Richard Deacon (sculptor)


Richard Deacon CBE is a British abstract sculptor, and a winner of the Turner Prize.

Life and work

Deacon was born in Bangor, Wales was educated at Plymouth College. He then studied at the Somerset College of Art, Taunton, at St Martin's School of Art, London, and at the Royal College of Art, also in London. He left the Royal College in 1977, and went on to study part-time at the Chelsea School of Art. Deacon's first one-person show came in 1978 in Brixton.
Deacon's work is abstract, but often alludes to anatomical functions. His works are often constructed from everyday materials such as laminated plywood, and he calls himself a "fabricator" rather than a "sculptor". His early pieces are typically made up of sleek curved forms, with later works sometimes more bulky.
Deacon's body of work includes small-scale works suitable for showing in art galleries, as well as much larger pieces shown in sculpture gardens and objects made for specific events, such as dance performances.
Deacon won the Turner Prize in 1987 having previously been nominated in 1984.
Deacon was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1999 New Year Honours List. In 2007, he represented Wales at the Venice Biennale. He was one of the five artists shortlisted for the Angel of the South project in January 2008.
He is represented by Lisson Gallery, London and Milan; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York City; Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Paris; LA Louver Gallery, Los Angeles and Beijing Commune, Beijing.
Tate held a retrospective show of his work in 2014. In 2017, Deacon won the "Ernst Franz Vogelmann-Preis für Skulptur", Heilbronn. Also in 2017, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Plymouth College of Art.