Michael Nelson (born 20 August 1967) is a contemporary British installation artist. He represented Britain at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.Charlotte Higgins, "Mike Nelson to represent Britain at Venice Biennale 2011," The Guardian, 31 March 2010 Nelson has twice been nominated for the Turner Prize: first in 2001 (that year the prize was won by Martin Creed), and again in 2007 (when the winner was Mark Wallinger).
Education Nelson studied at University of Reading from 1986–1990 for a BA Fine Art. From 1992 to 1993 he studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design for an MA Sculpture.
Working practice
Nelson's installations always only exist for the time period of the exhibition which they were made for. They are extended labyrinths, which the viewer is free to find their own way through, and in which the locations of the exit and entrance are often difficult to determine. His "The Deliverance and the Patience" in a former brewery on the Giudecca was in the 2001 Venice Biennale."Mike Nelson: The Deliverance and The Patience" , peeruk.org. Retrieved 23 May 2007. In September 2007, his exhibition A Psychic Vacuum was held in the old Essex Street Market, New York."Creative Time presents Mike Nelson A Psychic Vacuum", creativetime.org. Retrieved 4 December 2007. Essays on Nelson's projects, '24A Orwell Street King's Cross Sydney'"Mike Nelson: 24A Orwell Street Kings Cross Sydney", essay by Richard Grayson. Retrieved 08 Feb 2009. and 'The Deliverance and the Patience'"Mike Nelson: The Deliverance and The Patience", essay by Richard Grayson. Retrieved 08 Feb 2009. have been written by artist/curator Richard Grayson.
His major installation The Coral Reef (2000), was on display at Tate Britain until the end of 2011. It consists of fifteen rooms and a warren of corridors. This work and its showing at Matt's Gallery earned him his 2001 Turner Prize nomination.
His piece Untitled (public sculpture for a redundant space) won the Royal Academy of Arts Wollaston Award in 2018, for most distinguished work in the Summer Exhibition.
In 2019, from March to October, he transformed the Duveen Galleries in Tate Britain with his new installation called 'The Asset Strippers', a collection of objects from post-war Britain that framed his childhood.
In 2023, Nelson was the subject of a major retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London, titled Extinction Beckons. The exhibition brought together large-scale installations spanning three decades of his career, described by critics as “dense, disorienting environments” that highlighted his longstanding interest in marginal spaces and cultural detritus.
In 2025, Nelson presented **Humpty Dumpty: A Transient History of Mardin Earthworks – Low Rise** at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. The expansive, three-space installation transformed the gallery—including its warehouse—into a hybrid studio and exhibition. It combined two bodies of work: photographs of Mardin, a city in Turkey captured during infrastructure overhaul, and documentation of the demolished Heygate Estate in South London.
His work has been collected by Hayward Gallery, British Council, Poju Zabludowicz, Tate, MAMCO and Moderna Museet .
See also Turner Prize Young British Artists British art
Notes and references
External links Malmö Konsthall: Mike Nelson, 2012 303 Gallery: Mike Nelson (303 Gallery) Matt's Gallery: Mike Nelson Galleria Franco Noero: Mike Nelson Creative Time: Mike Nelson, 2007
Mike Nelson's A Psychic Vacuum in New York City, September 2007 Kristin M. Jones, Review of A Psychic Vacuum, Frieze, November-December 2011 Michele Robecchi, Interview with Mike Nelson, Flash Art, October 2008 Sean O'Hagan, Interview with Mike Nelson, Guardian 23 September 2007 Dan Fox, Review of Modern Art Oxford show, Frieze, September 2004 Adrian Searle, Review of Modern Art Oxford show, Guardian, 11 May 2004 Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections