Exhibition: Nexus, Exeter Phoenix – revealing artists' networks and behaviour

The Nexus exhibition at the Exeter Phoenix puts together four Exeter-based artists who each sub-curate two artists in an attempt to reveal something about artists’ networks and the way artists operate within them.

The exhibition isn’t intended as a traditional group show in a white cube space, instead there’s a hope for ‘a little bit of chaos and a few surprises’, and tying the show together is the theme of ‘the garden’.

“Networks should enable artists to survive and thrive,” said Volkhardt Mueller, an Exeter-based artist involved in the show. “An environment that enables the germination of thought and is supportive of process resonates well for me with the idea of a garden.

“Our garden approach is a way of openly acknowledging process, negotiation, improvisation and circumstance. Visitors will see the works of 12 artists packed into a relatively small space. Trying to pretend that there is enough room to achieve a clinical presentation would seem unwise. It’s more promising for the connections between the artists and their works to be developed and alive.”

• Nexus at the Exeter Phoenix runs until Wednesday, September 1.

Read the conversation about Nexus between Volkhardt and Gabrielle Hoad on ArtsCulture.

(Image: the Nexus exhibition, courtesy of Volkhardt Mueller)