Gary Card’s Gathering Dust exhibition at Plaster Magazine’s London flagship feels more like stepping into someone’s mind than visiting a gallery. The two-story takeover is chaotic, nostalgic, and full of personality. Exactly what you’d expect from an artist known for blending sculpture, set design, and fashion.
Downstairs, the space is packed with vintage toys, broken masks, comic books, and sculptures, all arranged in what looks like a mashup of a junk shop and an artist’s studio. It channels the energy of 90s Camden Market, with piles of strange and wonderful objects that feel both personal and universal.
Upstairs, the vibe changes. A series of busts made entirely from masking tape line the room. They’re weird, cartoonish, expressive, and somehow familiar. Each one is built up by hand, layer after layer, resulting in characters that feel alive in their own odd way.
Card calls the show “a heightened version of me,” and that tracks. It’s not polished or pristine, but that’s the point. It’s a collection of what usually gets overlooked—messy bits of memory and inspiration turned into something real.
The show also includes work from collaborators and collectors who add their own layers to the story, including Breakdown Press, Unified Goods, 4FSB, and Ferry Gouw. Curated by Milo Astaire and Finn Constantine, this is Plaster Store’s first artist takeover, and Card sets the bar high.
Gathering Dust is on view through August 9 at Plaster Store in Soho.
