WANDERLUST: New work by Reginald S. Aloysius & Jane Ward

02 March 2012 - 31 March 2012

WANDERLUST: Reginald S Aloysius & Jane Ward

WANDERLUST

New work by

Reginald S. Aloysius & Jane Ward

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Friday 2nd March - 31st March 2012

Private View: Friday 2nd March, 6.30-8.30pm

Gallery open: Wednesday - Saturday, 10am-6pm

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BEARSPACE is pleased to present Wanderlust: the new work of Reginald Aloysius and Jane Ward, after the success of their work in Brave New World at London Art Fair 2012. Aloysius and Ward take us on a journey through vast, imagined landscapes in digital print (Ward) and graphite drawing (Aloysius), combining intricate technical skill in their respective mediums with conceptual and aesthetic inventiveness.

‘You get lost out of a desire to be lost. But in the place called lost strange things are found...’

- Rebecca Solnit

Travel is inherent to the practice of both Aloysius and Ward, to whom traveling provides an infinite resource to be drawn upon in their London studios. Wanderlust[early 20th c. German: a strong desire to travel] showcases travel as creative endeavor in the strikingly different and similarly provocative results of both artists’ far flung fieldwork.

Aloysius’ preoccupation with travel stems from his Tamal routes, notions of transnationality and the loss of tradition in multinational communities. This is enforced through his meticulous graphite pieces, fearlessly etched into. Aloysius completed his MA at Kingston University and has since been selected for the Jerwood Drawing Prize and the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, and continues to exhibit widely internationally.

Ward’s dreamlike pieces are borne of her process of layering digital prints, then carefully removing the top ink to reveal under layers. Ward has amassed a huge image library, juxtaposing places and scenes in her work, enacting processes of remembering and forgetting. Ward completed her MA at the RCA and has since been awarded the Terence Conran Foundation Award and the Tim Mara Prize, and has exhibited widely.

Both Aloysius and Ward live and work in London.

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FORM vs FORM: Abbi Torrance and Paul Ridyard

BEARSPACE is pleased to present Abbi Torrance and Paul Ridyard in FORM vs FORM: an exhibition bringing together their unique practices to investigate the construction of perception through social and romantic ideologies and formations.

27 January 2012 - 25 February 2012

Private View: 27th January, 6.30-9pm @ BEARSPACE Gallery, 152 Deptford High Street.

Both Torrance and Ridyard show new work: large scale figurative drawings inspired by synchronised swimming formations by Torrance on graph paper, and deeply intricate knarled tree roots and natural phenomenon drawn and mounted by Ridyard.

FORM vs FORM triumphs drawing as a revelatory and relatable medium, exposing the tension between the organic and the highly controlled aspects of contemporary society. Torrance and Ridyard create a paired down and clean aesthetic, instigating a rebirth for drawing in an image and media heavy world.

Drawing is used to tackle questions of heterogeneity and connectivity in a diverse world where plants and even people can be ‘reduced to a pattern’ (Torrance). Deleuze and Guattari write in A Thousand Platteaus, ‘Make a map, not a tracing...what distinguishes the map from the tracing is that it is entirely oriented toward an experimentation in contact with the real’ (D&G, 1987). It is in this way that both artists engage with their subjects, not through mimicry but by constructing specific viewing experiences of real situations and phenomenon.

Torrance’s work examines how society puts ideologies into action which influence and determine the independence of individuals. Torrance uses the way that large corporations see individuals as data and demographics to transform groups of people into choreographed formations, highlighting the current social landscape. Torrance is a previous prize winner of the Teddy Smith National Art Competition, has been featured by Dazed and Confused, has been exhibited in Hung, Drawn and Altered curated by Baylors & Diamond and has been awarded the Commissions East Grant for intervention projects.

Ridyard’s practice explores what constitutes the natural and the manmade, creating drawings which challenge our existing encounters with landscapes. Ridyard seeks out specific sights such as exposed roots and work from photographs constructing pieces which simultaneously allow and obscure the viewers’s perception, demonstrating an inability to fully comprehend our surroundings. Ridyard has shown work in a number of group exhibitions in London, at The London Art Fair and Affordable Art Fair, and has undertaken several research trips throughout Europe and America.

Both artists recently completed their MA at Wimbledon College of Art and live and work in London.

BEARSPACE is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm.

PRINT & DESIGN NOW! 2011

Exhibition Dates: 4 November – 17 December, 2011

Preview: Friday, 25 November, 6.30-8.30 pm in assos. With SLAM Fridays

Open: Wed-Sat, 10-6 pm

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Link to catalogue site:
http://www.bearspace.co.uk/index.php?orderby=product_name&DescOrderBy=ASC&Itemid=7&option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=23&manufacturer_id=0&keyword=&keyword1=&keyword2=&limit=1000&limitstart=0

Following a fantastic exhibition at the SW1 Gallery in August, BEARSPACE is pleased to present PRINT & DESIGN NOW! 2011, a pioneering open- submission exhibition set to feature over 150 works by emerging artists and designers who specialise in the mediums of print and design.

Artworks have been selected by a panel of arts professionals ensuring the very best quality of work on show. These include, Julia Alvarez, Director of BEARSPACE, Owen Ward, SW1 Gallery Manager and Mary-Alice Stack, Director of the Own Art Scheme at Arts Council England.

This exhibition showcases the very best in contemporary art and design at prices that are affordable to the younger collector and great examples of limited edition print and design objects by up and coming artists from all over the country. Take this opportunity to invest in artists of the future as selected by some of the UK’s most distinguished authorities on art and design.

Prices range from £25 - £1000 for editioned prints and one off works.
"Printmaking is a fascinating and versatile medium,” says Mary-Alice Stack, Director of the Own Art Scheme" and provides an excellent way for people who are developing an interest in collecting contemporary art to acquire works by both well established and emerging artists."

This exhibition is presented in partnership with Land Securities and the Arts Council England's Own Art scheme, which provides interest free loans of up to £2,000 for buyers of contemporary art.


PRINT & DESIGN NOW, initially showed at the SW1 Gallery, and will then go on to tour at venues in London and the UK, including BEARSPACE and Art Fairs in 2011.

WHO DOES NOT WORK, DOES NOT LOVE // Matthew Mc Guinness

Matthew Mc Guinness 'Take My Rest'. 2010

30 Sept-22 Oct, 2011
Preview: 6.30-8 pm (with canapés provided by the artist)
In association with SLAM last Fridays
Followed by Special Dinner Event GOURMANDIZING:
8-10.30 pm (booking essential online via the gallery website)

BEARSPACE presents the first solo exhibition in the UK of Matthew Mc Guinness, featuring works constructed during his day job as a cook. Mc Guinness will be filling the gallery with art works created from the ephemera taken from the kitchens in which he works. These include detailed sketches and thoughts on T-towels from some of London’s top restaurants. Amongst cooking stains they inscribed with song lyrics from the grateful dead, details of orders and strange doodles all created in between service. He connects these works to the rebellious world of writing on things, graffiti lettering created swiftly and instinctually. Other sculptures and collage works on show are created from found food packaging.

((((Brain Castles)))) Vincent Troia curated by Darren Barrowcliff

Vincent Troia 'aye, aye, a scratch, a scratch', 2011

Dates: Sat 3 - Sat 24 Sept, 2011
Preview: Sat 3 Sept // 6.30-8.30pm

BEARSPACE is pleased to present the first UK exhibition of new works by American artist Vincent Troia curated by Darren Barrowcliff.

Troia has lived and worked in both Detroit and South Korea. In this exhibition, collage and sculpture merge to create works that are at once both 3- and 2- dimensional. Troia utilizes found images of aerial landscapes and people, folding them into various polyhedral shapes. He incorporates found damaged paper materials, dirtied textile scraps, discarded packaging and occasionally featuring other small street sourced findings.

American curator Darren Barrowcliff met Troia in Detroit, attracted to Troia’s skill in achieving a decisive abstraction, connected to the strong yet subtle choice of imagery, supporting the unique appeal of the Troia’s works. Barrowcliff describes the artist’s ability to “fit a feeling of contemporary finish with historical references, alongside tongue in cheek and trompe l’oeil. The work speaks of youthful angst yet is full of profound wisdoms.”

Seung Pyo Hong-The Monitor Lizard

21 May -18 June // Wed-Sat // 10 am – 6 pm

Private View 27 May // 6.30-8.30pm

In association with South London LAST Fridays

BEARSPACE presents a new series of works by artist Seung Pyo Hong. Hong employs a unique style of editioned metal plate acid etchings, hand coloured in oil paint, based on the functionality of humans, animals and machines. BEARSPACE first presented this artist’s work in 2010 soon after the artist’s graduation from Goldsmiths College. The exhibition at BEARSPACE ‘Mecha’ received rave reviews and Hong has been working on a new series of large steel plate etchings and print editions during 2010-2011.

Hong’s works depict fictional inventions in a very graphic style, through which he explores the relationship between human evolution and the development of technology. These bright works, directly etched and coloured onto steel plate, focus on the potential fusion of organic matter and machine. This is a futuristic sentiment, used as a motif in scifi throughout the 20th Century. Referencing this, Hong uses retro machinery and characters from the 60’s and 70’s highlighting aspirations from the time fused with scientific development of more recent years. In his odd but fascinating scenes, the viewer is almost left as a detective, working out what a piece of machinery is for, what the characters are playing out and where the scene is set. One is reminded of scenes from ‘Prisoner’ due to the works retro, colourful and mystical feel.

BEARSPACE Newsletter April 2011

BEARSPACE Newsletter April 2011