Heads of Yesteryear

Francis Upritchard’s artistic lexicon is perhaps best known for her curious, and at times disconcerting, small-scale figurative sculptures which in their fantastical forms also embody a constellation of historical and contemporary references. These figures inhabit a universe whereby imagination and the ancient and contemporary collide. Often juxtaposed and staged upon the geometric, clean lines of Modernist furniture, her imaginative enquiry traverses the limits of human behaviour, imbuing gravitas with each assemblage and scenario.

In 2009, Upritchard represented New Zealand at the 53rd Venice Biennale, and her distinct visual language has continued to attract critical attention with solo exhibitions such as: Francis Upritchard at the Hammer Museum (2014); Potato Poem(2013) at The Marugame Genichiro- Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA), Kargawa, Japan; A Long Wait (2012) at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, United States; and In die Höhle (2010) at the Secession in Vienna, Austria.