Curators Fru Tholstrup and Jane Neal featured a host of British female artists in a powerful exhibition celebrating the centenary of women’s right to vote in Britain.
Launched in tandem with Frieze art week in 2018, the show included British artists who examine the role of women in contemporary society; others who are motivated by the body politics surrounding the objectification of the female form; and those who question the fractured sense of being that many contemporary women feel today.
Helen Beard, Deepcut, 2018
Some of the artists included chose that is not intended to be read and interpreted through the lens of their sex. This was a show about the freedom of women to make the art that they choose. New research from the Freelands Foundation has shown that although 66% of postgraduate arts students in 2017 were female, just under a third of artists represented by London’s major galleries were women. In 2017, just 22% of solo shows presented by major London non-commercial galleries were by women artists. Shockingly, this figure has decreased since 2016, which shows why it is more important than ever to champion female artists.
Zoe Buckman, Heavy Rag, 2018