Deskilling, kitsch, provisionality, abjection and the aesthetically 'bad' are all widely referenced in the discussion of contemporary art. The use of 'outsider' vernaculars is widespread. However, earlier explorers in such areas, working right across Modernism, are rarely considered.

Academically trained, Louis Michel Eilshemius (1864 - 1941) developed an eccentric and compelling naive style by 1910 that anticipated expressionism and surrealism but was distinctly his own. Discovered by Duchamp in 1917, he became a cult figure for the avant-garde.

This exhibition was curated by artists Carol Rhodes and Merlin James.