1985 in art

The year 1985 in art involved some significant events and new works.

Events

• Charles Saatchi's collection opens to the public, arousing interest in Neo-expressionism.
• Germano Celant publishes Arte Povera: Storie e protagonisti.

Awards

• Archibald Prize: Guy Warren – Flugelman with Wingman
• Turner Prize – Howard Hodgkin

Shortlisted were: Terry Atkinson, Tony Cragg, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Milena Kalinovska and John Walker.

Works

• Mai Dantsig – And the Saved World Remembers
• Thomas Morandi – Yankee Champion (sculpture, Portland, Oregon)
• Odd Nerdrum – The Cloud (Skyen)
• George Rickey – Double L Excentric Gyratory (sculpture)
• Sally Robinson (Australian) – Kakadu (screen print)
• Wayne Thiebaud – Sunset Streets
• Andy Warhol – Reigning Queens series

Births

• Helen Marten, English sculptor and installation artist

Deaths

• 18 January – Anwar Shemza, Pakistan-born British artist and writer (b. 1928)
• 7 March – Jessie Oonark, Canadian Inuit artist (b. 1906)
• 28 March – Marc Chagall, Russian-Belarusian-French painter (b. 1887).
• 21 April – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian American fashion designer (b. 1922).
• 11 May – Chester Gould, American cartoonist (b. 1900).
• 12 May – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (b. 1901).
• 22 May – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American animator (b. 1909).
• 26 July – Grace Albee, American printmaker (b. 1890).
• 21 August – David Olère, Polish-born Jewish French painter (b. 1902).
• 8 September – Ana Mendieta, Cuban American performance artist, sculptor, painter and video artist
• 28 September – André Kertész, Hungarian-born photographer (b. 1894).
• 17 November – Richard Amsel, American illustrator and graphic designer (b. 1947).
• 8 December – Paul Kelpe, German-born American painter (b. 1902).
• Grace Morley, American-born curator (b. 1900).
• Antonio Rodríguez Luna, Spanish painter (b. 1910).

See also

• 1985 in fine arts of the Soviet Union