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

About the show

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.”

Working closely with the artists’ estate, The Hang-Up retrospective will feature work spanning several decades, including some of her best loved sculptures and framed works alongside unseen pieces from her converted vicarage home and studio space in Camden. Cathryn Wright, Executor of Nancy’s estate comments, “Nancy’s retrospective ‘Fags, Birds and a Couple of Guns’ brings together a fabulous collection of her artworks from past to present to make what is sure to be a suitably weird and eclectic exhibition. This will be the first major show of her works since her death last year and we are delighted to be working with Hang-Up Gallery for what will certainly be a fitting tribute to an extraordinary woman.”

Fags, Birds and a Couple of Guns is the inaugural exhibition at Hang-Up’s striking new space on the Regent’s Canal, Hoxton. Ben Cotton, Founder of Hang-Up Gallery, comments, “I was lucky enough to be introduced to Nancy’s work around ten years ago and instantly became both a fan and a collector. Her wicked sense of humour shines through in all her pieces and it’s impossible not to be drawn in. It is therefore a real honour for me personally and the Hang-Up Gallery to have the opportunity to show her works in this retrospective.”