New Exeter exhibition puts fragility and failure centre stage

A new exhibition exploring instability, fragility and the idea of impermanence is set to open at Exeter Phoenix Gallery next month.

Things Fall, running from 14 February to 11 April 2026, brings together new and recent sculptural works by 12 artists from across the UK. 

The exhibition focuses on themes of precariousness and uncertainty, reflecting wider social, political and environmental pressures.

The show features work by artists including Kate McLeod, Madi Acharya-Baskerville, Cecile Johnson Soliz, David Kefford, Sandra Lane, Eugene Macki and Catriona Robertson, among others. 

While the artists are based in different parts of the country, the exhibition has been developed specifically for Exeter Phoenix and will be shown in the gallery’s main exhibition space.

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According to the organisers, the works share an interest in what has been described as “sculptural precarity”. 

Many of the pieces are made using everyday or reclaimed materials and appear deliberately unstable or unfinished, with forms that lean, balance or appear on the verge of collapse.

Rather than presenting sculpture as fixed or monumental, the exhibition examines ideas of fragility, failure and change. Some works challenge traditional notions of public monuments, while others question permanence and authority by embracing awkwardness, improvisation and chance.

The exhibition was originally conceived by artist and curator Kate McLeod and developed in collaboration with Exeter Phoenix Gallery curator Matt Burrows. 

Together, they assembled a group of artists whose practices explore similar approaches to making sculpture, including reuse, repurposing, modular construction and temporary forms.

Several of the artists exhibiting have previously shown work nationally and internationally, including at institutions such as the Royal Academy, the Whitechapel Gallery, the Saatchi Gallery and the Royal Society of Sculptors. 

Others have backgrounds spanning disciplines such as ceramics, fashion, biology and journalism, bringing a wide range of perspectives to the exhibition.

Things Fall opens with a public preview at Exeter Phoenix on Saturday 14 February, from 3pm to 5pm. 

The exhibition is free to attend and will be open Monday to Saturday, from 10.30am to 5.30pm.