13th Feb – 21st March 2010

Exhibition curated by Frances Disley and Dave Evans.

Legends of Circumstance comes to a space from London bringing with it a series of works that celebrate the disillusionment and disaffection of the anti-hero. These artists look below the surface gloss of popular culture, utopian ideals and sanitised media fantasies to wallow in the underworld with the corrupt, sullen, selfish, addicted and scurrilous! The artists in this show explore these ideas through the individuals who represent lost humanity and the undercurrents which can often come to the fore in times of recession and financial crisis. Yet as the title Legends of Circumstance suggests, the reluctant protagonists in this show do, in the end, emerge triumphant.

Artists Featured include Gareth Brookes, Adam Dant, Frances Disley, Dave Evans, Mikey Georgeson, John Hewitt, Mark Hampson, Peter Lloyd, Ryan McClelland, Laura Oldfield Ford, John Strutton and James Unsworth.

7th April – 9th May 2010

Sharon Haward’s latest experiment in town planning looks directly at the city of Southampton. This city is a place of historical importance which has been shaped in the last half century by both the slow creep of unplanned urban development and radical and sudden change to the built environment brought about by war and reconstruction. Haward’s approach to architectural forms is a personal one, creating in the gallery an environment that reflects on collective memory and presents the city as stage on which different stories can be projected.

Haward draws on her own childhood memories of attending school here and visiting the city with her family. The installation will reflect her interest in how memory can impact on our experience of the built environment. As part of her research the artist will be talking to people about their experiences of the city as well as researching the visual and sound archives that are publicly available. For this show the gallery will become a cityscape, based on Southampton, where memory and feeling hold more importance than geographical accuracy.

22nd May – 27th June 2010

A show that stretches the limits of drawing, bringing the artists mark off the page and into real space; out of the gallery and into the city. Featuring new and classic work by individually selected artists who use drawing to illustrate, illuminate, experiment and question what can be done with the drawn mark. This exhibition will provide a chance for the audience to participate in viewing, exploring and expressing their own new ideas through the drawing. This includes the chance to make large scale drawings using GPS and to explore drawn animation as well as other activities as part of a space in the city.

Features work by: Alys Scott-Hawkins, Martin Symons, Trish Bould, Jeanie Driver and Mike Blackman, Kate Grenyer, Birgitte Haahr Lund, Katie Howie, Jo Hummel-Newell, Greig Burgoyne and Kristy Campbell.

Where do you draw the line? now has a blog. Through http://wheredoyoudrawtheline.wordpress.com you will be able to track the progress of the show as it develops.

November 7th – December 20th

Last year a space launched Collectible. For the first time visitors to the gallery were able to purchase the works of some of the most exciting and talented artists working today. This hugely popular show returns for 2009 with a new hand picked selection of artists; some old friends and some fresh faces!

This year’s featured artists are: Kate Aughey, Elizabeth Eamer, Jonny Hannah, Matthew King, Roman Klonek, Little Red, Frederic Morris, Amanda Mulquinney, Stuart Rodda, Ilona Szalay, Sarah Tse and James Unsworth.

Check our website for more special offers and events during Collectible 2

September 12th – October 25th

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!

July 4th – 30th August

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.

Alice Williams > Cyclicus 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.

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.

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!

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