Sarah Lucas

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Sarah Lucas (born 1962 in London, England) is an artist who came to prominence as one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) in the 1990s.

Her work is known for its sly wit — addressing the low level misogynist sexual stereotyping that is a feature of British tabloid newspapers — and the use of readymade elements. She studied at the London College of Printing before switching to fine art at Goldsmiths College from 1984 - 1987, where she had a relationship with Damien Hirst, before forming one with Gary Hume. Finally, she had a relationship with Angus Fairhurst Her early work was sculptural installations, and with this work Lucas took part in the Freeze exhibition.

Lucas's breakthrough came in 1991 when she had a solo exhibition at City Racing of collages based on spreads from British tabloid newspapers. The lurid pieces emphasising sex, deformity, violence and sensationalism, typified many of the elements associated with the YBAs. Charles Saatchi bought the entire set and they were exhibited at his then-North London Saatchi Gallery the following year. Lucas used the money from the sale to finance "The Shop", a project run with friend Tracey Emin as "The Birds" in 1993. Many of Lucas's works from this period were subtle parodies of the work of more famous contemporaries.

Apart from contributions to group shows such as Brilliant! (1995) and Sensation (1997) Lucas did not have a major solo exhibition until 1998, when one was organised by her dealer Sadie Coles in an empty building in Clerkenwell. The exhibition featured Lucas's signature of cigarettes, stuck onto objects such as crash helmets. In 2000 Lucas was commissioned to install a series of works at the Freud Museum; this was accompanied by an exhibition at Sadie Coles' Gallery. These works were female-type forms made using tights and inspired by Louise Bourgeois. Lucas's 2006 solo exhibition at Tate Liverpool was criticized by Jonathan Jones in The Guardian as mediocre.