Metabolic Studio Public SalonFelicity PowellFriday, October 2, 2009 @ NoonFree Admission

"Medals of Dishonour"

About The Salon

Alongside the well-known association of medals with glory and achievement lies another darker tradition of the medal as an indicator of dishonour. Celebrating works that denounce their subjects and expose the rich tradition of this largely unexplored medal type, Medals of Dishonour is currently on exhibition at British Museum.

Medals of Dishonour reframes items in the British Museum’s permanent collection by presenting selected historic medals alongside newly-commissioned medals by thirteen internationally recognized artists, including Jake and Dinos Chapman, Ellen Gallagher, Richard Hamilton, Mona Hatoum, William Kentridge, Grayson Perry and Felicity Powell. Elegantly displaying the historical and contemporary medals together the exhibition offers a long view through history that is both intelligent and wry.

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon writes that Felicity Powell, the conceptual progenitor and co-curator of Medals of Dishonour, has “singlehandedly…revived an entire Renaissance tradition - a rich and intricate tradition of subtle workmanship and symbolism”. At the Metabolic Studio Felicity will discuss both Medals of Dishonour and works from her recent solo show at London’s Domobaal. It will be a talk “about subversion, secret histories and historical hiccups”.

About The Salon Presenter

London-based artist Felicity Powell has exhibited widely on the international stage and had solo exhibitions at venues including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In addition to winning the Millennium Medal Competition by The Royal Mint and The British Art Medal Society, she has received numerous other awards and honors for her work, including commissions from the Linnaean Society and the Permanent Collection of the V&A Sculpture Department. She was elected a council member of the British Arts Medal Society in 2002.

Images

Above: Felicity Powell: Hot Air

Image courtesy: the British Museum

Further Information

Medals of Dishonour at the British Museum

Felicity Powell at Domobaal