Simon Patterson

Part of the sensational, acclaimed, and infamous Young British Artists (YBAs) of the early 1990s, Simon Patterson’s work is varied and relies on humor as much as erudition. His work often involves the way that language and images interact. In works such as The Great Bear (1992) and his 2002 Cosmic Wallpaper at Warwick University, Patterson blends the classification and definition of world history, science, and pop culture. In The Great Bear, Patterson replaced names of train stops on a map of the London Underground with those of soccer stars, philosophers, scientists, and other cultural and historical luminaries.

Patterson’s work has been shown at a number of major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Tate London.