The third annual open exhibition to be held at the Bargate Monument Gallery will feature a diverse range of new work by emerging artists.

Cut to the chase! - Should art have a message? If it does, how is it best communicated? Should art shout its message from the rooftops or are subtle and hidden meanings more effective? Can visual art communicate in ways other art forms cannot? How can artists be heard through the overload of visual culture?
Why don’t artists just stop dithering and Cut to the Chase?

Cut to the chase! Features work by Siobhan Barr, Christopher Bond, Day Bowman, Deepa Craig, Anne Guest, Ian Kirkpatrick, Bryan Lavelle, Albert Potrony, Alan Schechner, Alke Schmitt, Maaike Stevens, David Theobold and Raymond Wong.

Special projects for Cut to the Chase!

Relay, a new platform brought to you from the creator of Rules and Regs!

Relay challenges 8 artists to create a new work in just 48 hours! An object will be presented to the 1st artists and they have 48 hours to make a response, before passing the object on. Eight artists will participate in the process over the course of the exhibition! Will anyone drop the baton? Come in each week to see how the object has changed.

Testing Grounds, an exciting new event to stimulate the senses!

This informal, exploratory project enables artists to use the gallery for exploration into new areas of work, mixing performance, live art, sound and movement, providing an exciting finale to Cut to the Chase!

Contact the gallery at info@aspacearts.org.uk for booking information. Tickets are free, but must be reserved.

Pratt has held artist residencies with The Experimental Oncology Unit at The University of Southampton School of Medicine since 2006 and the Arches studios. This is the first showing of Faith, an exhibition exploring the value of DNA and the visual appearance of science, in particular the aesthetics of medical imaging. Faith will be touring the South East after this inaugural exhibition at Bargate Monument Gallery.

The most exciting part of this exhibition is the opportunity for YOU to take part. At the exhibition you can collect a sample of your own DNA and include it in the show. DNA samples become the creative material with which the art is made; your participation is required!

The concept for Catalyst has been developed to push the practice of all the residents from the Arches studios in new directions for the start of 2009. The artists have used this opportunity to start and develop these projects allowing the public a glimpse into their ongoing creative practice. The result of these new developments will be exhibited across two exciting shows.

Catalyst Part 1 > 24th January - 1st March 2009

Showing new work by Jonny Hannah, Stuart Rodda, Lizie Ault, Pauline Pratt, Kate Grenyer, James Maher, Roger Jarvis and Joe Ross.

Catalyst Part 2 > 14th March - 19th April 2009

Showing new work by Chris Cudlip, Ingrid Wheeler, April Mahwinney, Jo Lapage, Stephanie Hood, Tania Robertson, Lizzie Jones, Alys Hawkins and Andy MacCallum.

Alice Williams > Cyclius 9th May - 21st June 2009

At a space we pride ourselves in giving opportunities to new artists to realise ambitious projects, ‘Cyclicus’ is no exception.

Recent graduate Alice Williams has long been exploring the nature of the moving image and how it can be manipulated to affect the surrounding space. For this exhibition she creates a space within the gallery that is transformed by the artist’s multi channel video installation. As you enter the space the combined effect of the videos and light work to baffle perception and create an all-encompassing optical illusion.

This new project is the result of an ongoing period of development for the artist and will give gallery visitors the chance to experience the work of this significant emerging talent at the earliest stages of her career.

1st October - 2nd November 2008

Billie Cowie

This piece is the final part of the Billy Cowie and Liz Aggiss retrospective commissioned by The Point, complements the recent showing of the projection Men in the Wall at Southampton City Art Gallery.

Visitors to the gallery can expect an extraordinary experience. They will enter the darkened space of the gallery, which is upstairs inside the

Bargate Monument Gallery?, wearing a pair of 3D glasses. A woman projected on the ground in front of them appears to be dancing, solid and real, before their eyes. She performs a short yet captivating dance that ends as the she gradually fades from view. This piece is both exquisite and personal, staying long in the memory after the viewer has left the space.

Billy Cowie is a composer, choreographer and filmmaker who works in a wide variety of art forms. ?Anarchic Dance? a book about his work was published by Routledge in 2006, Cowie’s first novel ‘Passenger’ came out in 2008.

Premiered at Paradiso, Julidans Festival July 2007 Amsterdam, this piece has been shown around Europe and will be shown in Los Angeles in the new year.

?So beautiful & moving a miniature masterpiece?

Alistair Spalding - Sadler,?s Wells.

?The most uncanny thing I have ever seen?

Deborah Levy - Novelist.

?A woman comes slowly towards you from the floor. Her meditative and soft energy involves you into her world and brings you to another dimension of the space. It?s as if you could touch her ? a magical experience.?

Suzy Blok - Artistic Director, I Like to Watch Too (Amsterdam 2007)

www.anarchicdance.com

www.lizaggiss.com

www.billycowie.com

15th November - 21st December 2008

Group Show

Off the back of their growing reputation and the success of the summer ArtVaults season, the arts organisation a space presents an exhibition and programme of events designed to stimulate the growing market for art in Southampton.

In times of economic uncertainty it is often nerve wracking to decide what is throw-away spending and what is a real investment? Collectible gives you the opportunity to buy the work of major artists for the future.

This exhibition will feature the work of a diverse and exciting range of artists, all exhibiting at surprisingly affordable prices. Artists will be announced on this site over the coming weeks.

Collectible: Business

The Bargate Monument Gallery? is available for private hire, throughout the show. How about having your pre-christmas drinks or business networking evening at a beautiful and unusual venue? You can hire the gallery for drinks and functions during Collectible at special discounted rates. All works for sale during these special events are offered at a 10% discount. Contact our office to book an event on 02380 338778 or info@aspacearts.org.uk

Collectible: Late Openings

Thursdays 6-8, from 20th November to 18th December 2008.
An oasis of calm above the Christmas shopping crowds, the Bargate Monument Gallery? will be open late on Thursday evenings throughout the run of the exhibition. Come in and join us, browse around the art works, talk to the gallery staff, you may even find that special Christmas gift. Thursday 18th December will be our Christmas celebration and
discount evening, with mulled wine and mince pies!

30th January - 9th March 2008

Amanda Parker

Parker’s first solo exhibition, presenting a major installation of her work ‘Run, hide in the woods’. This exhibition promises to be an overwhelming sensory experience allowing the viewer to explore a glistening, sickly forest created from strands of melted sugar, filling the centre and full height of the gallery space.

what people said about this exhibition:

‘It’s great to see a piece that changes so much. Yet it’s more and more interesting’

‘Really interesting - tactile and uses all your senses’

‘A fantastic use of space - awesome!’

19th March - 27th April 2008

The artist in response to culture today

The second of the Bargate Monument Gallery annual open exhibitions brought to you by a space. Monkey’s with Car Keys sets a challenge to today’s emerging artists to confront everyday culture head on. Taken from the bumper - sticker slogan? Without art we are just monkeys with car keys the show will explore why it is important for artists to make new work in response to the society today.

A great opportunity to see some of the best work by new and emerging artists from across the UK.

The selected artists in this exhibition are:

Zoe Allen

Ian Cook

David Corbett

First Person Theatre

Nigel Grimmer

David Huglin

Christoher Jenkins

Pearl John

Minou Norouzi

Ruth Pringle

Tim Ralston

David Theobald

7th May - 15th June 2008

Contemporary Graphic Design Curated by Radim Malinic

Internationally recognised illustrator Malinic is the creative force behind Brand Nu (www.brandnu.co.uk). This exhibition explores the direction of visual design for music, faced with the demise of the 12 and the CD. As curator and main artist Malinic challenges 12 collaborators to create visual identities for 12 tracks which can have impact on scales from large wall size prints to the screen of an MP3 player. www.nuvisuallanguage.co.uk

14th November - 21st December 2007

Katherine Anteney and Sarah Mander

Two of the citys most active printmakers, Sarah Mander and Katherine Anteney present works that take the culture and fabric of Southampton as their inspiration.

The pair are perhaps best known locally as the founders of Red Hot Press, yet this exhibition allows them to develop and extend the boundaries of their own work. Whilst Mander explores a personal journey through Southampton, discovering unexpected nooks and corners as she works, Anteney explores familiar representations of the city through the media and childrens books. SO is the first exhibition of prints to be held at Bargate Monument Gallery and we are delighted to be working with two excellent local printmakers on this project.