Biography of Richard Long
Richard Long (born 1945 in Bristol, UK) is an English representative of Land Art, photography, and sculpture – one of his most famous early works being A Line Made By Walking (1967). His oeuvre comprises travels all over the world, in the course of which he creates fascinating, temporary art works from stones or wood, as well as sculptures as results of long walking tours, that appear calming and are seemingly guided by a great respect for nature and the structure of basic shapes such as circles.
Since 1981, Long experiments with painting by applying mud on walls in similar shapes to his Land Art. He is convinced that the meaning of his work constitutes itself in the visibility of his actions rather than the representation of a specific landscape. In museum or gallery exhibitions, Long arranges gathered materials, sometimes in mandala-like, linear patterns or solid, floating circles; he shows sculptures, photographs, maps, and text works about his travels. Edition photographs and lithographs are available documenting his outdoor sculptures.
In 1989, he won the Turner Prize; he took part in the documenta 5 in 1972, represented Britain in the Venice Biennale in 1976, and furthermore was awarded the Praemium Imperiale in Japan in 2009. Richard Long lives and works in Bristol.
