Next up in our online shows programme with Artsy, we are excited to bring to you a selection of surreal sculptures for which Nancy Fouts is best known.

This week in April we pay tribute to both the beloved artist's birthday, and the 5th anniversary of her passing.

Fouts is known for her tongue-in-cheek cabinet of curiosities, with her sculptures and paintings that elicit both laughter and unease, and always make you stop and think. You can notice a range of motifs consistent throughout her extensive collection of works; cigarettes, birds, Jesus, guns... the list goes on.

As a child growing up in the USA, she used to go beachcombing with her father. During these trips, her father would encourage her to transform their finds into new creations. This early experience may have influenced her use of found objects and taxidermy in her artwork. She often recontextualizes these objects in amusing ways, exploring themes of language, symbolism, and the absurd. Through her art, she challenges viewers to reconsider the everyday objects and symbols that surround them.

Her former home and studio was regarded as a work of art in itself and a testament to her fairytale sensibility. A converted vicarage designed by the architect behind Alexandra Palace, it was packed from floor to ceiling with objects collected from her travels over many years – from antique books and oils of Christ to horse rosettes and vast collages of crosses and sacred hearts.

With her ability to bring inanimate objects to life and to play with illusion and perception, Fouts' work has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on contemporary art, influencing other artists and continuing to spark conversations.