Michael Petry
www.michaelpetry.com
Michael Petry (Texas, 1960) is an artist, author and Director of MOCA London. He co-founded the Museum of Installation, and was Curator of the Royal Academy Schools Gallery. Petry authored Installation Art (Thames & Hudson), Installation in the New Millennium (T&H), and Hidden Histories: 20th century male same sex lovers in the visual arts. Petry’s book The Art of Not Making: The New Artist Artisan Relationship (T&H), was accompanied by a touring exhibition he curated, as is the case for his book/exhibition Nature Morte: Contemporary Artists reinvigorate the Still-Life tradition (T&H). His current book is The WORD is Art (T&H).
Petry was the first Artist in Residence at Sir John Soane’s Museum and his work has been shown in museums and international exhibitions including Frontiers Reimagined at the Venice Biennale (2015). Petry and Powell have worked together for over 25 years on video installations and live works like their opera An Englishman, An Irishman and a Frenchman (with Gavin Greenaway, 1995) and A Prussian Requiem (Royal Festival Hall, 2016). The Prize is Still Mine was written for Petry’s one man show The Touch of the Oracle at the Palm Springs Art Museum (2012).
