Brookfield Properties and the Crafts Council present a collection of works from the archive of contemporary artist Matt Smith, in a free public exhibition hosted at 99 Bishopsgate, London. This marks the first time different series by the artist have been brought together in one exhibition. Opening on 14 September, Matt Smith at 99 Bishopsgate will feature 20 works, ranging from tapestries to sculpture by the artist Matt Smith. Smith works as a hybrid artist and curator, unpicking the work of establishment organisations and their points of reference, as well as those of their visitors. His works will be displayed alongside a selection of pieces from the Crafts Council national collection of contemporary craft.
Using craft to celebrate and unsettle the mainstream, Matt Smith’s work re-appropriates objects from their original uses to provide a space for marginalised points of view – often an LGBT viewpoint – on topics including history and museums to be appreciated, and for alternative, contradictory conclusions to be reached. Craft, with its connotations of the amateur, its associations with accessibility and gender, and its place within the art world are key to Smith’s practice. Artworks on display are made from ceramics, textiles and found materials. Central to the exhibition is a group of six works by Smith acquired by Brookfield and gifted to the Crafts Council Collection earlier this year. Purchased at Collect 2020 from Cynthia Corbett Gallery.