The queue for the MA Show opening night at City and Guilds of London Art School was almost back to Kennington Station. Inside the rabbit warren of whitewashed walls, curiously outside yet inside spaces were buzzing, swarming with people. Glass in hand, business cards spilling out of pockets, clamped between spare fingers.

Maps of these spaces are hard to follow, noses are best as people sidestep down narrow corridors and emerge into bright spaces, exhibiting the 2024 graduates of the MA Fine Art programme.

Glasswork and painting steal the show. Boiled sweet-like glass pieces by Annie Wasdell perch on window sills, depicting found objects, anemones in wine red, toy boats in radioactive yellow. Reflecting the evening sunset in jewelled colours across the room.

Every day scenarios painted large with astute observation, culturally relevant anecdotes that sparked conversation as friends and families gathered and celebrated the graduating artists. Knowing smiles crossing the faces of those solo-viewing.

Lucy Hutching’s large-scale paintings grab you, abstract nude figures on a night out, queuing up for kebabs, huddled around heaters in the smoking area, spilling drinks, piss and vomit. A contemporary, publican, curb side take on the debaucherous scenes of Hieronymus Bosch.

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Emma Stones, Producer for Chorus Arts, caught up with Lucy to talk more about her work, her inspirations and her time at the City and Guilds of London.

ES Your practice delves into the complexities ofhuman nature, exploring its messiness and even grotesque aspects. How has your approach to this theme evolved over time?

LH Over the past year I developed the confidence asan artist to make work that is visually vulgar and inappropriate. I’m fascinated with medieval artwork and depictions of the Bacchanalia, which kickstarted the evolution of my stylisation and pushed my paintings into something that is repulsive but hilarious.  

ES The use of bold colours and expressive figures isa defining feature of your work. What guides your choices in colour palettes and subjects for each piece? How has your colour palette changed, evolved?

LH The colour palette is something that I don’t pay too much attention to and I figure that out as I paint. I always start with the bodies and let the colours around it find its place. With my recent body of work, I was depicting night scenes, so dark blues and greens were my starting point, and I gradually added bursts of orange to make everything feel electric. The choice of subject comes hand in hand with the colours too, so when I’m in the process of painting, I’ll fill a space with a beer, for example, and choose a brand image that has a colour palette that suits the surrounding space. 

ES Could you walk us through your process of creating large-scale portraits, from the initial concept to the final execution?

LH My process usually begins with a few sketches based on an experience that I remember or an experience that someone has told me. The drawings are very loose which later on in the process allows me to expand and develop the composition as I paint. I rarely use references or image projection because I really enjoy using my imagination to rebuild these absurd scenes. I think that playing with unrealistic scale and perspective adds emphasis to the bizarre final outcome.

ES Your work often incorporates personal narratives and memories, addressing themes like shame. How has your relationship with these themes transformed throughout your practice?

LH I’ve been painting drunk figures for a while now, but they used to be more playful and romanticised. I was eighteen when the pandemic first hit, and so my unruly teenage years cut short very abruptly, leading me to paint from a perspective of reminiscing. Looking back, those paintings were a way for me to relive the social connections we were deprived of. Whereas now I’m expressing debauchery through the truthful feeling of being ‘pissed’ first hand.

ES How was your experience at City and Guilds LondonArt School?

LH Studying at City and Guilds London Art School was incredible! I learnt so much about myself and what I wanted to do/say with my art. Most of my year was spent experimenting with dry pigment and how I could use the material in the context of my practice, which started off challenging but I’m so grateful for the support from my tutors and colleagues who guided mealong the way. 

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ES Coming out the other side of full time art education can be daunting but also incredibly exciting, what are you working on now?

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LH I’m sharing a studio in Dalston with an MA course mate, where I’ll be working on new paintings over the year and developing my practice. At the moment I’m planning a painting that exposes a recent experience with foxes and throw up, but I wont give away too much of that narrative.