ENQUIRE HERE
ENQUIRE HERE
Biography
| EDUCATION | ||
| 2000-2001 | MA Fine Art | City and Guilds of London Art School, London |
| 1975-1978 | BA (Hons) Fine Art | Chelsea School of Art, London |
| ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2024 | Rest in Paint | Century Club, London |
| 2022 | Mendes and his Mentors | The Tub, London |
| 2021 | A Retrospective: It was 20 years ago today… | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2020 | Autorretrato: The Female Gaze | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2018 | Autorretrato | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2016 | The Death of the Artist | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2014 | Nachrufe / Obituaries | BRAUBACHfive, Frankfurt |
| 2014 | Obituaries & Other Works | High House Gallery, Oxford |
| 2013 | D.OA. the Good, the Bad and the Beautiful | Gusford, Los Angeles |
| 2012 | Obituaries | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2011 | 9/10/11 | KENNY SCHACHTER / ROVE, London |
| 2009 | An Existential Itch 2001-2008 | BRAUBACHfive, Frankfurt |
| 2009 | An Existential Itch 2001-2008 | Loading Bay Gallery, London |
| 2008 | An Existential Itch 2001-2008 | Fishmarket Gallery, Northampton |
| 2007 | Death from Above | Sartorial Contemporary Art, London |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2023 | Mendes and the Modernists | Austin Desmond Gallery, London |
| 2023 | Mendes & Co. Deceased | James Freeman Gallery, London |
| 2023 | The Subversive Landscape | Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance |
| 2022 | Summer Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts, London |
| 2022 | Hugh Mendes and Thomas Doran | School Gallery, London |
| 2019 | 10 Years | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2019 | Summer Exhibition | Royal Academy, London |
| 2019 | Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Award | Piano Nobile Gallery, London |
| 2019 | The Rules of Freedom | Colyer Bristow Gallery, London |
| 2017 | In Memoriam Francesca Lowe | Old Truman Brewery, London |
| 2017 | Remains (two-person collaboration with Alistair Gordon) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2017 | Part I: Street Semiotics (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2015 | Black Paintings (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2015 | Doppelganger | No Format Gallery, London |
| 2014 | The Great War | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2013 | War | Jacob’s Island, London |
| 2013 | Six Degrees of Separation | Wimbledon Art Space, London |
| 2012 | The End | Jacob’s Island, London |
| 2012 | The Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2012 | The Serpent’s Tail | Witzenhausen Gallery, Amsterdam |
| 2012 | Polemically Small (curated by Zavier Ellis & Edward Lucie-Smith) | Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham |
| 2012 | The Id, the Ego and the Superego (curated by Zavier Ellis & Marcela Munteanu) | BRAUBACHfive, Frankfurt |
| 2011 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT presents: Polemically Small (curated by | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| Zavier Ellis, Edward Lucie-Smith, Max Presneill & Simon Rumley) | ||
| 2011 | The 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 | Polemically Small (curated by Edward Lucie-Smith) | Klaipeda Culture Centre, Klaipeda |
| 2011 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT presents: Polemically Small (curated by Zavier Ellis, Edward Lucie-Smith, Max Presneill & Simon Rumley) | Torrance Art Museum, Torrance |
| 2011 | The Possessed (curated by John Stark) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2010 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Shoreditch Town Hall, London |
| 2010 | Press Art | Museum der Moderne, Salzburg |
| 2010 | Papyrophilia | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2009 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Old Truman Brewery, London |
| 2009 | New London School (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Gallerie Schuster, Berlin |
| 2008 | New London School (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles |
| 2007 | Still Life, Still | T1+2 Gallery, London |
| 2006 | New London Kicks | Wooster Projects, New York |
| 2005 | Fuckin’ Brilliant | Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo |
| 2005 | Art News | Raid Projects, Los Angeles |
| 2005 | Art News | Three Colts Gallery, London |
| 2005 | USUK | Lab Gallery, New York |
| 2005 | Green Door | Sartorial Art, London |
| 2004 | Forest | Rockwell Gallery, London |
| 2003 | Chockafukingblocked | Jeffery Charles Gallery, London |
| 2002 | Yesteryearnowadays | Hales Gallery, London |
| AWARDS & RESIDENCIES | ||
| 2003 | Fresh Art ‘Artist of the Year’ | |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | ||
| 2011 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2008 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2008 | An Existential Itch, Craig Burnett | Fishmarket Publications (ISBN 978-0-9555 706) |
| COLLECTIONS | ||
| Wendy Asher, Los Angeles | ||
| Jerry Hall, London | ||
| Mauritz Huntzinger, Frankfurt | ||
| Angela Nikolakopoulou, London | ||
| Peter Nobel, Zurich | ||
| Kelsey Offield Ford, Los Angeles | ||
| Kenny Schachter, London | ||
| Steve Shane, New York | ||
| Bill Wyman, London | ||
| Wooster Projects, New York | ||
| Private collections in China, Germany, United Kingdom & United States | ||
Press Release
| Hugh Mendes |
| The Departed |
| EXHIBITION DATES: Friday 9 May–Friday 6 June 2025 |
| EXHIBITION HOURS : Monday–Friday 10am-5pm |
| ADDRESS: Gramercy Park Studios, 25 Great Pulteney Street, Soho, London W1F 9ND |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is pleased to announce ‘The Departed’, a solo exhibition of British artist Hugh Mendes at Gramercy Park Studios in Soho, London. Mendes will open the following week at Pallant House Gallery in ‘Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists’, including Lucian Freud, Lubaina Himid, David Hockney, Lee Miller, and Paula Rego. Hugh Mendes’s work has long been defined by his innovative approach to blending the fields of mass media and the art historical. Shortly after graduating from City & Guilds of London Art School with an MA in 2001, Mendes became captivated by the obituaries published in The Independent newspaper, particularly those that featured striking and unconventional images. His correspondence with the obituary editor, James Fergusson, sparked a creative journey that would lead Mendes to introduce his first obituary paintings. Focusing on notable figures whose lives resonated with him—especially celebrities and artists—he began creating portraits based on the newspaper images. Mendes’s obituary paintings have become a central theme in his practice, evolving over time to incorporate more complex reflections on death, identity, and artistic legacy. In recent years, he has expanded his focus to include the obituaries of fellow artists by reinterpreting their self-portraits. By referencing historical and contemporary artists such as Georgio de Chirico and Leigh Bowery, Mendes continues his exploration of how artists depict themselves, and how these portrayals intersect with the passage of time and the eventual departure of their creators. "My work has evolved into what feels like a long-term collaboration with my artistic heroes," Mendes states. "Through studying how they saw themselves and the ways they chose to represent their identities, I’ve developed a deeper understanding of the connection between life, death, and the ongoing conversation of artistic expression." Executed in oil on linen, Mendes’s paintings are rendered in a trompe l’oeil style, closely replicating the format of the newspaper obituaries. This careful replication removes the works from the mass media context, elevating it into the realm of art history that draws on the rich tradition of still life painting, particularly the 17th-century Dutch vanitas and memento mori genres. Through this transformation, Mendes invites the viewer to reflect not only on the individuals depicted but also on the fleeting nature of fame and the enduring legacy of creativity. In ‘The Departed’, Mendes reintroduces obituary paintings of well-known figures like Marianne Faithfull and Gene Hackman—individuals celebrated for their contributions to music and film, but not typically recognized as artists. By choosing to depict these figures, Mendes explores the way we remember and memorialize celebrities from various fields, highlighting their cultural significance after their deaths. These works invite viewers to reflect on how the legacies of people who shape popular culture are often preserved and celebrated, paralleling those of individuals traditionally regarded as "artists”. Through this approach, Mendes blurs the lines between different forms of fame, offering a meditation on how all public figures, regardless of their medium, leave lasting impressions on the collective memory. For artwork list email direct@charliesmithlondon.com About Hugh Mendes: Hugh Mendes (b. 1955) graduated from City & Guilds of London Art School with an MA Fine Art in 2001 having completed his BA (Hons) Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art & Design, London in 1978. His work is placed in prominent collections globally including the Ahmanson Foundation, Los Angeles; Jerry Hall, London; Sammlung Annette und Peter Nobel, Zurich; Beth Rudin DeWoody, Los Angeles; Soho House, London; Sammlung Reydan Weiss, Munich; and Bill Wyman, London. Mendes has exhibited at galleries and institutions including Museum der Moderne, Salzburg; Pallant House Gallery, Chichester; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Torrance Art Museum, Torrance; Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance; Austin Desmond Gallery, London; Rockwell Gallery, London; and Hales Gallery, London. The event will take place at Gramercy Park Studios, 25 Great Pulteney Street, Soho, London W1F 9ND. Available to view Monday-Friday 10am-5pm. For further information please contact direct@charliesmithlondon.com. Follow @CHARLIESMITHIdn |