ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

​​

Founded in 1952 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Free Painters and Sculptors emerged as a progressive organisation championing artistic freedom at a time when abstraction and experimentation challenged artistic convention.

Many early members went on to become influential figures whose work is now held in the Tate collection. Today, FPS continues this legacy as a thriving artist-led community supporting painters, sculptors, printmakers and photographers working at every stage of their professional careers. The exhibition features award-winning artists alongside emerging practitioners, reflecting the breadth and diversity of contemporary practice within the organisation.

Alongside the exhibition, FPS will present a programme of workshops, talks, discussions and participatory events that bring studio practice directly into the gallery. Audiences are invited to encounter the rituals, routines, communities and acts of experimentation that make creative work possible. FPS NOW argues for slow looking, skilled making and the irreplaceable knowledge held within the artist's hand. It is both a celebration of 75 years of artistic freedom and a statement about why material practice continues to matter.

At a time when artificial intelligence, automation and image-generation technologies are transforming visual culture, FPS NOW asks what remains uniquely human about artistic 
practice. 

​

"For 75 years the Free Painters and Sculptors has championed artists who challenge convention through experimentation and independent thinking. Today, when so much visual culture is generated, replicated and consumed at speed, the exhibition celebrates something increasingly precious: the depth of knowledge, imagination and material understanding that emerges through making by hand. FPS NOW is both a celebration of our history and an affirmation of why artists and artistic practice remain essential."