Culture

Carrie Reichardt - The Anti-Christmas

Matt Mellen
15th December 2021
3 min read

Legendary renegade artist talks to Ecohustler about why she will always be a rebel

The front of Carrie's house - AKA The Treatment Rooms - in Chiswick

Carrie Reichardt lives in a house in Chiswick that she mosaiced. On the back are mural's for her friends who were killed on death row in the USA. Her bright, colourful and humorous artworks deal with big issues. Scratch the surface and you can feel her fury. Art has always been a way for Carrie to process pain and heal herself.

The back of Carrie's house

When the Ecohustler art gallery was opening - she was one of the first artist friends we went to asking for art on consignment. Her provocative and subversive art is a perfect fit for the brand. Her hilarious prints have been bestsellers in store and are now available online.

We are also lucky enough to have several of her large mosaic pieces for sale - not least - Come riot with me - which has been a centrepiece in the gallery since opening.

The Ecohustler gallery in Frome is currently the only gallery in the world with Carrie Reichardt mosaics for sale.

Carrie is widely described as a leader of the UK craftivist movement and has spoken on the use of craft and art as protest. However, she increasingly rejects descriptions of herself as an activist. For her the term comes with too much baggage and she seems to always end up offending someone's sensibilities.

Eat the rich or sell them art - Carrie Reichardt - plate - currently for sale in the Ecohustler shop

Several recent art works have incorporated the Extinction Symbol within them. Carrie went to art school with the mysterious man behind the symbol who is also a street artist with a moniker known to many. When Carrie came to a party at the gallery she wasted no time cementing a tile to the front of the shop with the Extinction Symbol on it - still there to this day.

Bankers are wankers - Carrie Reichardt - Tile - currently for sale in the Ecohustler shop

Carrie is best known for her anarchic crockery where vintage tiles, plates and trinket boxes are re-fired with unexpected new layers of decoration. These tiles pop up unexpectedly around the town's where Carrie has her shows - street art is part of her oeuvre.

Her art brand is called Mad in England and she makes special location specific artworks under this umbrella. So, at the Ecohustler gallery we have 10 red and 10 blue Mad in Frome prints.

Dope - Carrie Reichardt - Trinket box - currently for sale in the Ecohustler shop

The story of how this art brand came to be, her friendship with the originator of the Extinction Symbol and much more are all discussed in the new Ecohustler podcast. If you want snippets of the conversation accompanied by rebel rousing music - do check out the Ecohustler radio show.

Carrie Reichardt mosaic art pieces are still viewable in the Ecohustler HQ (25 Catherine Street, Frome)