For an artist, the loaded brush represents a world of possibilities and the beginning of a creative journey. For Picasso, the loaded brush was a co-conspirator in his rebellious act of breaking down the human figure. For Willem de Kooning, it allowed him to generate the gestural marks that abandoned the traditions of abstraction and figuration, resulting in sumptuous and impasto laden canvases that merged figure and landscape. For Andy Warhol and Richard Prince, the traditional supremacy of the loaded brush needed to be challenged as he sought to question the authenticity of gestural painting by appropriating the medium of popular culture and printed mass communication. Gerhard Richter swapped his loaded brush for a loaded squeegee as he looked to deconstruct the entire nature of the painted surface in response to his investigations into philosophical nature of painting. The influence of the loaded brush also cast its effect over the medium of sculpture too, as artists embraced the inherent nature of their materials.

This exhibition seeks to celebrate the creative process and the artists who championed it, often changing the nature of painting and sculpture as they worked. The exhibition is comprised of a curated selection of key masterpieces for sale, as well as major loans from collectors in Asia including works by Rothko, Picasso, Van Gogh, and Doig.