Female Trouble – Paula Rego and Rebecca Scott

About

Cross Lane Projects will open to the public on 28 June with Female Trouble, an inaugural exhibition of prints by Dame Paula Rego and new paintings by Rebecca Scott.

Female Trouble by Rego and Scott brings female subjectivity to the fore, drawing counterpoints between Scott's paintings, that rework and playfully subvert public images of women from fashion magazines, and Rego's prints depicting images of abortion and female genital mutilation. Rego’s work is known for revealing complex stories about the sinister side of sexuality, and her feminism underlies everything she does. A major British artist, Rego's work is prominently featured in the exhibition All Too Human, currently on show at Tate Britain.

Scott said: "When the opportunity arose to exhibit my work alongside the prints of Paula Rego, I didn't hesitate – I was intrigued to see how the dialogue between us, two female artists from different generations, would develop. Rego often portrays women in secretive or clandestine groups, or alone confronting their private agonies. I am interested to contrast these with my recent paintings that re-examine public images of women. Taking source images from glossy magazines and overwriting or 'defacing' these, my paintings aim to expose the hypocrisies of our so-called sexual freedom."

Female Trouble will be co-curated by Vanya Balogh and Rebecca Scott. It will feature a selection of Paula Rego’s lithographs and etchings from the collection of Paupers Press.

After a public launch event on the evening of 28 June, the exhibition will be open from 12 to 6pm, Thursday to Sunday. Cross Lane Projects' second exhibition will open in October 2018, details to be announced soon.

Cross Lane Projects is founded by Cumbria born artist Rebecca Scott and her husband Mark Woods, a sculptor. The pair have established Cross Lane Projects with the aim of bringing new contemporary art and debate to Cumbria and will present a curated programme featuring the work of local, international and British artists. The space will present a regularly changing programme of two exhibitions of contemporary art each year, accompanied by public talks and discussion events.

To create Cross Lane Projects, Scott and Woods have redeveloped the building previously known as The Mint Cake Works in central Kendal, that was vacated after production was moved to a purpose-built factory.