Steve Messam's Encounters at Bicester Village explores site-specific installations and sustainable practice
Born in 1969, Steve Messam is an artist from Durham who specializes in creating large-scale temporary installations with sustainable materials. His work Hush (2019) was a contender for the 2021 Aesthetica Art Prize, and Apollo (2019) was also nominated. He received the Visual Artist of the Year award at the Newcastle Journal Culture Awards in 2021. His latest installation, Encounters (2023), located at Bicester Village in Oxfordshire, juxtaposes commercial messages with abstract forms. Messam's site-specific creations are influenced by the follies at Fountains Abbey and elements of Chinese art. Upcoming exhibitions include Blow Up in The Hague in May, Clerkenwell Design Week in London from May 23–25, and Wonderlab at the National Railway Museum in June. The interview was conducted by Chloe Elliott, with images by Anthony Chappel-Ross, published on May 18, 2023.
Key facts
- Steve Messam is a Durham-based artist born in 1969
- He won Visual Artist of the Year at the 2021 Newcastle Journal Culture Awards
- Hush (2019) was shortlisted for the 2021 Aesthetica Art Prize
- Apollo (2019) interacts with Victor Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee
- Encounters (2023) is on display at Bicester Village, Oxfordshire
- Messam uses sustainable materials like paper from wood pulp and water
- His work includes site-specific installations in Austria, Denmark, and Wales
- Future projects will focus on rural environments after recent urban works
Entities
Artists
- Steve Messam
- Victor Pasmore
- Anthony Chappel-Ross
- Chloe Elliott
Institutions
- Aesthetica Magazine
- Newcastle Journal Culture Awards
- Aesthetica Art Prize
- Bicester Village
- Fountains Abbey
- Kings Lynn Station
- Clad
- Clerkenwell Design Week
- National Railway Museum
Locations
- Durham
- Austria
- Denmark
- Wales
- North Pennines
- Peterlee
- Oxfordshire
- Fountains Abbey
- Kings Lynn Station
- The Hague
- Netherlands
- London
- York