James Fuentes is pleased to announce Pop(Tarts, curated by Henry Kinman and featuring work by Nicolas Deshayes, Matthew Darbyshire, Simon Mathers, Eddie Peake, Prem Sahib, and Marianne Spurr.

Pop(Tarts brings together six London based artists, whose practices engage with the synthetic nature of popular culture and the lifestyle aspirations that are embodied within it. Making specific references to consumerism, advertising and contemporary design the exhibition explores the allure of homogeneous design and the fetishism of commercial aesthetics.

Henry Kinman (born in Manchester, 1988) founded Eighty One Gallery in London in 2012 and acted as the collection manager for Mario Testino from 2010C2012. He has organized numerous group exhibitions including “Open Plan” and “Paradise Garage” at Eighty One, and “This Strange Place I Know Only Too Well”, “Bricks 1” and “Bricks 2” at popCup locations in London. Kinman earned his BA in Fine Art from the Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2010.

Matthew Darbyshire (born in Cambridge, 1977) makes sculptures and installations that provocatively question the appealing nature of interior design, decor and the general role of the consumer. Appropriating objects that range from glamorized couture to budget homeCware, Darbyshire questions the principals of contemporary living with his critical analysis of postmodernity.

Nicolas Deshayes (born in France, 1983) produces sculptures and installations, which make cultural references to 21st century design and architecture, utilizing industrial materials such as PVC, stainless steel and polystyrene in a way that alludes towards a complex materiality; organic qualities are often present in stark contrast to the manufactured materials that he chooses to work with.

Simon Mathers (born in London, 1984) works predominantly in painting, using abstraction as a means to explore color, surface and the process of mark making. His subjects vary, but are unified by an overall exploration of the empirical and essential objects or circumstances that we interact with on a daily basis.

Eddie Peake (born in London, 1981) has an extremely varied and dynamic practice, which incorporates performance, painting, photography, sculpture and installation. Exploring notions of gender, sexuality and urban subCcultures, Peake's work often emphasizes upon notions of voyeurism and eroticism in a playful and stylistic manner.

Prem Sahib (born in London, 1982) mainly works in sculpture and installation, exploring notions associated with queer theory and sexual identity. Often making references to club culture and nightlife, his works adopt a seemingly minimalist aesthetic, combining the principals of formalism with an autobiographic narrative.

Marianne Spurr (born in London, 1981) works with utilitarian materials and found objects to produce multifaceted sculptures and installations, which concern materiality, placement and process. Reoccurring motifs such as plastic grids and translucent materials indicate her formal interest in flatness and layering; her works have a sensibility for assemblage, examining the ephemeral and the everyday.

James Fuentes Gallery
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