Mike Kelley

Renowned for his socio-political works, Mike Kelley was a multi-faceted artist whose works encompassed the disciplines of performance art, installations, paintings and large-scale drawings, rendering him as one of the most influential artists of the Conceptual Art movement. Kelley became notable for his use of unconventional materials such as stuffed toys and found objects – More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid is perhaps his most recognised work of this kind; the piece is a haphazard assemblage of rag dolls and blankets that Kelley sourced from thrift shops. Societal values and norms were one of the biggest inspirations for Kelley’s works and he attempted to subvert pre-existing notions with his focus on themes such as sexuality, class, gender and criminality – one particular installation, Pay for Your Pleasure, featured a range of portraits of genius men including the likes of philosophers, poets and fellow artists; the theme was subverted with the final showing of a painting created by a convicted criminal.