Vitrine is delighted to present ‘Smut’ a two-person exhibition of emerging British artists Jamie Fitzpatrick and Lindsey Mendick, whose practices explore a shared interest in gender, high and low cultural histories, and the relevance of the figure in image-making.

’Smut’ brings together a collection of works produced concurrently in 2018 by the artists (in some cases in collaboration) in response to a shared interest in The Wallace Collection and its French 18th-century paintings, romantic fragonards, and porcelain figurines.

Lindsey Mendick describes a trip to the Wallace Collection and the artists bonding “over the grandeur and splendour of both the collection and decor. Gold guilded frames bled into grand paintings of feasting, dancing and amore. Rich brocade flooded the walls, glittering chandeliers dwarfed and aroused us. It dripped in excess and reeked of opulence. It was resolutely us.”

These exuberant themes seep from the characters depicted in each artists’ new work, created in a variety of material combinations. Fitzpatrick working primarily with foam and coloured wax; whilst Mendick combines ceramic, painted wood, and fabric.

Jamie Fitzpatrick’s wax sculptures depict dancing male figures blown up from their porcelain figurine scale, with their female partners removed and their features and masculinity exaggerated. As with much of his work, this new series of sculptures are influenced by ideas on cultural conditioning and sexual suppression, created from some transgressive act.

Lindsey Mendick creates a hareem buffet table of ceramics. Displayed in the vitrine, this installation is gluttonous and porous, exposing lubricious lustre to the spectator. Inspired by William Morris “nothing which is made by man will be ugly, but will have its due form, and its due ornament, and will tell the tale of its making and the tale of its use”, Mendick uses clay’s tactile nature to portray personal narratives. These new works depict party foods and celebrate the spectacle of femininity and feasting.

Fitzpatrick and Mendick have collaboratively created chandeliers which will hang and spin in the space, utilising Fitzpatrick’s work with automatics and adorned with clay decorations. The artists have also created kissing sculptures together in clay which are inspired by the ‘amour sculptures’ at the Wallace Collection. These small works immortalise tender moments between lovers in a medium that desires to be manipulated by the hand. These works will be enshrouded by window paintings and framed by painted banners and backdrops by each artist.

A sound element will be introduced to this stage of smutty opulence. Written as a radio play by Fitzpatrick in partnership with his ancee/wife, Mendick will then lend her voice to the coupling. Together these works in varied materials and media are immersed in their elements into one hedonistic installation. The artists assume their respective masculine and feminine roles and the viewer becomes voyeuristic onlooker.

Jamie Fitzpatrick (b.1985, Southport, UK) lives and works in London. He graduated in 2015 with an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, having gained a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Philosophy and Contemporary Practice in 2009 from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. Awards include: UK/RAINE Saatchi Gallery Sculpture Prize (2015); LAND Securities Award (2015); Vordemberge-Gildewart Award (Shortlist, 2016); XL Catlin Art Prize (Shortlist, 2016); and New Contemporaries 2016. International exhibitions include: Hope is Strong, at Millennium Gallery, Shef eld Museums, UK (2018); Grim Tales, Cassina Projects with Artuner, New York, US (2017); Taking Shape: Sculpture on the Verge, Pangaea Sculptor’s Centre, London, UK (2015); Pause Patina, Camden Arts Centre, London, UK (2015); Into the Hands of Housewives & Children, Telfer Gallery, Glasgow, UK (2012).

Lindsey Mendick (b. 1987, London) received her MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art in 2017, after completing a BA in Contemporary Fine Art at Shef eld Hallam University. She will have a solo exhibition for Invites at Zabludowicz Collection, London (April 2018). She has recently been awarded the 2018 Alexandra Reinhardt Memorial Award. Exhibitions include: If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Roaming, London (2018); You See Me Like A UFO, Marcelle Joseph Projects (2017); Herland, Bosse & Baum, London (2017); In Dark Times, Castle eld Gallery, Manchester (2017); She’s Really Nice When You Get To Know Her, Visual Arts Center, Austin Texas (2016); Anne et Lucie, Musee de Valence, France (2016); Performance: Disco 2000, Zabludowicz Collection, London (2015); and Mostyn 19, Mostyn Gallery, Wales (2015).