June 10, 2021

Major touring exhibition Survey II launches at g39, Cardiff this summer

Survey II will launch at artist-run gallery g39 in Cardiff (3 July – 11 September 2021), bringing this major presentation of work by some of the most exciting artists from across the UK to the Welsh capital for its premiere.

Exhibiting artists are Saelia Aparicio, Tereza Červeňová, Sadé Mica, Rebecca Moss, Cinzia Mutigli, Katarzyna Perlak, Shenece Oretha, Tako Taal, Nicolaas van de Lande and Angharad Williams.

Artists consider the balance of control between humans and nature, the representation of queer and marginalised bodies, and the possibility of transformation for both materials and beings. Many works reflect on our relationships with those closest to us; asking where we find points of connection, when we are performing for each other and how we can capture moments of vulnerability and love. Others look at the formation of memory; how we archive and record to create collective touchpoints, or how we can explore diasporic memory through surface, sound and absence. At the exhibition’s core is a common preoccupation with how we relate to each other and the world around us.

The artists will present new sculptural, photographic, textile, moving-image, sound and assemblage pieces. Many of the artists have used the space and time enabled by the commission to use mediums new to their practice or to expand on ideas tested in previous bodies of work.

Established by Jerwood Arts in 2018, Survey II is the second edition of a group exhibition that presents new work from some of the most outstanding artists in the first stages of their careers in the UK. It continues to take a non-institutional approach to selection by inviting over 30 leading artists from across the UK to nominate who they think are the most exciting and dynamic early-career artists making work today. The nominators who have chosen the exhibiting artists include Jonathan Baldock, Jamie Crewe, Sean Edwards, Jade Montserrat, Heather Phillipson, Joanna Pietrowska, Tai Shani, Emily Speed, Wood and Harrison, and Zadie Xa.

After Cardiff, Survey II will travel to Jerwood Space in London (1 October – 13 December 2021) and Site Gallery in Sheffield (5 March – 15 May 2022) where it will be reimagined and curated for each location. The three venues will each work with different commissioned artists to develop a dynamic public and digital programme that spans the year-long tour. The project is led by Harriet Cooper (Head of Visual Arts, Jerwood Arts) with Anthony Shapland (Creative Director, g39) and Angelica Sule (Programme Director, Site Gallery).

Harriet Cooper, Head of Visual Arts, Jerwood Arts said, “Survey II brings together some of the most compelling early-career artists working in the UK today. Nominated by leading artists and selected in the early stages of the UK lockdown last year, their diverse practices and approaches to making art remind us of the importance of artists’ voices in responding to the changing world around us. Asking artists to play a part in deciding who this exhibition should include embodies our ambitions to always put artists at the centre of our programme and support artist networks.”

Anthony Shapland, Creative Director, g39 said, “The project stands as an amazing platform for new voices and the structure – touring not just the work but also the artists to the different venues and communities – is an exciting and dynamic way of connecting people. For g39, this is one of the crucial elements of what we do, connecting artists to Wales and Welsh artists to a wider contemporary art scene. It’s the conversations that happen incidentally, in between the formal structures that enable them, that build and sustain artists’ practices.”

Find out more:

Read the full press release here

Read about Survey II here

Visit g39’s website here

Sign up for our Exhibitions and Events monthly newsletter here

Cinzia Mutigli, I've Danced at Parties, 2021. Film still. courtesy the artist.Cinzia Mutigli, I've Danced at Parties, 2021. Film still. courtesy the artist.