Barbara Kruger

Conceptual artist Barbara Kruger was born in 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. She is known for her provocative and thought-provoking works that combine text and imagery. With a background in graphic design and photography, Kruger has crafted a distinctive visual language that critiques consumerism, power structures and gender politics.

Barbara Kruger studied at Syracuse University and the Parsons School of Design in New York. Her early career in graphic design and art direction, including a stint at Condé Nast Publications, significantly influenced her artistic style. By the late 1970s, Kruger had developed her signature approach: black-and-white photographs overlaid with bold, confrontational text in Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Extra Bold typefaces.

Her most famous works are plastered with slogans like ‘Your body is a battleground’ (1989) and ‘I shop therefore I am’ (1987), commenting on societal attitudes towards women’s rights and bodily autonomy and critiquing the rampant consumerism of our time. In 2021 Christie’s sold another one of Kruger’s iconic images, Untitled (Your Manias Become Science) (1981), for US$1,170,000. This work demonstrates her continued effort in using art to shed light on the underlying power structures that underpin our daily lives.

In 1982 Kruger represented the United States at the Venice Biennale and in 2005 she was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Her work has been exhibited in major institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London.