Charlie Duck
Fire Station Residency
2020-2025
Charlie Duck was born in Kent in 1985, and currently lives and works in London.
Charlie's practice is dedicated to experimenting with materials and processes to explore drawing and its expanded field. At the core of his output are themes of history, art history and biography. Embedded in the work are a variety of references that establish connections between seemingly disparate and disconnected sources, across different temporalities.
His work has been included in a number of group shows across the UK and Europe, and he has presented a number of solo exhibitions in the UK, including at Pump House Gallery, London (2018) and Outpost, Norwich (2017).
"The time and space offered by the Fire Station residency will provide me with the opportunity to further develop and expand my practice. I have an open-minded and playful approach to material and process and am keen to question and challenge notions of the role drawing can play within a contemporary art practice. The studio environment is key to me as it is the site of experimentation, accident and discovery, it is where mistakes happen and failures occur. The five years of the residency will allow me to build a studio space perfectly suited to my needs, with the security of fixed tenure providing stability and the means to focus solely on the production of my work.
I am eager to expand my vocabulary in terms of gesture, language and material, and am ambitious to further incorporate painting and sculpture within my output, alongside the ceramics, drawings and prints that I have produced up until this point in my career. I want to build an ever more sophisticated understanding of different materials, and how they can best be utilised within my studio practice. The time and focus given by the Fire Station experience will be vital in facilitating this process of learning and will ensure the maturing of my practice."
Fire Station Residency 2020-2025
The Fire Station Residency provides secure, practical, work/live studio space, and a programme of artist support and professional development for five years. Based in the heart of East London, the residency allows artists more time to concentrate on the development of their work and careers, and less time working to survive. Artists were selected by Anthea Hamilton, artist and current Acme work/live studio resident; Judith Carlton, Director of Southwark Park Galleries; Paul Bayley, Head of Residencies & Awards, Acme; and Charlie Coffey, Programme Manager, Residencies & Awards, Acme.