Saatchi Gallery presents Filthy Cute, a solo exhibition by London-based Dutch artist Anne von Freyburg
London, UK (March 2025) – Saatchi Gallery is delighted to present works by Anne von Freyburg in Filthy Cute running from 28 March to 11 May 2025. This solo exhibition features stunning large-scale pieces that highlight von Freyburg’s approach, which reimagines textile as a medium within the tradition of painting.
Von Freyburg embraces and subverts the female gaze, as well as the feminine and the pretty. Historically, craft and decoration have been regarded as inferior to the "intellectual" fine arts. By merging these elements, she challenges this hierarchical system.
Two main works in Filthy Cute reimagine scenes from the Rococo paintings of Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love series – known as one of the most powerful evocations of love in the history of art. Commissioned by Comtesse du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, in 1771, the series depicts “four stages of love,” advancing from a flirtatious proposal, to a furtive meeting, then consummation or marriage, and finally the calm enjoyment of a happy union. Du Barry ultimately rejected the canvases, and they were kept in storage for the next twenty years.
Von Freyburg’s works, which incorporate acrylic ink, fabric, sequins, and tassel fringes to create ‘textile paintings’ on canvases in a retelling of this story, are a reflection on relationships – namely, the clichés and tropes that have been associated with heterosexual romance, as typically depicted in Hollywood movies and throughout popular culture.
Von Freyburg considers the pressures of society and the struggles women face from the expectations often imbued upon them to be the ‘caretaker’ and ‘pleaser,’ and how women who reject this lifestyle are commonly seen as ‘selfish’ and ‘egocentric.’ While these ideas aren’t directly visualised through her work, they have informed her approach – as she attempts to raise questions about taste, femininity, high and low art, and the constructs of female identity.
Her interpretation of the story reminds the viewer to consider different kinds of love – for oneself and for one another: “It’s a declaration of kindness, staying true to yourself and to being kind to yourself. It’s about being free. No more fairy tales about men saving women, but women being the heroine in their own life story,” says von Freyburg.
The power of these works is emphasised by their size and vibrancy. Von Freyburg aims to disrupt, disturb, and destabilise the ideas behind the original imagery. Within the composition are playful elements recalling childhood delights like My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, and Love Hearts; as well as cute prints, swirling patterns, and candy-like colours to express the idea of impressionable young minds growing up in a world in flux.
Filthy Cute also includes von Freyburg’s floral series, in which the artist has looked at the still life flower paintings of 17th-century Dutch Masters like Jan van Huysum, and considered the question: “Who consumes what, and at whose expense?” She has responded by bearing what she calls the “commodity fetishism” of these works.
Commissioned by the wealthy middle class, who wanted to display their wealth and taste, flower paintings of this kind were considered largely decorative and were one of the few subjects female painters were allowed to approach. Von Freyburg’s response imbues these works with new life through exuberant textiles – renewing the significance of the traditional flower painting while celebrating the feminine.
The floral works of von Freyburg celebrate the sensual, textural, and visual pleasures of materials and ornaments. The work Tuttifrutti includes snakeskin fabric and ornaments like exotic birds, fruit, and cut-outs of flowers, while Kabloom makes strong references to pop art and pop culture, once again referencing the commodity aspect of the 17th-century paintings. Von Freyburg comments, “Both works are partly a post-colonial critique and exaggerate the exoticism of the West for foreign objects and flowers.” In addition to this solo exhibition, a work by von Freyburg also features within Saatchi Gallery's current major exhibition Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
For all press enquiries, please contact:
Niamh Elain, Marketing & Press Executive - niamh.e@saatchigallery.com
Dates open to the public: 28 March – 11 May 2025
Location in the gallery: Gallery 3
Admission: Free entry, pre-booking not required.
About the artist
Anne von Freyburg (b. 1979) is a Dutch artist based in London. She received her MFA from Goldsmiths (2016) and holds a BA in Fashion Design from ArtEZ Arnhem, The Netherlands. Von Freyburg is the winner of Robert Walters UK New Artists Award (2021) and exhibited several times at Saatchi Gallery, London. She was nominated for The Ingram Prize (2021). Her work was part of the Tapestry Triennial at the Central Textile Museum in Lodz, Poland (2022-2023) one of the most prominent international Textile Museums worldwide. Von Freyburg’s work is in several private collections all over the world.
About Saatchi Gallery
Since 1985, Saatchi Gallery has provided an innovative platform for contemporary art. Exhibitions have presented works by largely unseen young artists, or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK. This approach has made the Gallery one of the most recognised names in contemporary art. Since moving to its current 70,000 square feet space in the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea, London, the Gallery has welcomed over 10 million visitors. The Gallery hosts thousands of school visits annually and has over 6 million followers on social media. In 2019 Saatchi Gallery became a registered charity, beginning a new chapter in its history.
Registered Charity Number: 1182328 | Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London SW3 4RY
