Ellen Gallagher's Bird in Hand (2006) at the Tate Modern © Ellen Gallagher
Ellen Gallagher is one of the most significant American artists to have come to maturity in the last 20 years. This will be her first major solo exhibition in this country. Born in 1965, the daughter of African-American and Irish parents, she divides her life between Rotterdam and New York. Her paintings, drawings, reliefs, collages, sculptures, films and animations, constructed from a wide variety of materials, including plasticine and gold leaf, maintain a constant tension between the figurative and abstract, subject and surface. Much influenced by minimalist artists, with a fondness for grids and repeated series, her imagery draws from a wide range of influences. Black vaudeville minstrels, whale-bone carving, vintage advertisements for afro hair styles, the transatlantic slave trade, all converge in her imagination. On display will be key works, such as Tate’s own fantastical Bird in Hand (2006) and the film installation Murmur (2004), alongside more recent pieces.
Tate Modern, from 1st May
