Exeter Contemporary Open in Review: Tom Woolner
Published September 24, 2026
The Luddite photographed by Alastair Levy
To celebrate the 20th year of Exeter Contemporary Open(opens in new tab), we're catching up with artists whose work has been shown at the exhibition. This time, we chatted to sculpture and installation artist Tom Woolner, whose work was part of the 2023 ECO exhibition.
I am an artist living and working in London. My practice is sculptural at its core, but shifts between installation, performance, and most recently, things that seem to masquerade as paintings.
Can you describe what you exhibited with us, when you were in The Open?
In The Open 2023, I exhibited a series of four works, all made through an experimental and intuitive process of pouring and piping, akin to amateur cake decorating. Made in reverse and semi-blind, materials are allowed to take control at a molecular level, compressing and congealing into, rather than onto, a surface. They seem to agree on a form that sits somewhere between painting, sculpture and inverse fresco.
The works featured corporeal landscapes, imagined territories in which a cast of bodily forms and organs had been set adrift.
What are your memories from being in the exhibition?
I was, very sadly, unable to attend the opening of the exhibition, but had the real pleasure of visiting Exeter and the gallery to install one of the works. I have very fond memories of working with Matt and Andy to install my work, Remnant Revealed, in its soft, fatty, wobbly pink 'jacket' on one of the hottest days of late summer. Sweating it out with the physical work in the space is always the most fun part.
I remember myself and fellow exhibitor Richard Phoenix dialling in from the John Moores opening in Liverpool to be in touch with friends and colleagues in Exeter.
I am still in touch with many of the artists from the exhibition and have been lucky enough to cross paths with many others who were selected throughout its 20-year history.
Left: - Tom Woolner Photographed by Michael Polsinelli Artmother
Right: The Luddite photographed by Alastair Levy
How have things changed for you since you exhibited with us?
The work has continued to expand and shift since The Open in 2023. I have pushed into a more sculptural context, with certain works now becoming double-sided, free-standing objects that occupy an awkward architectural space. I’ve continued to test the work in a variety of contexts nationally and internationally, with group exhibitions in London, Copenhagen and Athens.
It’s also been a real pleasure to work, coincidentally, with both of this year's guest selectors, Sid Motion and Martyn Cross. I recently took part in the exhibition Poor Form at Sid Motion Gallery, together with recent Exeter Phoenix exhibitor Nicola Bealing, and Martyn Cross selected a work of mine for his curated group show Softly Radiant, Half-Buried at Marianne Boesky, New York.
I have just shown work in the RA Summer Exhibition, continue to teach Fine Art at The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford, and sing early and contemporary choral music with a chamber choir in London.
I’m looking forward to pushing and pulling the work further, in a variety of contexts, folding more of these activities together, testing more crossovers between the material and performative experiments.
What does Exeter Contemporary Open mean to you?
The Exeter Contemporary Open came at a key time for me, allowing me to learn more about the work’s relationship to painting, especially in the context of a group show. It was such a pleasure to allow the work a broader audience, amongst artists I admire.
In a field that currently seems to be awash with open calls, The Exeter Open remains unique and affordable. It foregrounds thoughtful, sensitive curation and conversation with individual artists and their work, orchestrating coherent, brave exhibitions.
You can find out more about Tom and his work on his website(opens in new tab)
You can find out more about this year's Exeter Contemporary Open exhibition including dates and times of gallery tours here>>>