Nancy Fouts. Fags, Birds and a Couple of Guns

Hang-Up Gallery is pleased to present Fags, Birds and a Couple of Guns, a retrospective dedicated to the extraordinary work of Nancy Fouts.

American-born artist Nancy Fouts, who passed away in April 2019, is best known for her distinctive sculptural works, which reconfigure commonplace objects and materials with a subversive and playful humour. Nancy’s work brings together these seemingly disconnected items, religious artefacts, creatures and symbols to create bizarre juxtapositions of the everyday, wickedly funny taxidermy sculptures, and even giving Old Master paintings a surreal twist. The artist described her approach to gleaning ideas as “beachcombing”, rediscovering the familiar with a perspective that she likened to childhood naivety.

Admired for her boundless enthusiasm and passion for disrupting the everyday, the ‘modern-day surrealist’ is genuinely much loved and respected by artists, curators and collectors alike for her wild imagination, wit and generosity of spirit. Nancy’s admirers include Banksy, Gavin Turk and Sir Peter Blake. Curator James Putnam, who worked closely with the artist, commented, “Her deliciously infectious smile and dry wit made her a magnet for artists and curators of all ages, coupled with her talent for throwing unforgettable parties at her art-filled Camden house.”