An Unlikely Artistic Friendship Takes Centre Stage
London's contemporary art scene is currently hosting a compelling, if somewhat jarring, dialogue between two distinct artistic generations. Sadie Coles HQ presents a joint exhibition featuring Sarah Lucas, the formidable 63-year-old veteran of the Young British Artists (YBAs), and Maggi Hambling, the 80-year-old established painter. The show, which runs until 24 January, juxtaposes Lucas's precisely witty sculptures with Hambling's semi-abstract paintings, creating a conversation that is as much about friendship as it is about artistic merit.
Sarah Lucas: From YBA Provocateur to Technical Virtuoso
It has been thirty-five years since the Young British Artists shook the foundations of the UK's art establishment. Sarah Lucas, often remembered for her audacious use of everyday objects like fried eggs and kebabs, has evolved significantly. Her latest work demonstrates a mastery of complex, technically demanding sculpture that retains the raw, vital energy of her early readymades.
The centrepiece of her contribution is the ongoing series of Bunny sculptures. These laughable yet tragic figures, with their balloon breasts, spindly pipe-cleaner legs, and fetish-style shoes, contort themselves on cold concrete chairs. They create an atmosphere of orgiastic hilarity, simultaneously critiquing and embodying a male fantasy of hypersexualised internet porn. One cannot help but see a connection to the claustrophobic, desperate figures of Francis Bacon, translating that existential scream into a 21st-century context of digital sleaze.
A standout work, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (2023), crouches glistening in crimson. While it evokes the latex aesthetic of Allen Jones, it is in fact a sophisticated bronze cast, meticulously lacquered and painted. Lucas also engages in a direct artistic dialogue with Picasso, cleverly parodying his misogynistic 1929 painting, Large Nude in a Red Armchair, transforming its rage into a three-dimensional, modern commentary.
Maggi Hambling: A Contrast in Execution
The exhibition also showcases the work of Maggi Hambling, a friend of Lucas whom she met at the legendary Colony Room in Soho. While Hambling was a contemporary of Francis Bacon, her contributions to this show struggle to hold their ground. Her paintings, such as Wall of Water, Sunset, are described as semi-abstract dollops of moody marks that initially appear wild and turbulent but ultimately devolve into a mere mess, a pretence of energy. This assessment is based on works created in 2012, predating a well-publicised accident that affected the artist.
Hambling's sculptures are also present and, according to the review, share the same floppy and false quality as her paintings. This creates a gulf in the exhibition not defined by age, but by precision, wit, and intelligence—qualities attributed abundantly to Lucas's work but found lacking in Hambling's offerings here.
A Juxtaposition Forged by Friendship
The decision to pair these two artists is rooted in a genuine personal connection. Lucas pays tribute to Hambling with Maggi the Maggi, a heroic portrait of Hambling's face crafted entirely from cigarettes. Hambling reciprocates with Sarah at Work, though the painting fails to impress. This emotional bond, however, is what makes the exhibition fascinating. It functions like an art fair with wildly incompatible qualities lumped together, yet it is driven by camaraderie, not commerce.
For visitors, the experience is dominated by the thrilling, confrontational, and technically brilliant work of Sarah Lucas. She proves that she has continued to grow as an artist without losing the provocative edge that defined her YBA origins, combining art and truth in ever more stunning and physically extreme ways. The exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in the evolution of British contemporary art and the power of fearless creative expression.
