Exeter Contemporary Open in Review: Grant Foster
Published October 30, 2026
Exeter Contemporary Open is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and we're catching up with artists who's work has previously shown at the Exhibition. This time we chatted with Grant Foster, a painter who enjoys working in an expanded manner, which means incorporating sculpture, collage, text and moving image into the presentation of my paintings.
Can you describe what you exhibited with us when you were in the Open?
I exhibited two large, collaged paintings. They both had strong elements of gallows humour. One depicted a grinning skull hanging in a cupboard, with the letters “HSBC” emblazoned over the top, like coloured bunting. And the other was a dinky car, pictured bigger than a tree and positioned over letters that spelt, cArRr. This reminded me of concrete poetry, in the way the letters signified a sharp sigh.
Foster's work in the 2019 Exeter Contemporary Open also featuring Amanda Benson's work photographed by Dom Moore
You can find the full list of contributing artists from 2019's Open here>>>
What are your memories from being in the exhibition?
Meeting the other artists was great fun, and meeting Matt was a joy too. I remember everyone being incredibly friendly and excited to be in the show.
How have things changed for you since you exhibited with us?
I went on to have a solo exhibition at Exeter Phoenix in 2024, called “Human Made” which seemed to really solidify some of the ideas I’d been working with over the last few years. “Human Made” then evolved into another exhibition in Brighton, at Phoenix Artspace, called “Home to My Teenage Bedroom” last year. And now the kernels from those two exhibitions are being nurtured for another show at TACO! in London scheduled for February 2027.
Foster's solo exhibition Human Made photographed by Dom Moore
What does Exeter Contemporary Open mean to you?
I think it’s one of the last remaining significant open submissions, as it’s cross-disciplinary. This in turn allows the works exhibited to have the types of conversations that wouldn’t normally happen when the disciplines are a little more siloed off. I think this gives the viewer a deeper and more exciting experience of what they’re looking at.