Introducing Britney Spears, contemporary artist

Britney Spears delighted the internet three years ago with an Instagram post of herself painting. Scored to Mozart’s “Rondo Alla Turka,” the video shows the pop star, blonde hair piled high, concentrating on dabbing paint on a canvas. She’s dressed in an oversized, adorably paint-splattered button down over a white sports bra.

Her paintings look like something a kid might paint: whirly, colorful flowers on a white background. But Britney wasn’t making art for our approval; she was having some fun, unleashing the creative beast within. She captioned the post, “Sometimes you just gotta play!!!!!!” and appended it with, like, a dozen emojis.

On January 4, Galerie Sympa, located in southern France, quietly announced it was representing Ms. Spears. Then a week ago, it set a date for her first solo show, Sometimes you just gotta play!!!!!!, named after Britney’s original Instagram caption, of course. The exhibition opens on Saturday, January 18, and Galerie Sympa’s website says it’ll run “till the world ends.” Good one, you guys.

It’s not entirely clear whether Britney knows about her first contemporary art show or whether she’ll be at the opening. We’re also not sure how Galerie Sympa got their hands on Spears’ paintings. (Mic reached out to the gallery owners for clarification and will update this post accordingly if we hear back.)

The original flower painting from Britney’s Instagram, which is being used to promote the Galerie Sympa show, was auctioned for charity in 2017. Robin Leach, host of the CBS series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, bought it for $10,000, and Spears donated the proceeds to victims of that year’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. “The flowers in my painting represent a new beginning, and it’s in that spirit that we move forward,” Spears said in a video at the time.