Des Hughes Rust Never Sleeps
13 Sep—2 Nov 2013

Des Hughes Rust Never Sleeps

13 Sep—2 Nov 2013
Buchmann Box
Press release

The Buchmann Gallery is delighted to announce its first solo show of works by Des Hughes (*1970 in Birmingham); Hughes’ works were first featured by the gallery in the exhibition Crystal World in 2010.


The five sculptures, which were created specifically for this exhibition, are reminiscent of pieces of medieval armour and weaponry. The four rust-red, helmet-like objects and the ensemble of two larger-than-life figures dressed in chainmail appear on closer inspection to be too fragile and detailed to be made of forged iron. 
The material is only 3mm thick, as becomes visible in the areas where the hollow interior of the sculpture is revealed. In a complex process, Hughes shapes woollen scarves, woollen hats and plaster bandages and casts them in resin reinforced with fibreglass and iron powder. The resulting sculptures are simultaneously powerful and surprisingly fragile.


Like the language of his materials, the shapes Hughes uses have a deep ambivalence: a tree stump is not made of wood, the chainmail shirt is not iron and a mask is a sock. Des Hughes creates a narrative and ironic figuration which develops its very own, distinctive and highly recognisable pictorial language.

 
Des Hughes’ works have been shown in solo exhibitions at Manchester Art Gallery, and in group exhibitions, including CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain Bordeaux and Camden Arts Centre, London. The Hepworth Wakefield is planning a solo show in 2014.


Please contact the gallery should you require any further information about the artist or require images of the works.

Des Hughes

born 1970 Birmingham, lives and works in Herefordshire.

Education
2000-2002 MA Fine Art Goldsmiths's College, London
1990-1994 BA (Hons) Fine Art (Sculpture) Bath College of Art

Solo Exhibitions

2021
2018
2017
2016
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2008
2007
2005
2004
2002
1999
1998
1997

Group Exhibitions

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2014
2011
2010
Selected Collections

Arts Council Collection, UK
The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
Saatchi Collection, London, UK
The David Roberts Foundation, UK