Jenny Saville
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→ Jenny Saville – Edited by Sergio Risaliti (2023)
→ Jenny Saville – By Richard Calvocoressi and Mark Stevens (2018)
→ Jenny Saville: Elpis – Published by Gagosian (2021)
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→ "Ekkyklema" – Gagosian, London (2023-2024)
→ "Latent" – Gagosian, Paris (2022)
→ "Haunted Realism" (Group Exhibition) – Gagosian, London (2022)
→ "Gaze" – Albertina, Vienna (2025)
→ "The Anatomy of Painting" – National Portrait Gallery, London (2025)
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Jenny Saville is a contemporary British artist, known primarily for her large-scale, evocative paintings that explore the human body in intense and often unconventional ways. Born on May 7, 1970, in Cambridge, England, she gained widespread acclaim in the 1990s as part of the "Young British Artists" (YBAs), a group that included notable figures such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Her work, however, stood out for its distinct focus on the human form, using large canvases and vivid brushstrokes to capture her subjects with a raw, almost visceral quality. Saville studied at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1992. During her studies, she had an influential experience in Ohio, where she observed plastic surgeons and developed a fascination with the manipulation of flesh. This experience deeply influenced her approach to painting, driving her exploration of body image, identity, and the fluidity of gender. Her early career received a major boost when British art collector Charles Saatchi purchased several of her works, providing her with an exclusive contract that catapulted her into the limelight. Saville’s paintings often depict figures—usually women—portrayed in various states of contortion, nudity, and physical exposure. She frequently works with oil paint, using a thick, layered technique to render the flesh with a tactile, almost sculptural quality. Her subjects are presented in a confrontational way, often challenging societal perceptions of beauty, gender, and the body. Unlike traditional portrayals of femininity, her works celebrate the raw, unidealized human body, including its imperfections. Her notable works include pieces such as Plan (1993), Fulcrum (1997–1999), and The Mothers (2011). Saville has explored themes beyond bodily form in her later works, delving into ideas of identity and expression, sometimes integrating classical art influences in her compositions. Her work has been exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide, including solo exhibitions at the Gagosian Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Jenny Saville continues to live and work in the UK, where she remains a prominent figure in contemporary art. Her work, often called both beautiful and grotesque, challenges viewers to reconsider their understanding of the human body and its representation in art.