Biography
| EDUCATION | ||
| 2005-2008 | 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 | ||
| 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 132 nd 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 | Oriel Ynys Mon, Llangefni | 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 | Galleri Andersson Sandstrom, Umea |
| 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 and 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 | 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. |