I

n 2018,I senta messagetoa groupoffriendsand

contactsonInstagram,ponderingthefactthatthere

was,tomyknowledge,asyetnoindependentsocietyto

celebrateorgivevoicetocontemporaryBritishportraiture.

I askedmyartistcolleagueswhethertheyfelttherewasa

needforsucha groupand,if so,whethertheymightwant

tobea partofit.

Whatstartedoutasa generalenquirygotanalmost

unanimouslyenthusiasticresponsefromitsrecipients–

andsoonafterwardsa newcollective,Contemporary

BritishPortraitPainters(orCBPPforshort)wasborn.

Eighteenmonthslater,thegroupis already40-strong

andpreparingitsfirstexhibition.Ourmissionis togivea

platformtocontemporaryBritishportraiture,andbydoing

soprovidemutualsupportandpromotion.Membersare

acceptedonthequalityoftheirworkalone,andnotonthe

basisoftheirartworldconnectionsoranyothercriteria.

Thereis,wehope,noidentifiable“housestyle”across

thegroup.Everyonesharesa passionforexploringthe

humanfigureinpaintandfindingdifferentwaystoexpress

thisnever-endingchallengeacrossa myriadofstyles.

Thegroupboastsmemberswhoworkinpainstakingdetail

withhighlevelsofrealism,suchasMartynBurdon,whose

acrylicportraitsoffamouscomediansdescribethe

nuancesofhairandskinonanalmostforensiclevel.His

workcontrastswiththatoffellowmemberLucyStopford,

whosegesturaloilpaintingsabbreviatethefaceintoa

mesmerisingmeshofpainterlystrokes,inwhichhuman

featuresandresemblancesarepushedtotheirlimits

yetnevereverlost.Thegroupseemstorevelinsuch

differencesofapproach,unitedbyanundeniablesense

ofjoyintheexplorationofhumanityintheirsubjects.

Historicallyportraiturehasbeencommissionedby

wealthyprivateorcorporateclientswho,ofcourse,require

FACES

NEW

The new Contemporary British Portrait Painters

collective is keen to reflect new and diverse

approaches to the genre. Ahead of a first group

exhibition, founder member IAN GOLDSMITH

outlines their mission

self-affirming, flattering representations. These pictures

have, understandably therefore depicted the powerful and

wealthy in society – royalty, businessmen, politicians and

the like. The CBPP seeks to find a more contemporary

definition of portraiture which reflects our modern society

in its diversity, promoting the artist’s ability to interpret

their subject without always being reliant on monetary

constraints. As a non-profit making group, it does not gear

itself towards the purely commercial, celebrating instead

the individual voices of its members. The group itself is

diverse, too, featuring an almost equal split between male

and female – plus, due to a quick membership application

process which is open to all UK residents, the age split is