In Pictures: Saatchi Gallery's first all-women exhibition
- Published
The Saatchi Gallery is hosting its first exhibition dedicated to the work of female artists to mark the venue's 30th anniversary.
Champagne Life pays tribute to the gallery's commitment to supporting the work of women artists early in their careers.
Organisers say the exhibition will provide "a rare and apposite moment to reflect on what it means to be a female artist working today".
The exhibition is named after one of the works on display by Julia Wachtel.
Organisers say: "Champagne Life suggests high living, prestige and affluence... the irony of the title is palpable and throws into contrast the reality of many long, cold, lonely hours working in the studio with the perceived glamour of the art world."
Champagne Life by Julia Wachtel
American Wachtel has been working in the same vein since the 1980s as part of the Pictures Generation, who were originally influenced by Andy Warhol and more recently by the internet's quick exchange of images and the blossoming of celebrity culture.
Bound by Alice Anderson
Alice Anderson used 181 kilometres of copper thread in her piece Bound.
She addresses the loss of the tangible by mummifying items in copper threads to create recorded objects.
Moje Sabz by Soheila Sokhanvari
Iranian Soheila Sokhanvari describes herself as a "cultural collage between Eastern and Western philosophy", her work moving between political commentary and the magical.
She uses visual metaphors to deal with the Iranian state. Moje Sabz speaks of the Green Movement uprising of 2009.
Killing a Pig by Sigrid Holmwood
Sigrid Holmwood uses psychedelic neon tones clashing with historical re-enactments of the lost Swedish traditional lifestyle of the 19th Century in her work.
She takes part in historical re-enactments, often wearing costume of the period when painting in public and using materials from the time she is recreating.
Two Cows by Stephanie Quayle
Born and brought up on the Isle of Man, Stephanie Quayle's sculptures link man to nature through the organic material of clay as well as animal to human.
"I'm interested in how much we align or distance ourselves from them - how they reflect, question and return our gaze. How they see into our souls and connect us to the natural world and force of nature inherent within," she says.
Rhyme Sequence Wiggle Waggle by Mequitta Ahuja
Fantastical figures appear against deep, saturated colours in Mequitta Ahuja's canvases.
She weaves ancient mythologies into a style embracing all cultures and is autobiographical - the figures are often self-portraits. Her art conveys the conviction that identity is ours to fabricate.
Echoue au Seuil de la Raison by Virgile Ittah
Virgile Ittah's work is a study of the frailty and transience of the human body, where bodies' muscles and flesh are rendered in painstaking detail.
She plays with the confrontation between the organic material of wax, and the cold rigidity of the metal antique beds.
Champagne Life opens at the Saatchi Gallery on 13 January.