Ben Brown Fine Arts Presents Surface Tension, Exhibition of 1990s British Painters

exhibition · 2026-09-19

Ben Brown Fine Arts is showcasing Surface Tension, an exhibition that highlights the works of British painters Peter Doig, Hurvin Anderson, Chris Ofili, Gary Hume, Cecily Brown, and Glenn Brown. Emerging from the London art scene of the 1990s, these artists produced paintings, drawings, and prints from 1996 to the present. The exhibition chronicles the decade's parallel history, illustrating how these painters maintained that painting remained relevant despite the era's challenges. During the 1990s, the Young British Artists (YBA) movement, led by figures like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, dominated the art landscape. The exhibition at Ben Brown Fine Arts provides an in-depth exploration of the artists' evolution over nearly thirty years.

Key facts

Ben Brown Fine Arts presents Surface Tension, an exhibition of paintings by British artists.
The artists included are Peter Doig, Hurvin Anderson, Chris Ofili, Gary Hume, Cecily Brown, and Glenn Brown.
Their practices were forged in the London art world of the 1990s.
The exhibition features paintings, drawings, and prints made between 1996 and the present.
It traces the parallel history of that decade, telling the story of painters who declared painting remained a medium adequate to its moment.
In 1990s Britain, the art world was dominated by the conceptual hegemony of the YBA movement.
Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Rachel Whiteread, Sarah Lucas, and their peers commanded tabloid headlines and museum surveys with their readymades, installations, and vitrines.
Freeze, the 1988 Docklands exhibition organized by Hirst, served as year zero for the scene, and Sensation at the Royal Academy in 1997 marked a key moment.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

Ben Brown Fine Arts
YBA movement
Royal Academy
Freeze
Sensation

Locations

London
United Kingdom
Docklands

Sources

Art Daily