Steve McQueen (London, 1969; lives and works between London and Amsterdam) is one of the most important artists, film-makers and screenwriters working today. Over the last twenty-five years McQueen has been influential in expanding the way in which artists work with film. He has been the author of some of the most seminal works of moving image designed for gallery-based presentation, as well as four films for cinematic release, Hunger (2008), Shame (2010), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Widows (2018). McQueen’s immersive film and video installations are poignant provocative portraits of time and place, which turn his unflinching eye to urgent contemporary issues.

The artist’s solo show at Pirelli HangarBicocca, in collaboration with Tate Modern in London, will offer visitors the rare opportunity to experience and discover McQueen’s work.

McQueen’s work has been presented by numerous internationally acclaimed institutions, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2017); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2016); Schaulager, Basel (2013); Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (2012); National Portrait Gallery, London (2010); Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2008); The Renaissance Society, Chicago (2007); Fondazione Prada, Milan (2005); ARC, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris (2003); Fundação de Serralves, Porto, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona (2002); Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich (1999); Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1998); Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York (1997). McQueen participated in documenta 12 (2007), 11 (2002) and 10 (1997), and the Venice Biennale (2015, 2013, 2007 and 2003), representing Great Britain in Venice in 2009. He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Johannes Vermeer Prize (2016), Harvard University, W.E.B. Du Bois Medal (2014), CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) (2011), OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) (2002) and the Turner Prize, Tate Gallery, London, England (1999). For his feature films, McQueen has won the Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival for Hunger and the Oscar for the Best Motion Picture for 12 Years a Slave in 2014.