Artist leaves 1000 free works on London streets

Artist Adam Neate will leave 1000 works of art on the streets of London tonight for anyone to pick up for free.

Neate’s The London Show will see the individually numbered artworks distributed randomly around the capital under the cover of darkness.

The pieces, all based on a master stencil created by Neate, are printed on cardboard and shrink-wrapped in cellophane.

The artist began his career by leaving thousands of artworks on the streets of London, either hanging from nails or propped against lampposts, for people to find. His pieces now fetch up to £79 500 at auction.

Neate says, ‘The whole concept of the free art thing was challenging the notion of art as a commodity and its worth in society.

‘Now I’m taking that to another level, testing the viability of separating art from commerce.’