Sotheby's sponsorship means Tate Britain's sculpture commission can become an annual event

Tate Britain has announced that Sotheby’s has committed to sponsoring the Tate Britain Duveens Commission for the next three years, allowing it to become become an annual event. The gallery also announced that artist Martin Creed has been invited to create the next site-specific installation for the commission. His new work will be unveiled on 30th June, 2008. Artists who have previously undertaken the biennial Commission include Mark Wallinger (2007), Michael Landy (2004), Anya Gallaccio (2002) and Mona Hatoum (2000). Stephen Deuchar, Director of Tate Britain, underlined the significance of the new agreement: “I am delighted that we can now make our contemporary sculpture commission an annual event, thanks to the generous support of Sotheby’s. I am pleased that Martin Creed has accepted Tate Britain’s invitation to create this year’s Commission. Creed is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking contemporary British artists working today. He creates arresting works that often disrupt the norm and I look forward to seeing the new site-specific piece he will create for the Tate Britain Duveens Commission this summer.” Bill Ruprecht, Chief Executive Officer, Sotheby’s Worldwide, explained the company's rationale for supporting the commission: “During this extremely vibrant and exciting time for the art world, Sotheby’s has been exploring ways to benefit the broader cultural community. Over the last several months we’ve been in discussions with the Tate about their future priorities and ways in which our support would be most welcome. Sotheby’s is delighted that our sponsorship will now enable the Tate to make this important showcase for new work by British contemporary artists an annual event for three years.” Martin Creed's work is characterised by a playful humour and by a minimalism rooted in an instinctive anti-materialism. He works with a wide variety of materials, including paper, music, air, light, film and text, to create succinct, insightful art works. The subversive wit and economy of means present in Martin Creed’s work caught the eye of the mass media and the wider public when he showed Work No.227: The lights going on and off, for the Turner Prize exhibition in 2001. Music is an integral part of Creed’s practice and he regularly gives performances and concerts. Creed was born in Wakefield, England in 1968. He studied at the Slade School of Art, London from 1986 to 1990. He currently lives and works in London. In 2001 he was awarded the Turner Prize for a number of solo exhibitions that demonstrated 'the rigour and purity of his work and its characteristic mixture of seriousness and humour.'   E&OE