Tate Acquires Works by Barbara Walker and Lubna Chowdhary via £150,000 Frieze Tate Fund
Tate has acquired two works through the Frieze Tate Fund, supported by £150,000 in philanthropic donations.
AcquisitionContemporaryLondonModern
Artist Profile
Madge Gill
Madge Gill was a prominent English outsider artist known for her intricate, large-scale ink drawings and textile works created under a state of trance. Her practice is defined by obsessive, repetitive patterns and the recurring depiction of a female figure.
Biography
Born in Walthamstow, London, Madge Gill began her artistic practice in 1919 following a period of personal trauma and illness. She claimed to be guided by a spirit entity named Myrninerest, which drove her to produce thousands of works throughout her life, often working through the night in a state of mediumistic inspiration.
Her signature aesthetic involves dense, monochromatic ink drawings on paper, cardboard, and calico, characterized by complex geometric patterns, architectural motifs, and the ethereal face of a woman. These works, often referred to as visionary art, were largely kept private during her lifetime and were discovered in her home after her death.
Today, Gill is recognized as a seminal figure in the field of outsider art. Her work is held in major institutional collections, and she continues to be the subject of scholarly interest and retrospective exhibitions that explore the intersection of mediumship and creative expression.
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