g39

On the floor lay a pile of hair, messily arranged as if just chopped from the head of the artist and left from the trainee hairdresser to sweep up.
No, this wasn’t the run-​up to the glamous launch party at Cardiff’s cutest little gallery. This pile of discarded locks was one of the first pieces I witnessed at G39, forming part of a complete crazy little exhibit at a venue tucked away near the Hayes.
The pile of hair became even more interesting when I read the text on the wall beside it, a confession of an individual who, who realising the cost of getting Madame Tussauds to imitate him, makes his own humble attempt at staging the absent self.
Small though it may be, this gallery draws on and twists cultural associations and artistic norms. Films will be mimicked, trees will become phallic and the familiar will be rendered alien. Baffling and invigorating, G39 showcase art which demands intellectual interrogation.
URBAN CHALLENGE: Recognise art in the everyday. Nod at a banister or remark on the post-​modern aspects of the ceiling.

Lovers of the contemporary this one is for you.
The quiet shop front of G39 hides behind it’s glass buzzing televisions, cardboard cut out meat, art things of all description and a curator waiting to answer your profoundest of queries.
This quirky art gallery in the middle of the city centre attracts both accidental visits from curious passerby’s and deliberate visits from those in the arty know.
G39’s petite gallery space provides a platform for the work of early to mid career artists. There are three floors to explore, but I have also seen a secret cellar open up for some ‘special’ exhibits.
If you attend an opening here expect to be squashed like sardines, spill out into bustling Mill lane with wine stained lips and when the doors close migrate to Chapter to continue your schmoozing.

G39 is an artist-​run organisation — part gallery, part community and part resource. Established in 1998 by artists Chris Brown and Anthony Shapland it hosts exhibitions in the permanent ‘white cube’ space as well as organising public art that uses offsite temporary venues including digital display boards, billboards, shipping containers, warehouses and empty shop units.
The ethos? They say this: «The idea of providing independent or new ways of working acknowledges a certain ideological belief that the self-​empowering nature of artist-​run spaces could be used to shape culture. A willingness to be open to change, being flexible enough to adapt and respond to dominant political or cultural trends — whether for or against — has ensured that these spaces have maintained a key position in the mechanisms of the artworld.»
G39 certainly has a key foothold in the Cardiff artscene. The narrow three-​storey townhouse has housed many fantastic exhibitions and the independent gallery has gained a reputation for flexibility and innovation, as well as giving exhibiting space and support to emerging artists and curators. Long may it continue.