LONDON: She is the world’s most famous unknown artist — everyone knows her name, but no one knows what she does, John Lennon once said of the perceived disregard for his wife Yoko Ono, who turns 91 on Sunday.

From Thursday, Ono’s impact on conceptual art will be on display in a retrospective exhibition at the Tate Modern in London.

The “Music of the Mind” show, which runs until September 1, explores the multi-disciplinary works of a woman more famed for being the murdered Beatle’s wife than a conceptual art icon.

Spanning seven decades, the exhibition presents a detailed exploration of Ono’s artistic legacy through 200 pieces, including installations, objects, videos, photographs, sculptures and documents detailing her performances and musical compositions.

“This exhibition is a true celebration of Yoko as an artist,” one of the exhibition’s curators, Andrew de Brun, told AFP.

“Indeed, John Lennon was a very important collaborator for her, but we are very happy to be able to showcase her art.”

“We recognise the importance of Yoko Ono in contemporary art and culture,” de Brun said of the retrospective, which the curators say is the most extensive ever done in Britain about Ono.

“We are pleased to present her work to new generations of visitors… showing her activism, her campaigns for peace,” the curator added.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2024