Born 1946 Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Died 2015 Topanga Canyon, USA

Chris Burden was a seminal figure in contemporary art. His performances redefined the possibilities of the medium; his sculpture has sought to extend the limits of the physical. From celebrated and notorious early performances such as Shoot (1971), in which he was shot in the arm by a friend, to monumental later sculptures such as Urban Light (2005), a recontextualization of 1920s Los Angeles streetlamps, Burden has continually subverted ideas of what artists do and say, and challenged the relationship of artist and viewer to the work.

Locus+ have a long-standing relationship with Chris Burden, having published his major monograph Chris Burden in 2007 and commissioning The Sailing Destroyer, 1990 (Projects UK) and Ghost Ship, 2005.

Upon the untimely death of Chris Burden in May 2015, Locus+ were asked and honoured to write a couple of obituaries for The Guardian and Art Monthly.