Born Franciszka Weinles in Poland in 1907, Franciszka Themerson trained as a musician, graphic designer and painter in Warsaw. There, she also met her husband, Stefan Themerson. The couple often collaborated as artists. They made five short independent films together in the 1930s, which established them as the most important experimental filmmakers in inter-war Poland.

At a time of rising fascism in Europe, the Themersons’ work challenged social conformity and revealed their belief in individual freedoms. The title of this display is taken from their 1937 film, The Adventure of a Good Citizen. With a central character determined to move forward while walking backwards, it celebrates alternative perspectives on the world.

In 1938, the pair moved to Paris to continue their work. They both volunteered for the Polish army in France but were separated during the war. Following the Nazi invasion in 1940, Franciszka was able to leave for London while Stefan remained in hiding, fearing persecution. In exile, Franciszka had little ability to communicate with her husband in France, or with her Jewish family imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. Instead, the artist poured her wartime experiences into a series of drawings she called Unposted Letters (1940-42). The couple were reunited in 1942, but only one member of their families survived the Holocaust.

Franciszka and Stefan remained in London for the rest of their lives, where she continued to work across multiple disciplines: drawing, painting, illustration, theatre and book design. In her post-war paintings, three of which are shown here, she portrays a search for meaning. Fluidly drawn into thickly painted surfaces, her unruly figures convey her experience of living in our ‘strange universe’.

Curated by Hilary Floe, Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary British Art; with Saskia Flower, Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary British Art; and Michal Goldschmidt, former Assistant Curator, Modern British Art.