Literature

Birth name: Keith Thomas Bower 

Born: August 23, 1969 Ulverston, Lancashire 

Nationality: British 

Awards: Turner Prize, 2002

Represented by Pace Gallery

Keith Tyson was born in Ulverston, Cumbria, England in 1969. As a young man he worked as an apprentice engineer in a shipyard that made nuclear submarines. Following his decision to pursue art, he quit the shipyards and gained admission to the Carlisle College of Art, England, graduating in 1990. He earned his M.A. in Alternative Practice at the University of Brighton, England in 1993. 

Keith Tyson works in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing and installation, and is noted equally for his painting series, such as Nature Paintings (2005 - 2008), and his large-scale sculptures and installations such as Large Field Array (2005). His work can be characterised as an artistic exploration of some of the basic mysteries of human experience. His artistic motivations lie in an interest in generative systems, and an embrace of the complexity and interconnectedness of existence. Philosophical problems such as the nature of causality, the roles of probability and design in human experience, and the limits and possibilities of human knowledge, animate much of his work. His practice is also defined by a direct engagement with scientific and technological ideas. 

In 1996 Keith Tyson was awarded the ICA Arts and Innovation Award; The Turner Prize in 2002 and an Honorary Degree of Doctors and Letters by the University of Brighton in 2005. He continues to exhibit worldwide and to great acclaim. Amongst the galleries and institutions are PaceWildenstein New York and London, Louisiana Museum Denmark; Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Carlisle, UK, and Arndt & Partner, Berlin and Zürich.