Biography
| EDUCATION | ||
| 2008 | BA (Hons) Fine Art Sculpture (1st Class) | Loughborough University School of Art and Design, Loughborough |
| ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2016 | Curious Room | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2012 | Still Life | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2019 | 10 Years | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2019 | Ceramics, Glass, Bronze & Concrete | No 20 Arts, London |
| 2018 | Black Mirror: Art as Social Satire | Saatchi Gallery, London |
| 2016 | Strange Worlds: the vision of Angela Carter (curated by Dr. Marie Mulvey-Roberts UWE and Fiona Robinson RWA) | Royal West of England Academy, Bristol |
| 2015 | Das Unheimliche (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2015 | RCA Members Exhibition | Kooywood Gallery, Cardiff |
| 2014 | Saatchi’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2014 | A Comfortable Man | Wilton’s Hall, London |
| 2014 | Royal Cambrian Academy’s 132nd Summer Exhibition 2014 | Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy |
| 2013 | Recent Academicians | Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy |
| 2013 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2013 | Needles and Pins | Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Bangor |
| 2013 | New Order: British Art Today | Saatchi Gallery, London |
| 2012 | Invasion: transient-art | A e Harris, Birmingham |
| 2012 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2011 | Unexpected Sites presents Flout | Axis Art Centre, Crewe |
| 2011 | The Royal Cambrian Academy’s 129th Annual Summer Exhibition | Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy |
| 2011 | Spring Blooms | Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy |
| 2011 | Open Exhibition 2010 | Oriel Gwynedd, Bangor |
| 2010 | Annual Bursary Exhibition | Royal British Society of Sculptors, London |
| 2010 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Shoreditch Town Hall, London |
| 2010 | Sing Silent Songs | Trove Gallery, Birmingham |
| 2010 | Female Wales, University of Glamorgan Art Purchase 2010 | Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff |
| 2010 | Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru 2010 | The National Eisteddfod of Wales, Blaenau Gwent |
| 2010 | The Royal Cambrian Academy’s 128th Annual Summer Exhibition | Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy |
| 2010 | Welsh Artist of the Year Exhibition | St David’s Hall Neuadd Dewi Sant, The Hayes, Cardiff |
| 2010 | North and South: Royal Cambrian Academy Invited Artists Exhibition | Orielau Y Bont Galleries, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd |
| 2010 | Creative Bangor Creadigol Exhibition, International Women’s Day | Bangor University, Bangor |
| 2010 | Open Exhibition 2010 | Oriel Gwynedd, Bangor |
| 2010 | Association of Anglesey Art Clubs Biennial | Oriel Ynys Mon, Llangefni |
| 2010 | Removed from the Eyes of Strangers | Matt Roberts Arts Project Space, London |
| 2009 | International Artists Postcard Exhibition and Distribution | Atelier 340 Muzeum, Brussels |
| 2009 | Creative Bangor Creadigol | Deiniol Centre, Bangor |
| 2009 | Removed from the Eyes of Strangers | Co-Lab, Copenhagen |
| 2009 | International Artists Postcard Exhibition and Distribution | Atelier 340 Muzeum, Brussels |
| 2009 | Creative Bangor Creadigol | Deiniol Centre, Bangor |
| 2009 | Removed from the Eyes of Strangers | Galleri Andersson Sandstrom, Umea |
| 2009 | Anglesey Art Group Summer Exhibition 2009 | David Hughes Centre, Beaumaris |
| 2009 | Memory/Imagination, University of Glamorgan Art Purchase Prize Exhibition 2009 | Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff |
| 2009 | Waxing Lyrical | Thomas Telford Centre, Menai Bridge, Anglesey |
| 2007 | Grieve and Samaritans Art Prize Exhibition | House of Commons, London |
| COLLECTIONS | ||
| Javier Baz, Denver | ||
| Beth Rudin DeWoody, New York | ||
| Amanda Eliasch, London | ||
| Greenwood Forest Park, Y Felinheli, Gwynedd | ||
| Ed Povey & Donna Tolar, Austin, Texas | ||
| Priory LSST, Lincoln | ||
| Saatchi Gallery, London | ||
| Kay Saatchi, Los Angeles | ||
| Private collections in France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom & United States | ||
Press Release | 10 Years | 2019
| 10 Years |
| Dale Adcock, Emma Bennett, Kiera Bennett, Sara Berman, Jelena Bulajić, Tom Butler, Paul Chiappe, Adam Dix, Susannah Douglas, Tessa Farmer, Tom Gallant, Florian Heinke, Sam Jackson, Simon Keenleyside, Thomas Langley, Wendy Mayer, Hugh Mendes, Sean Molloy, Alex Gene Morrison, Tamsin Morse, Gavin Nolan, Dominic Shepherd, Carolein Smit, Barry Thompson, Gavin Tremlett |
| PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 11 July 6.30-8.30pm |
| EXHIBITION DATES: Friday 12 July – Saturday 10 August 2019 |
| GALLERY HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday 11am-6pm or by appointment |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is delighted to announce ’10 Years’, our anniversary exhibition produced to celebrate a full decade’s operations in Shoreditch. During this time we have presented 88 exhibitions within the gallery, defining CHARLIE SMITH LONDON and gallery director Zavier Ellis’ unique curatorial vision. The gallery has also established itself as a discovery zone by being the first to exhibit many acclaimed young artists via its annual graduate exhibition Young Gods. Beyond the gallery walls, the gallery has participated in over 30 art fairs in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and USA. Zavier Ellis also launched the monumental annual exhibition THE FUTURE CAN WAIT with Simon Rumley, a ten-year project that was presented in partnership with Saatchi’s New Sensations for four years and culminated in helping organise the seminal fund-raising exhibition In Memoriam Francesca Lowe. Ellis has also curated or co-curated gallery, museum and pop up exhibitions in Berlin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Klaipėda, London, Los Angeles, Naples and Rome. And, perhaps most notably, the gallery has placed millions of pounds worth of artwork into collections globally, working with many of the most prominent international collectors, and enabling artists to continue to do what artists do best: making work. This exhibition consists of some (but by no means all) of Ellis’ favourite artists who have shown over the years at CHARLIE SMITH LONDON; some whom he has been tracking and wanting to show; and gallery artists. We hope you can join us on July 11th to help us celebrate 10 Years! Please contact gallery for images and further information. |
Press Release | 2016
| Wendy Mayer | Curious Room |
| Exhibition Dates : Friday 1 July - Saturday 30 July 2016 |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is delighted to present Wendy Mayer’s second solo exhibition at the gallery. Mayer is known for her uncanny sculptures where she employs painted vinyl or painted cast wax to present figures with unparalleled veracity. In this exhibition Mayer uses Angela Carter’s ‘A Curious Room’ as her starting point. Carter described her Curious Room as a metaphorical space where all the secrets of a person’s life are stored, and asserted that life is a process of trying to find it in order to rediscover or remember them. Mayer’s Curious Room is a collection of sculptures that reveal the subconscious impact of half-forgotten personal rites of passage. As the artist states: ‘I am a deeply private person and am often surprised and horrified to discover that my work discloses aspects of my personality and past that I would probably prefer to stay hidden.’ This unconscious revelation of drives, feelings and memories is allied with conscious intent. Themes such as familial relationships, motherhood, rebirth and metamorphosis are recurrent in Mayer’s work, from babies emerging from womb-like vases to autobiographical references to books read, feelings felt and places visited. The five-piece series ‘Smotyn Du’ illustrates this coalescence of conscious and unconscious dynamics, where personal and universal vie and oscillate. Each piece consists of a fabric covered coat hanger formed from a child’s head with hands protruding from either side, with black knots on the palms, and hung from a crucifix shaped hook. Mayer is at once referencing religious rites; guilt; domestic abuse; and the Smotyn Du (or Black Spot) region of her native Wales. Wendy Mayer was born in Wales in 1975. She graduated with a first class BA (Hons) in Fine Art Sculpture from Loughborough University School of Art and Design in 2008. Her work is placed in prominent private collections globally including the Saatchi Gallery, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Javier Baz and Kay Saatchi. She has exhibited in galleries and museums including the Saatchi Gallery, Royal British Society of Sculptors, Royal Cambrian Academy, Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, and will feature in Strange Worlds: the vision of Angela Carter at Royal West of England Academy, Bristol in 2016. |
Press Release | 2012
| WENDY MAYER | Still Life | Curated by Simon Rumley |
| Exhibition Dates : Thursday April 5th – Saturday May 12th 2012 |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is pleased to present Welsh born Wendy Mayer with her first London one person show, curated by international curator and film maker Simon Rumley. Rumley first saw Mayer’s work in 2010 and promptly acquired several pieces. Subsequently he curated her into The Future Can Wait, the museum scale show for emerging artists that he co-curates with gallery director Zavier Ellis, where Mayer was placed for the first time into the Saatchi Gallery collection amongst others. As Rumley describes: I first saw Wendy's work in a show in Vyner Street back in early 2010. It consisted of three life-sized papier mache children with piercing eyes and beguiling grins looking like a David Bowie bastard offspring from The Man Who Fell To Earth on a quick detour trip to Midwich. I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be charmed or freaked out but I bought the piece immediately and it's remained a central piece in my living room ever since. I curated Wendy into that year's The Future Can Wait show and the mass reaction was exactly the same; people weren't sure whether to like these little snappers or be repelled by them. Irrespective of this conundrum the great thing was that people couldn't stop looking at them and I think that's the genius of Wendy's work. Part Ron Mueck, part Hans Bellmer they remind us not only of ourselves but of the vicissitudes of life; some of them are crying hysterically, some look blissfully happy with pins stuck into their skin, some are wrapped in Beano comic strips and others have little creatures attacking them. It's a crazy world, a scary world, a disturbing world even, but a world which looks mischievous and eminently enjoyable; a world which, on reflection, you know you're not alone in wanting to be a part of. Indeed, Mayer’s sculptural figures represent a disturbing vision of the human form which beyond that draws on familial relations and myths, and the artist’s response to them. Having always been fascinated by dolls and children’s toys, Mayer constantly returns to them in order to render herself and those around her in strange doll-like, waxwork form. As such, we are presented with autobiographical sculptures that are powerfully representational but also eerily unreal. Caught in stasis all are engaging in some activity, mostly in play. However, these figures appear to be aware of the audience. In between reality and fiction, and during action, they check in order to challenge our gaze, casting us as voyeurs who have disturbed their private moments. These moments are drawn directly from Mayer’s experience as a child herself and now as a mother. In her own words: The dolls in ‘Duck / Rabbit’ are menacingly saccharine. They appear to be protesting their innocence whilst playing with dead baby animals. The work plays with our perception of children as innocents. [‘Gold Watch’, Saatchi Gallery Collection] is a portrait that references emotional damage and repair suffered at the hands of our children. And so on, as individual pieces reference in turn a family member fallen from grace; a folk song sung by the artist’s Grandfather; the privilege of being a mother who must eventually let her offspring go; sibling rivalry; the fear of ageing. Thus, Mayer provides us with deeply personal works that also tend to provoke universal feelings related to simply being a child, a sibling or a mother. |