NOW

Stryx presents Now, a group show curated by Gabriella Papa with Stryx studio artists.
This exhibition explores discussion around the fluctuating perception of the alternative gallery space with considerations of the social behaviours within it.

This consideration exists in a way that comments on Gertrude Stein’s leisurely ‘Salons’ while simultaneously commenting on the hub of working and showcasing artists within Digbeth. Join us for the last First Friday of the year; a celebration of the art and cultural heritage that is an undoubtable part of the now.



ALEXANDER RHYS
(Projection)
Abstract artist Alexander Rhys incorporates the spontaneity of making into his practice. Having previously presented this technique onto a variety of canvases, Alex is now using projection to comment on his progression in developing his paintings as print onto fabric. The projection therefore has a high element of interaction from the audience that allows the projection to be cast onto those in front of it.

LESLEY WHITEHEAD
(Drawing and Sculpture)
Lesley Whitehead continues to attempt to re-materialise the dematerialised art object via repetitions of works of high modernism, here returning to the source viz Pablo Picasso’s seminal painting from 1907 “Les Demoiselles D’ Avignon”.
Whitehead faces the continuing debris of the crisis of dematerialisation and the end of progress, as seen from the perspective of post-modern schizophrenia, that occurred during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s; a going back in order to move forwards.
Co-incidentally the showing of this repetition marks 100 years since the original work was first publically exhibited at the Salon d’ Antin, Paris in 1916, when Andre Salmon gave it this title, Picasso having referred to the painting simply as ‘mon bordel’.

DENISE BRIGHTON
(Triptych Painting)
Largely, a whimsical narrative of personal space is portrayed here in the varying hues of this triptych. Each displays the first breath of fresh air taken in the morning.

CRAIG EDWARDS
(Double Exposure Series and Triptych Print)
A series of double exposures, HS2, charts part of the route of the UK’s proposed second high-speed rail network, linking the county’s regional cities (including Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham) with the Capital. The proposal has been met with much contention and controversy. Many have been asking if the network really will yield economic benefits and regeneration for the cities it will bring together, or will it simply further London’s strength and dominance?

Craig’s second work, Self Portrait with 3 Coloured Pret Cups ponders upon the tensions between display, self-representation and art education in a way that presents a triptych of events, displaying the artists himself.

ELZBIETA LEPA
(Projection and Sound Installation)
This piece is part of an ongoing body of work which forms a response to Curzon Street Tunnel on the Birmingham canal network in Digbeth. An environment that appears familiar and yet causes a sense of apprehension when confronted with unwarranted feelings of anxiety.
The audio in the work, a 1930’s, ‘Ave Maria’ brings tranquillity to the space, representing a state of control we are perhaps trying to hold onto whilst insecurity and turmoil are on the brink of taking over.

HALINA DOMINSKA
(Text, Plastic, Casts, Sketches and Silicone moulds)
A retrospective behind the scenes glimpse at some of the processes and materials behind two of Halina Dominska's recent projects. The works are of an interactive sensory nature which harness the power of the digital to create living responses and experiences.
The Bubble Organ was a collaborative project exhibited at Flatpack Film Festival Amusement Park in 2015. An acoustic sculpture. The organ like structure responds to you by blowing bubbles onto the organ pipes, when the bubbles land onto the pipes surface the Bubble Organ will respond with calming organic sound and light.
'Bound to' will be exhibited as part of New Art West Midlands 2017 at the MAC, Birmingham. The living sculpture responds to the motion and closeness of the audience. As you walk towards the cocoon like sculpture it will begin to breathe. Made from a softer than skin silicone which is often used to create prosthetics, giving rise to human qualities. The work is positioned at head and shoulder height of an adult, working within spaces of intimate, personal and social space.

MOLLY CLEAVER
(Painting, Boiler sculpture)
Molly Cleaver’s Boiler was given to her by a business man who claimed, ‘to like art’. The idea of been given a perfectly functioning object and to which she had full reigns to tear apart, made her want to just turn it into another functioning object. And so, came a coffee table.

MARCUS PERKS
(Triptych Painting on Wood and Wire Sculpture)
Decadentia II, an acrylic and spray paint triptych on wood is part of a series of ongoing works themed around the transformation of people of the African diaspora, from slavery to decadence.

ALEXANDRA GRIMES
(SD card)
Inspired by an article about 'The 2045 Initiative’, named after Kurzweil’s prediction that the year 2045 will mark the point at which we’ll be able to back up our minds to the cloud.
With certain software platforms being currently developed such as 'Eterni.me' – an interactive legacy programme where a participant’s future descendants can access their memory, this work invites the viewer to consider the notion of digital immortality and the potential of entire lifetimes being reduced to a single digital file.
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