Bio/CV
British (1960)
Mike Perry is an artist who’s work engages with significant and pressing environmental issues, in particular the tension between human activity and interventions in the natural environment and the fragility of the planet’s ecosystems (be that marine or land).
His work, however, resists easy categorisation. Photography is central to his practice, yet always in its multifaceted relationship to and dialogue with painting and drawing, sculpture and installation art. The influence of Minimalism is strong with serial arrangements, grids, and an interest in form, surface detail and abstraction. By retaining a certain aesthetic ambiguity, finding beauty in degradation, isolating objects from the context in which they are found and creating new typologies, Perry’s work stands apart from most environmental photography.
Perry’s first public show Beach was at the Photographers’ Gallery in 2004, and in 2007 he was a featured artist in BBC 4’s Arts Documentary, Britain in Pictures. In 2009, he won best picture at Christie’s of London’s 25th anniversary photographic competition, and in 2012 Mike was part of the group show New Ground: Landscape Art In Wales since 1970, curated by National Museum Wales, including Richard Long, David Nash and Keith Arnatt.
In July 2014, Perry’s Môr Plastig work was included in The Black and White Room at The Royal Academy of Arts, curated by artist Cornelia Parker and in 2015, Perry was selected to exhibit at the internationally curated Vita Vitale exhibition at The 56th Venice Biennale. Later that year he received a Creative Wales Award by the Arts Council of Wales. In 2016, Perry was included in the highly acclaimed exhibition Found at the Foundling Museum, London. In 2017, work from Perry’s Wet Deserts series was included in the British Arts Council Collection exhibition Green and Pleasant Land: British Landscape and The Imagination at Towner Gallery, Eastbourne.
In 2018, Perry exhibited at Gallery VIII, Art Made Now, The Royal Academy of Arts and his solo exhibition Land/Sea, sponsored by Arts Council Wales and ffotogallery tours England, Wales and France.
Solo Exhibitions
2018 – Land/Sea (Tir/Môr), Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales more
2018 – Land/Sea (Tir/Môr), Interceltique Festival Lorient, France more
2018 – Land/Sea(Tir/Môr), Mostyn Gallery, Wales more
2017 – Land/Sea (Tir/Môr), Ffotogallery Touring Exhibition, England and Wales more
– Land/Sea (Tir/Môr), Plymouth Arts Centre more
2015 – Artist in Residence exhibition, National Museum Wales at Oriel Y Parc, Wales more
2013 – Môr Plastig at ICIA, Institute For Contemporary and Interdisciplinary Arts, England more
2007 – Inland, The Photographers’ Gallery, London more
2005 – Landscape, Galerie Trabant, Vienna, Austria
2004 – Beach, The Photographers’ Gallery, London more
Group Exhibitions
2018 – Art Made Now Royal Academy of Arts 250th Summer Exhibition. Invited artist, Gallery VIII more
2017 – A Green and Pleasant Land. British Landscape and the Imagination: 1970s to Now, Towner Art Gallery, England more
2016 – The Colour Of The Earth: Art and the Material Landscape. National Museum Wales more
– Sea Fever, De Queeste Art, Belgium. Collaboration with Bruno Van Dijck, Philip Gross, Pete Judge… more
– Llanw Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, Wales, with Alex Duncan, supported by Welsh Arts Council more
– Found, Foundling Museum, London. Inc. Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Anthony Gormley… more
2015 – Vita Vitale, exhibition at 56th Venice Biennale 2015, created by International Dialogue for Environmental Action more
2014 – The Black & White Room curated by Cornelia Parker at The Royal Academy of Arts, London more
– ‘Here Today…’, Old Sorting Office, London, including Gavin Turk, Tracey Emin, Peter Blake… more
– Didn’t We Have A Lovely Time, The Photographers’ Gallery, London more
2013 – Môr Plastig, Contemporary Arts Exhibition, National Eisteddfod of Wales more
2012 – New Ground: Landscape Art in Wales since 1970, National Museum Of Wales more
– Unseen, Westergafabriek, Amsterdam, The Photographers’ Gallery, London more
– Oriel Davies Open, Môr Plastig, Oriel Davies Gallery, Powys, Wales more
2011 – The Earth Only Endures, The Photographers’ Gallery at Stone Theatre, London more
2009 – HHA competition and competition, Christie’s, London. Winner Best Picture more
– British Landscape Photography, curated by The Photographers’ Gallery, London more
2008 – Ecology and Art, The Royal Society for the Arts, London more
– Oasis, Gana Art, Seoul, Korea more
2007 – Transition Gallery, London
2005 – Landscape, 5th International Photo Festival, Seoul, Korea
– Photo London, Royal Academy. Abereiddi series, showcased by The Photographers’ Gallery
2004 – Paris Photo, Carousel De Louvre, The Photographers’ Gallery
– Group show at Transition Gallery, London as part of E9 project more
– Photo London. Royal Academy. Exhibited by The Photographers Gallery
2003 – Robert Sandleson Gallery, London, curated by Tom Morton of Frieze Magazine
Awards / Commissions
2017 – Land/Sea, Touring Solo Exhibition curated by Ffotogallery, sponsored by Arts Council Wales
2015 – Creative Wales Award, awarded by Arts Council Wales more
– Coastal Currents Artist in Residence at Oriel Y Parc/National Museum of Wales more
2014 – Arts Council Wales, Research Residency, Elan Valley Project
2009 – Christies HHA Commission, Winner Best Picture more
2007 – BBC 4 Arts Television. Featured Artist in documentary, Britain In Pictures
2002 – Commissioned by NextLevel Magazine for Breaking Oil, text by Bianca Jagger
– Astral America Project Commissioned by Prada/Huntergather with Tom Hunter more
Publications
2017 – Metamodernism Performatist Photography: Experiencing Beauty and Transcendence after Postmodernism
by Raul Eshelman, pp191-194 more
– Land/Sea exhibition catalogue published by Ffotogallery, edited by David Drake. Printed by Industria Grafica SIZ
2015 – CCQ Magazine, Issue 7, p62-p65 – Something Rich and Strange, interview with Emma Geliot on Venice Biennale more
– Irenebrination, Human Debris and Flip-Flops Archives: Mike Perry’s ‘Môr Plastig’ at Venice Biennale
2013 – ICIA Exhibition Catalogue – Môr Plastig: introduction by Lindsay Hughes more
– Skye Sherwin Review – Môr Plastig more
2009 – Exhibition Catalogue – The Earth Only Endures, words by Skye Sherwin more
– NextLevel – Collectors Issue, In Conversation with Charles Dunstone, Edition 19 more
– Next Level Magazine, September 2009, Below The Surface, feature
– Gaia Magazine, September 2009 Germany, Front Cover, Beach 17 more
– Greenpeace Magazine, July 20019, centre spread, Germany, Beach 9 more
2006 – The Poacher, Art Portfolio, GQ more
2005 – Abereiddi, by Craig Burnett, NextLevel Magazine more
2004 – Grand Canyon Forest. Article by Tom Morton in NextLevel Magazine, November 2004 more
– Art Review Magazine. Beach 17, featured as part of review of Photo London, May 2004 more
– Dazed & Confused Magazine. Page article and review of Beach work, May 2004
– GREAT, The photographers’ Gallery Publication, Preview of April show, 2004
– Arena Magazine. Feature on Beach and review of book, March 2004
2003 – Beach, essay by Craig Burnett, London: NextLevel and Thames & Hudson more
– Cactus photograph published in NextLevel. as part of End Of Imagination article by Arundhati Roy, March 2003 more
– Frankfurter Rundschau. Review of Abereiddi and Beach book, December 2003 more
2002 – Breaking Oil, ‘US Flag’, NextLevel Magazine, text by Bianca Jagger more
– Front cover and 4 page editorial in first issue of NextLevel, February 2002 more