British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen was born in London in 1969 and is based in London and Amsterdam. His multifaceted body of work in film, video, installation, and sculpture is defined by a unique treatment of light, color, and sound. Mastering the art of minimalist storytelling, McQueen’s oeuvre delves into overlooked histories and biographies, asking viewers to reckon with the legacies of colonialism and slavery. His works offer both a visual and haptic experience that challenges our perception of the world.
Surveys of McQueen’s work have been held at the Art Institute of Chicago (2012); Schaulager, Münchenstein (2013); Tate Modern, London (2020); and Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2022). Recent solo presentations include those at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2016); the Art Institute of Chicago (2017); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2017); PeĢrez Art Museum, Miami (2017); the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (2017); Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2017–18); Tate Britain, London (2019–21); and Serpentine Gallery, London (2023). McQueen has participated in Documenta X (1997) and XI (2002); as well as in the Venice Biennale (2003, 2007, 2013, and 2015), representing Great Britain in 2009. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Turner Prize (1999); the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal, Harvard University (2014); and the Johannes Vermeer Award (2016). He was declared Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2002, Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2011, and Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2020.
McQueen directed the feature films Hunger (2008), Shame (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and Widows (2018); as well as the series Small Axe (2020), an anthology of five films shown on BBC and Amazon; and Uprising (2021), a three-part documentary series for BBC. His documentary, Occupied City (2023), is based on the book Atlas of an Occupied City, Amsterdam 1940–45 by Bianca Stigter. McQueen's latest film Blitz was released this November (2024). McQueen won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes Film Festival for Hunger in 2008, and an Oscar for Best Motion Picture for 12 Years a Slave in 2014.
