Hang-Up's Highlights of 2020

It has been an interesting year to say the least. Although many of our shows and favourite dates in the art calendar could not go ahead as planned we still wanted to appreciate the year's highlights... before we delete it from our memory forever. Let's take a look at what saved 2020 for us, as we hope for the best in the coming year.

Fags, Birds and a Couple of Guns: A Retrospective of the Weird and Wonderful Nancy Fouts

We started the year strong with 'Fags, Birds and a Couple of Guns' dedicated to the extraordinary work of Nancy Fouts. As the first retrospective of the artist's work since her passing in April 2019, this was an incredibly special exhibition and we were beyond honoured to host this show. The show was a great success and although it had to end early, you can still visit it form home through the video here.

Banksy

2020 was certainly a very active year for the elusive street artist. Banksy started his year in Bristol creating a mural for Valentine's Day. With arrival of the pandemic he -like most of us - switched to working from home, sharing the resulting rat-infested bathroom with his followers. His rats took over London's underground as well to remind us of the importance of wearing a mask with an installation titled 'If You Don't Mask, You Don't Get'. In May, Banksy donated a painting to Southampton General Hospital honouring health workers working on the frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic. The illustration depicted a young boy who has discarded his Batman and Spiderman action figures in favour of his new favourite hero - an NHS nurse.

Banksy also created two works in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the the taking down of the Colston statue in his hometown. Last but not least the artist funded a refugee rescue mission in the Mediterranean which has saved more than 350 lives to this day. Finally, he returned to the street with a mural in Nottingham depicting a girl hula-hooping with the tyre of an abandoned bike and another on in Bristol of a woman sneezing out her dentures.

Release with Tim Fishlock In Aid of NHS Heroes

With the global pandemic and news of shortages of Personal Protective Equipment for NHS workers we had the opportunity to release a series of linocuts by Tim Fishlock to support Masks for NHS Heroes. The series of editions sold-out with 100% of the sales proceeds aiding to Masks for NHS Heroes and we were delighted to raise £5,000.

New Website

A major project that we were working on behind the scenes for some times was our move to a new and improved website which was completed in the Fall. Rethinking and rebuilding the future of Hang-Up Gallery online was no easy task but it kept us busy during lockdown and we couldn't be happier with the results. It has been designed around collecting to help you discover artists, find artworks you love and be the first to know when new work is available, check out faster and explore works and exhibitions digitally in our viewing rooms. If you haven't yet click here to learn how to make the best of our new platform.

New Additions to Our Roster

This year we also had the pleasure of introducing the amazing Patrick Hughes to the Hang-Up roster. The artist who devised his own unique and intricate style of painting known as ‘reverspective’ has had an incredible career and we are excited to work with him.

Pride in Prejudice

The US election was a major event around the world and despite the many unfortunate events of the year, Trump's loss was a much needed relief! Right before the election we released an exclusive print with The Connor Brothers titled Pride in Prejudice. The print sold out in minutes and luckily turned out to be a good omen.

Extinct

Launching Dave White's latest collection Extinct was without a doubt one of the year's highlights. Working with White was a delight and keeping the subject under wraps ahead of the show made the great reception it had even better. The new body of work comprises of oils, drawings and two limited edition prints which the artist worked on for 18 months sparked from his childhood obsession with the subject.

Considering the year we've all had we are happy with its highlights and cautiously optimistic about the new one. Thank you all for being a part of it. Happy holidays and a Happy New Year from the Hang-Up team!