National Galleries of Scotland

'[My work is] 50% about what I make and 50% about what other people make of it'
Martin Creed

Mercer Art Gallery brings the work of British artist Martin Creed to North Yorkshire. The exhibition will feature sculpture, neon works, painting and video, presenting highlights from his thirty-year career.

Born in Yorkshire in 1968, and raised in Glasgow, Creed came to prominence in 2001 when he won the Turner prize with Work 227: The lights going on and off, 2000, exhibiting an empty room in which the lights switch on and off at five-second intervals. Creed has been recognised internationally for his distinctive approach to art – playful, thought-provoking, and deeply ambiguous.   

Artist, musician, composer and performer, Creed's multi-disciplinary practice draws on the everyday. He transforms common materials and actions into surprising meditations on existence, choice and perception, and the invisible structures that shape our everyday experience. His art continually overturns our expectations and is characterised by his subversive wit.

Creed’s Work No. 370 Balls, 2004 is set to fill the entire Main Gallery at the Mercer. The vast installation features nearly 1000 balls of different scale, weight and texture. Visitors will also be able to see Creed’s iconic neon Work No. 890: Don’t Worry, 2008 alongside Work No. 1340, 2012, a large-scale wall painting of diagonal stripes. It’s the first time that the artworks will be exhibited in North Yorkshire. The exhibition will offer an insight into one of the most innovative artists working today. 

Image: Martin Creed, Work No. 370 Balls, 2004, Purchased with the Iain Paul Fund and assistance from the Art Fund 2005, © Martin Creed, Photo by Antonia Reeve