Leon Kossoff was chosen to represent Britain and the Pavilion hosted his first major solo show outside the UK in 1995.
Kossoff is an expressionist painter who was taught by previous Pavilion artists Frank Auerbach and David Bomberg. Renowned art critic David Sylvester chose a selection of his paintings from the previous decade and the exhibition featured portraits, nudes and cityscapes of London - these were common themes throughout his career.
Born and bred in east London, Kossoff keenly documented his surroundings. Christchurch Spitalfields, Spring (1987), now part of the British Council Collection, was one of a series of oils of an east London church painted in different seasons.
“London, like the paint I use, seems to be in my bloodstream. It's always moving – the skies, the streets, the buildings,” wrote Kossoff.
In another section of the Venice Biennale, there was an exhibition in 1993 entitled Young British Artists, showcasing a new wave of talent emerging in the early 1990s. The exhibition featured prominent figures from the YBA group like Fiona Banner, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Tacita Dean and Gary Hume.
