B. 1956–

John Young represents one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists. Born in Hong Kong in 1956, Young migrated to Australia in 1967 where he went on to study philosophy of science and aesthetics at the University of Sydney, and then painting and sculpture at Sydney College of the Arts. His work charts his bicultural experience, the legacy of late modernism in the West and the discourses of our time: postmodernism; globalisation; technology; and post-colonialism. 

Young’s work can be found across public collections, including at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and National Gallery of Victoria. He has held over 80 solo exhibitions worldwide and featured in four major survey exhibitions in Australia, as well as a group exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1995). 

The subject of several monographs, Young is recognised as a singular, vital voice in Australian art. In 2020 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant contribution to the visual arts.