cornelia Parker, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
      2015 One More Time, Wires Commission, St Pancras International Station, London
      Magna Carta (An Embroidery), British Library, London; The Whitworth, Manchester; Bodleian Library, Oxford
      2014 Truth to Materials, Galerie Guy Bartschi, Geneva
      Ikon Icons- 1980s, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
      2013 Frith Street Gallery, London
      Galeria Carles Tache, Barcelona
      2011 Thirty Pieces of Silver, York St Mary’s, York
      2010 Doubtful Sound, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead
      D‘Amelio Terras, New York
      No Mans Land, Two Rooms, Auckland

    • Selected collections

      Brooklyn Museum
      De Young Museum, San Francisco
      Musee D’Art Modern ,Centre Pompidou, Paris
      Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth, Texas
      The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
      Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
      The Royal Collection, London
      Museum of Contemporary Arts Sarajevo
      Arts Council of Great Britain
      British Council
      British Museum
      Contemporary Arts Society
      Government Art Collection
      Henry Moore Foundation
      ICA Boston
      Milwaukee Arts Museum, Wisconsin
      MOMA, New York
      Phoenix Art Museum
      Tate Gallery
      Victoria & Albert Museum, London
      Yale Center for British Art, USA

    • Awards

      2017 Official Artist for the UK General Election
      2016 Artist of the Year, Apollo magazine
      2011 Hugh Casson Drawing Prize, RA Summer Exhibition
      2010 Awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE)
      2008 Honorary Doctorate, University of Gloucestershire
      2005 Honorary Doctorate, University of Birmingham
      2000 Honorary Doctorate, University of Wolverhampton
      1998 Best Show by an Emerging Artist (for Mass: Colder Darker Matter at Deitch Projects, New York), International Society of Art Critics Prize (US)
      1997 Nominated for the Turner Prize
      1991-2 Henry Moore Scholarship, Wimbledon School of Art
      1989 British School at Rome Award
      1985 Greater London Arts Award
      1983 Southern Arts Award
      1980 First Prize Midland View, Stoke City Art Gallery & Museum

    • Awards

      2000 Honorary Doctorate, University of Wolverhampton
      2005 Honorary Doctorate, University of Birmingham
      2008 Honorary Doctorate, University of Gloucestershire

Associated books

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Associated archives

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