Tanya Ling

Tanya Ling, born in Calcutta in 1966, is an artist, designer, and fashion illustrator based in London. Ling completed her studies in 1989 at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art. Shortly after, she moved to Paris and worked for Christian Lacroix. After returning to London, along with her husband, William Ling, she established a contemporary art project space entitled “Bipasha Ghosh”. In 1996, she presented a series of drawings under the same title that led her to her first commission from British Vogue. 

In 2002, she created a ready-to-wear line that was both displayed and sold in Henri Bendel in New York. Just a year later, she was named as one of the most important trend-setters in Britain by British Vogue and the designer of the year by Observer Magazine. Ling’s prominent and diverse clients include Louis Vuitton, The Idler, Frieze Art Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Marc Jacobs, and many more. Ling’s work is also noteworthy in the art world: her Autumn/Winter collections were shown at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 2003 and the Victoria and Albert Museum acquired more than fifty of her drawings in 2011.

While Tanya Ling is best known for her fashion illustrations and design, she prefers making art and is able to focus on her paintings and sculptures now. One can see a playful spontaneity at work in Ling’s art, yet, a sense of focus and control that does not allow it succumb to chaos. Many of her works are featured and exclusive to Instagram as she uses the social media app as a means to more cohesively bridge her distinct spheres of fashion illustration and fine art. With her work in both fields, however, Ling has already created a smooth permeation between the two.

Text by Perwana Nazif

Courtesy of the Artist
Tanya Ling

@tanya_ling