Nottingham Contemporary presents The House of Fame: Convened by Linder (2018)

The House of Fame is an ambitious exhibition conceived by Linder. At the heart of the presentation is a retrospective of the influential British artist and musician’s work, spanning more than 40 years of photomontage, graphics, costume and performance. Emerging from the Manchester punk and post-punk scenes in the 1970s, Linder has continuously circled around questions of gender, commodity and display.

The House of Fame is an elastic kind of retrospective, encompassing a constellation of artistic influences. Joining Linder is a cast of collaborators and fellow-travellers from the worlds of art and architecture, fashion and theatre, music and design. Stretching from the early 17th century to today, ‘The House of Fame’ hosts some 150 works selected by Linder.

The exhibition grew out of a close collaboration with Chatsworth House in Derbyshire where, in 2017, Linder became the first artist-in-residence in the stately home’s 500-year history. It includes new works made during her time there, as well as some pieces from Chatsworth’s vast collection. Linder has said that, “Chatsworth isn’t just a receptacle of precious objects, it’s a treasure trove of ideas”. The House of Fame is also inspired by the history of lace production in Nottingham. As Linder has written, ‘Lace is an intricate weave within a grid, a form for “decorative” movement or sound.’ The House of Fame is itself intended as a kind of intricate weave – of people, places and moments from the past, present and future.

The exhibition’s title ‘Fame’ nods to a masquerade composed in 1609 by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, performed for the House of Stuart. Each of the four galleries is, in turn, styled as a kind of ‘house’. We move from ‘The House of the Future’ to houses of rest and unrest, before drifting off, in ‘The Abode of Sound’, into space.

The House of Fame was created in collaboration with Chatsworth, Derbyshire. The exhibition is part of the third season of The Grand Tour; a partnership of Nottingham Contemporary, Chatsworth, Derby Museums and The Harley Gallery, together with Visit Nottinghamshire and Visit Peak District & Derbyshire. Supported by Arts Council England’s Cultural Destinations fund and The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. The exhibition is supported by Spenbeck, a property development company specialising in versatile creative space in Nottingham’s Lace Market area.

Virtual Tour with Sam Thorne, Director of Nottingham Contemporary

Join Nottingham Contemporary Director, Sam Thorne, for a lunchtime tour of Linder's House of Fame. Uncover Linder's exploration of 'Fame', inspired by a Chaucer dream poem, where the goddess Fame can hear everything in the world.

Artist Workshop: ‘The stage as home, the home as stage’

‘The stage as a home, the home as a stage’. This virtual workshop takes inspiration from Linder’s The House of Fame exhibition and her Chatsworth House residency (2017-18) as an invitation to explore the cultural influences and personal histories that make your ‘home’.

Gillian Brent is a sculptor based in Sheffield, constructing works that address contemporary concerns about the language and significance of objects. She has been an Associate Artist at Nottingham Contemporary since 2009.

Charlotte Tupper is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Nottingham. Having begun her practice as a separate entity to her professional ventures, she now enjoys a participatory approach to working; with projects shaped through a social exchange and a collaboration of ideas.