MILLY THOMPSON

Born in London in 1964, Thompson studied at Camberwell College of Arts and Goldsmiths, University of London. She was a core member of the artist group BANK from 1994 to 2003, participating in key exhibitions. Thompson later established a solo practice in London, where she also taught at Central Saint Martins, Goldsmiths, and the Royal Academy of Arts.

BANK Collective (1994–2003)

As a co-founder of BANK, Thompson contributed to group exhibitions such as Cocaine Orgasm and Sewage Lust, which satirised the art world’s conventions and professionalization. BANK’s collaborative practice was known for its irreverence, collective authorship, and critical engagement with art institutions.

Milly Thompson Artworks

Thompson’s art is defined by its satirical edge and its celebration of the middle-aged female body, often lampooning the hegemonic force of luxury consumer culture and exploring the politics of pleasure. Her paintings, sculptures, and artist books privilege female desire and glamour, while her work as a graphic artist and writer celebrates a purposeful slipperiness of artistic persona.

Below is a list of works, reflective of Thompson’s expansive art practice.

• Hunter Watching the Beach (2016)
  An oil, acrylic and gold-leaf on-board painting, this work is emblematic of Thompson’s reclamation of the exoticised and eroticised female nude, inserting middle-aged bodies into heat-drenched, escapist landscapes, and reimagining the art historical trope through a contemporary, feminist lens.
• La Vergne in the Afternoon (2017)
  Continuing her exploration of the female gaze, this work uses languid, luxurious colour and form to privilege female desire and glamour, challenging the traditional objectification of women in art.
• Temple Creation (2020)
  This painting asserts a new visual language for Thompson, incorporating ink washes, experimental surfaces, and codes of emojis to express the frustrations and triumphs of the female body seeking agency amidst restrictive beauty standards. The work featured in an Ocula Magazine article in 2021.
• Deep Vogueing (2020)
  Part of her 4 New Paintings series, this painting uses bold colour and stylised forms to highlight the spectacle and aspiration embedded in contemporary femininity, drawing attention to the constructed nature of beauty and desire.
• Anxiety Knots (2009)
  A sculptural series featuring twisting, intestinal forms in vivid hues, these works juxtapose celebratory colour with bodily anxiety, reflecting Thompson’s interest in the grotesque undercurrents of pleasure.
• Opera (2008)
  A text-based work presented as a short book, Opera critiques the conventions of the artist interview, weaving together multiple voices to question the authenticity of self-disclosure in contemporary art.
• La danse de l’amour et de la haine de soi (2005)
  A photographic work in which Thompson appears mostly hidden beneath a blanket in her studio, exploring themes of self-concealment, artistic anxiety, and the dualities of self-love and self-loathing.
• VUOTO (2012)
  A collaborative project with Alison Jones, VUOTO is a satirical take on Vogue magazine, using artist books and graphic works to lampoon fashion and luxury culture.
• I Choose Painting (2016)
  A manifesto-like text and video work in which Thompson asserts the value of experimentation, failure, and self-discovery in art-making.
• The Moon, The Sea & The Matriarch (2019)
  This project at Timespan, Helmsdale, included interventions across the village and an exhibition of paintings and other works, exploring matriarchal narratives and the agency of women in history and myth.

Select Awards and Accolades

• Six-time recipient of the Goldsmiths Research Award
• Two-time winner of the Arts Council of England’s Individual Artist Award
• Two-time winner of the Elephant Trust Award
• Sargant Award, British School at Rome
• Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award

Exhibitions

Milly Thompson was the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important institutions.

Solo Exhibitions

• My Body Temperature is Feeling Good, Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, London, 2025
• 4 New Paintings, Freehouse, London, 2020
• Saucisson Chiffonaire, Caribic Residency, Lisbon, 2011
• Peer, London, 2008

Group Exhibitions

• The Moon, The Sea & The Matriarch, Timespan, Helmsdale, 2019
• BANK group exhibitions, including Cocaine Orgasm and Sewage Lust, at Tate Modern, ICA, and Whitechapel Gallery, 1994–2003

More Reading

Thompson’s practice has been featured in leading magazines and art publications, including Ocula Magazine‘s Spotlight ’Milly Thompson at Freehouse’, which explores her recent paintings and includes her reflections on painting and commodification. The Guardian‘s obituary provides a comprehensive overview of her life, career, and legacy.

Milly Thompson FAQs

Ocula | 2025