Joshua Richard Compston (June 1, 1970 – March 5, 1996) was a London gallerist whose space, Factual Nonsense, was closely associated with the emergence of the Young British Artists

Young British Artists

Young British Artists or YBAs is the name given to a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London, in 1988...

 (YBAs). Compston graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art

Courtauld Institute of Art

The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...

 in 1992. He opened an art gallery, Factual Nonsense, at 44a Charlotte Road in Hoxton, and worked with many of the artists of the YBA movement including Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin

Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....

, and organised an annual fete in Hoxton Square

Hoxton Square

Hoxton Square is a garden square situated in Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney, in London's East End. Formerly home to industrial premises, since the 1990s it has become the heart of the Hoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district...

.

Compston died of overdose of ether

Ether

Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...

 in 1996. His funeral was attended by several hundred mourners including many leading figures of the London art scene. His coffin was painted by his artist friends Gary Hume

Gary Hume

Gary Stewart Hume is an English artist. His work is strongly identified with the YBA artists who came to prominence in the early-1990s. In 1996, Hume was nominated for the Turner Prize, but lost out to Douglas Gordon. Hume was elected a Royal Academician in 2001.-Life and work:Hume was born in...

 and Gavin Turk

Gavin Turk

Gavin Turk is a British artist and one of the Young British Artists . He often uses his own image in life-size sculptures of famous people.-Life and work:...

.