Paula Rego And Rebecca Scott Exhibition Launches New Kendal Gallery

Rego Scott

A new art space in Kendal Cumbria kicks off with the dynamic pairing of Paula Rego and Rebecca Scott. The vibrant Kendal art scene has been further enhanced by a new contemporary gallery, Cross Lane Projects, which will be opening with Female Trouble – Paula Rego and Rebecca Scott on 28th June. Cross Lane Projects is housed in a former Kendal Mint Cake factory 

My paintings aim to expose the hypocrisies of our so-called sexual freedom – Rebecca Scott

The inaugural exhibition of prints by Dame Paula Rego and new paintings by Rebecca Scott is curated by Vanya Balogh, who comments that the exhibition “draws us gently into the feminine narratives of dispute and subversion, historically present and visible in the works of both artists. Paula Rego is represented with a rarely exhibited series of etchings crafted and produced in collaboration with Paupers Press. Rebecca Scott is daring us with a set of oil paintings recently produced in the introspective quietness of her studio in Cumbria. Both artists bravely thread on the ambivalent ground of fear, instinct, eroticism and seduction whilst exposing a hidden world of secret lies and veiled truths.” Balogh adds that: “The paradoxical tension between the sublime and the abject that lies at the core of the work of both artists is not only disturbing but acts as a weapon to disarm and lure us into the story, the narrative of the space itself, to ponder, think, retreat…”

Rego’s work is known for revealing complex stories about the sinister side of sexuality, and her feminism underlies everything she does. A major British artist, Rego’s work is prominently featured in the exhibition All Too Human, currently on show at Tate Britain.

Scott said: “When the opportunity arose to exhibit my work alongside the prints of Paula Rego, I didn’t hesitate – I was intrigued to see how the dialogue between us, two female artists from different generations would develop. Rego often portrays women in secretive or clandestine groups, or alone confronting their private agonies. I am interested to contrast these with my recent paintings that re-examine public images of women. Taking source images from glossy magazines and overwriting or ‘defacing’ these, my paintings aim to expose the hypocrisies of our so-called sexual freedom.”

Female Trouble is co-curated by Vanya Balogh and Rebecca Scott. It features a selection of Paula Rego’s lithographs and etchings from the collection of Paupers Press. After a public launch event on the evening of 28 June, the exhibition will be open from 12 to 6pm, Thursday to Sunday.

Cross Lane Projects’ second exhibition will open in October 2018, presenting new work by sculptor Frances Richardson, winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award for 2017/18.

Cross Lane Projects is founded by Cumbria born artist Rebecca Scott and her husband Mark Woods, a sculptor. The pair have established Cross Lane Projects with the aim of bringing new contemporary art and debate to Cumbria and will present a curated programme featuring the work of local, international and British artists. The space will present a regularly changing programme of two exhibitions of contemporary art each year, accompanied by public talks and discussion events.

Dame Paula Rego, DBE (born 1935, Portugal), is a visual artist particularly known for her paintings and prints based on storybooks. Her work often reflects feminism, coloured by folk-themes from her native Portugal.
Rego studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and was an exhibiting member of the London Group. She was the first artist-in-residence at the National Gallery in London and has a museum of her work, Casa das Histórias, in Portugal. She lives and works in London. Paula Rego is represented by Marlborough Gallery.

Rebecca Scott, (born 1960, Cumbria), is a British painter. She came to prominence in the late 1980s and is known for her issue-based figurative paintings.  Her recurring theme is the exploration of female desire and its representation in contemporary culture and the mainstream psyche. Scott studied at Chelsea School of Art and Goldsmiths College. She lives and works in Cumbria and London.

Mark Woods, (born 1961, Surrey), is a British artist with a background in contemporary jewellery production and in boat building. Woods produces highly elaborate artefacts that blur the boundaries between jewellery, fine art, fetish objects and items from a cabinet of curiosities. His work confronts the viewer with exquisite beauty, sophisticated craftsmanship and the awakening of unexpected emotions.

Vanya Balogh, (born 1966, Croatia), is an independent curator and artist living and working in London. His curatorial input is focused on high intensity large scale group interventions in unusual spaces whilst simultaneously working on smaller, intimate solo projects with different artists. He has curated exhibitions in UK and internationally including at the 55th, 56th and 57th Venice Biennale and LOOP Barcelona.

Paupers Press is a fine art print and publishing studio that works with leading contemporary artists. The studio, based in Hoxton, London, was opened in 1986 and works both by commission directly from artists and galleries, as well as publishing under its’ own name.

Paula Rego And Rebecca Scott Female Trouble 29 June to 24 August 2018. Thursday to Sunday, 12 to 6pm daily. Cross Lane Projects, Cross Lane, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 5LB. Exhibition preview: Thursday 28 June, from 6–8pm, RSVP to info@crosslaneprojects.com

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