As part of our ‘Lucian Freud: the Self-portraits’ exhibition, we discuss the future of the self-portrait in contemporary art.
Our panel, chaired by broadcaster and art historian Jacky Klein, and including contemporary artists Gavin Turk and Agnieszka Szczotka, and writer, artist and educator Anthony Luvera, question what a self-portrait is in today’s society and discuss the current motivations for making a self-portrait. What are the different media that are being used to represent the self today? How do artists represent themselves in works of art that are not self-portraits?
Gavin Turk is a British, international artist. He works with many forms of contemporary sculpture, including the painted bronze, the waxwork, the use of rubbish, the found object, clichés and icons, often with recurring references to art history.
Agnieszka Szczotka is an artist currently studying at the RA Schools. Mediated through performance, film, photography and language, Szczotka’s practice investigates the construction and fragmentation of the self within contemporary society.
Anthony Luvera is a writer, educator and socially engaged artist, who has collaborated with people who have experienced homelessness in the UK for over 15 years. Anthony is Associate Professor of Photography at Coventry University and editor of Photography For Whom? He also designs and facilitates public education programmes for the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Royal Academy of Arts and The Photographers’ Gallery.
Jacky Klein (chair) is an art historian, writer, publisher and broadcaster. She appears regularly on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and has made arts programmes for BBC Television, Tate, Christie’s, Bloomberg TV, the Art Fund and more. Her books include Grayson Perry (3rd updated edition due spring 2020) and What is Contemporary Art?