Seasons Greetings from all at Workplace Gallery

Laura Lancaster Untitled, 2010 Oil on board 110 x 160 cm, 43 1/4 x 63 in (LL0391) Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery

Catherine Bertola: "Beyond Pattern" DLI Art Gallery, Durham, UK

Catherine Bertola Beyond Pattern DLI Art Gallery, Durham, UK 04 December 2010 - 16 January 2011 http://county.durham.gov.uk http://www.orieldavies.org/en/exhibition/beyond-pattern Artists: Catherine Bertola, Michael Brennand-Wood, Nisha Duggal, Leo Fitzmaurice, Doug Jones, Adam King, Steve Messam, Henna Nadeem, Angharad Pearce-Jones, Pamela So, Andrea Stokes. An exploration into the cultural meanings of 'pattern', through exhibition, commission, publication and debate, with work that utilises 'pattern' as a social, cultural and political commentator. With new commissions by Steve Messam, Catherine Bertola and Angharad Pearce-Jones and work by Michael Brennand-Wood, Nisha Duggal, Leo Fitzmaurice, Doug Jones, Adam King, Pamela So, Henna Nadeem and Andrea Stokes. Pattern is all around us, whether we are conscious of it or not. It penetrates every aspect of our lives and can be found in the home, workplace, street, garden or in the landscape. Pattern's existence is not confined by our own manufacture as it forms the foundation for many aspects of the natural world. However, it is the manner in which we utilise pattern in our lives that forms the basis of this exhibition. We often think of pattern simply as an adornment or perhaps even as a form of disguise, but it can also reflect a desire to communicate through a specific visual language. It might be that it represents cohesion and a sense of balance, thereby providing visual stimulation or a space for meditation. It can symbolise status or even be a device to convey ideas, express identity or specific ideologies, as well as presenting political beliefs or maintaining cultural traditions. Work by eleven artists take us on a journey to explore these ideas and highlights how pattern can be, or has been, used as a social, cultural and political commentator that reaches beyond ornamentation and decoration. Whether these artists reference the domestic or public space, draw on contemporary or historical situations, comment on or observe aspects of society, subvert the familiar and question perception, they present a diverse reflection on the subject of pattern. Beyond Pattern represents both conceptual and craft focused practices whilst reflecting an array of media; from metalwork to embroidered textiles and temporary public installation to hand cut collages. Individual works have been carefully selected to create intriguing, profound and sometimes surprising departure points for conversation. Oriel Davies is delighted to commission work by Catherine Bertola and Angharad Pearce-Jones for the exhibition and also to commission the temporary site-based work titled Clad by Steve Messam. A full colour publication accompanies this project with essays by Laura Mansfield and Lesley Millar. An Oriel Davies Touring exhibition curated by Alex Boyd. This project has been made possible through an Arts Council of Wales Beacon Company Award 2008-10. Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and The Laura Ashley Foundation. Image: Catherine Bertola Installation view of From the palace at Hillstreet, 2009 and Bluestockings (Fanny Burney), (Hester Chapone), (Elizabeth Carter) and (Elizabeth Vesey), 2009 "Beyond Pattern" Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, Wales. Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery, UK.

Laura Lancaster: "Fade Away" Transition Gallery, London, UK

Laura Lancaster Transition Gallery, London, UK 03 - 24 December 2010 http://www.transitiongallery.co.uk Henny Acloque, Phillip Allen, Tim Bailey, Nathan Barlex, Mike Bartlett, Alice Browne, Lindsey Bull, Nick Carrick, Clem Crosby, Theo Cuff, Kaye Donachie, Sarah Douglas, Sarah Dwyer, Andrew Graves, Paul Housley, Thomas Hylander, Hannah Knox, Laura Lancaster, Robert Lang, Sarah Lederman, Eleanor Moreton, Mali Morris, Alex Gene Morrison, Nadia Mulder, Jill Mulleady, Mahali O'Hare, Scott O'Rourke, Joanna Pawlowska, Joanna Phelps, Benjamin Senior, Shaan Syed, Zack Thorne,Gavin Toye, Helen Turner, Claire Undy, David Webb, Robert Welch, Andy Wicks, Jo Wilmot. Fade Away is the first in an ongoing series of exhibitions at Transition with different guest curators focusing on the diversity of contemporary painting and exploring the ways in which artists are engaged with it. Fade Away, which is curated by Alli Sharma, with an accompanying text by Barry Schwabsky, features paintings that oscillate between representation and abstraction. With widely diverse references and subject matter, they all share a strong material presence. Whatever the creative enquiry, they make you think about paint and the act of painting. Some of the Fade Away artists work directly from the perceptible world; others use the representational as a point of departure into the abstract, or conversely, explore the abstract, which reveals itself as subject. The dialogue between surface and illusion, representation and abstraction performs a paradoxical balancing act where surfaces are brushed, scored, erased, layered, revealed, dripped and collapsed. Compositions teeter on the verge of illegibility where images emerge and fade away. Image: Laura Lancaster Untitled, 2010 Oil on canvas 30.5 x 25 cm (LL0270)

Matt Stokes: "No Place Else Better Than Here" Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany

No Place Better Than Here Kunsthalle Fridericianum Kassel, Germany 04 December 2010 - 20 February 2011 In his works, many of which are filmic or event-based, the British artist Matt Stokes (born in Penzance, England, in 1973) deals with subcultures. In meticulous research, he explores the origins of certain music scenes and groups, investigating the specific local development of, say, the folk movement in Camden and Newcastle, Northern Soul in Dundee, and punk rock in Austin, Texas. Stokes is interested in the way in which music creates a collective feeling, serves as a catalyst for certain groups, and shapes and influences people's lives and identities. He immerses himself in a certain environment, gets involved with the community of a subculture, and in this way manages to convey the characteristics of certain scenes in an artistic manner which is not only documentary, but also personal and expressive. From his long-term research, in which he collects impressions, stories, and materials, he creates films, exhibition projects, musical works and events which develop their own conceptual and aesthetic life. In terms of context, many of Stokes' works often closely relate to the musical history of the places for which he conceives an exhibition. In 2003, the artist initiated the continuous project Real Arcadia, which looked back at 1980s British rave culture and the 'cave raves' which were celebrated not in clubs but in caves in the open countryside. For the undertaking, Stokes established close contact with the performers of the day, collected film material, related TV reports and a number of objects such as cassettes, records, posters, flyers and T-shirts, on the basis of which he not only archived the history of this culture, but also revived it. The film Long After Tonight (2005) engages with Northern Soul, a British music movement and subculture which emerged in northern England and Scotland at the end of the 1960s and had a decisive impact on people's lifestyles. During an artist's residency in Austin, Texas, Matt Stokes created the work these are the days (2008) for Arthouse, in which he explored the punk, post-punk and DIY movements in Austin. Since the 1970s, these alternative music scenes have represented a kind of anti-attitude to the mainstream in Austin, developing into influential subcultures in the city. The film work The Gainsborough Packet (2008-09) emerged within the framework of a solo exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead and at the Project Space 176 in London. Reminiscent of the music video format and in the style of costume films, The Gainsborough Packet focuses on the move toward industrialisation in the mid 19th century and to the decisive importance of music and song in the daily lives of the young urbanised population. With his Kassel exhibition Matt Stokes devotes himself to the phenomenon of the lasting effect of underground music as a counter-movement to the mainstream and its ability to spawn subcultures which influence people's opinions and lifestyles, issues which run through Stokes' entire oeuvre. Against this background, he will combine the film The Gainsborough Packet with sculptural and object works emerging from the cultural context of rave, and with a large film installation which Stokes is producing specifically for his show in Kassel. Installed in a semicircle which will dominate the main wing of the Fridericianum and recall ancient amphitheatre architecture, this new film work will take a penetrating look at the hardcore, grindcore and death metal music cultures that played a big role in Kassel's underground music scenes in the 1980s and 1990s. For this project, Stokes selected six hardcore singers, one from Kassel and the others from various countries outside Germany. Using a musical composition, Matt Stokes will combine their typical singing, which is usually devoid of words. The auditive aspect, the singers' movements and body postures, as well as the recording locations that form the background of the film will contribute to the special atmosphere of this work. Image: Matt Stokes Real Arcadia (Never Been to Belgium), 2003 (ongoing) 12 x archive inkjet prints on paper (MS0007) Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery

Workplace Gallery at NADA Art Fair Miami 2010

Workplace Gallery at NADA Art Fair 2010 Booth 315, Napoleon Room Deauville Beach Resort 6701 Collins Avenue Miami Beach 2nd - 5th December http://www.newartdealers.org/ Eric Bainbridge Darren Banks Sophie Lisa Beresford Catherine Bertola Marcus Coates Jo Coupe Laura Lancaster Mike Pratt Richard Rigg Cecilia Stenbom For a full list of available works please contact info@workplacegallery.co.uk image: Sophie Lisa Beresford Hindu Goddess, 2007 Giclée Print, mounted on Aluminum Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery

Sophie Lisa Beresford: Film Screening, The Heuristics Laboratory, Sideshow, Nottingham, UK

Film Screening - Pizza Shop Dance Sideshow, Nottingham http://www.sideshow2010.org 25 November 2010 8:00PM In conjunction with exhibition The Heuristics Laboratory 9th November - 2nd December The Heuristics Laboratory would like to invite you to our inaugural exhibition, a series of experiments, exhibitions and events commissioned by Sideshow in the Malt Cross gallery, Nottingham. Three experiments by three Nottingham based artists Georgie Park, Ruth Scott and Pete McPartlan will take place throughout November that use the Malt Cross gallery as a laboratory. We are presenting exhibitions and events that explore different modes of problem solving - persistence, intuition and trial and error. The exhibits will show intuitive interactions, work in progress and document genuine experiments as the artists play with an unfamiliar skill or process. Exhibitions Tuesday 9- Saturday 13th Nov : In Telecine Pete McPartlan is using the gallery as an ad hoc laboratory to convert celluloid into pixels. Using home video equipment to seize control of the means of post production. Tuesday 16- Saturday 20th Nov :  Ruth Scott's Line Walk is an exploration of balance and imbalance through learning to walk on a tight wire. A free standing tight wire structure shall be installed in the gallery space, where she shall engage in this practice. The struggle and tension of this process is presented through live performance and recorded footage. Tuesday 23 - Saturday 27th Nov : In orchestrated rumination on her connection to the home, Georgie Park is incessently wood-turning until the last day of her exhibition, producing as many chair legs and banister poles at an electric lathe as she can. Her exhibition will show the results of her persistence. Events Thursday 25th Nov from 8pm: Join us on the for a night of film and performance. With films by Phil Niblock, Melati Suryodarmo and more. Thursday 2nd Dec from 8pm: The exhibition concludes with an evening showing the outcome of the three exhibitions with films, performances and the launch of our publication Lab Notes. All events are free. The Malt Cross, 16 St James Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG www.theheuristicslaboratory.org.uk www.sideshow2010.org image: Sophie Lisa Beresford still from Pizza Shop Dance, 2008 Single Channel Video 4 min 06 sec (SLB0001) courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery

Joe Clark: "New Contemporaries 2010" ICA, London, UK

New Contemporaries 2010 ICA, London http://www.ica.org.uk 26 November 2010 – 23 January 2011 The Institute of Contemporary Arts is proud to announce the return of Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2010 this autumn. Featuring the work of 49 artists across a range of media, the exhibition provides a unique opportunity to engage with new practice and ideas from across the UK. Featuring: Greta Alfaro, Holly Antrum, Caline Aoun, Johann Arens, Ed Atkins, Nick Bailey, Nathan Barlex, Melis van den Berg, Alice Browne, Amir Chasson, Joe Clark, Matthew Coombes, Patrick Coyle, Keren Dee, Sophie Eagle, Claas Gutsch, Guy Haddon-Grant, Jessica Harris, Rowena Harris, Emma Hart, Darren Harvey-Regan, Raphael Hefti, Ian Homerston, Chris Shaw Hughes, Rowena Hughes, Vasileios Kantas, Krister Klassman, Sam Knowles, Alec Kronacker, Agnieszka Kucharko, Dan Lichtman, Agata Madejska, Russell Maurice, Ella McCartney, Nick Mobbs, Murray O'Grady, Chloe Ostmo, Siôn Parkinson, Peles Empire, Laure Prouvost, Kristian de la Riva, Kiwoun Shin, Theodoros Stamatogiannis, Sue Tarbitten, Edward Thomasson, Naomi Uchida, Mark Walker, Pablo Wendel, Joel Wyllie. Established in 1949, New Contemporaries is a highly regarded annual initiative that gives art students and recent graduates essential support and recognition at a crucial stage in their development through a high-profile exhibition. Participants are selected by a panel comprised of influential arts figures, predominantly artists—who have often themselves previously exhibited as part of New Contemporaries—and through a rigorous process that is open, fair and democratic. The selectors for 2010 are Gabriel Kuri, Mark Leckey and Dawn Mellor. New Contemporaries was originally presented at the ICA between 1964 and 1989 when a series of highly acclaimed exhibitions aimed to reflect the shape of art to come and offer young artists the chance to exhibit at an organisation associated with radical, bold and experimental art forms. image: Joe Clark Somewhere in West Virginia, 2009 Interactive Installation: Custom Electronics in Console Housing, Micro-Controller (Arduino), Computer, Data-Projector, Projection Screen, Firewire Camera, Wood, Buckets, Hose, Pond Pump, Black Velvet and Angle-Poise Lamp. 1.5 x 1.5m (JCL0075) Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery

Darren Banks: "Hello World" Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

Hello World Darren Banks, Luke Collins, Jonathan Horowitz, Seth Price, Corin Sworn, Stina Wirfelt Embassy Gallery Roxy Art House, 2 Roxburgh Pl, Edinburgh, EH8 9SU Opening: 19.11.10 7-9pm Exhibition Runs: 20.11.10 - 05.12.10 Thursday - Sunday 12-6pm Hello World is a project in two parts taking as its starting point the emergence of the Internet over the past 20 years as one of the primary means of the dissemination of information. Part 1: The first part is a physical exhibition that will take place at the Embassy featuring the work of 6 artists. The work in the show will approach the way in which the Internet has influenced cultural production, in specific relation to practices of appropriation. The increasing digitalisation and distribution of media has spurred a new generation of artists to approach the image in a similar way to that of the supposed 'pictures generation', taking extant images and recontextualising them, augmenting meaning or offering new ways of seeing. As part of this project we are distributing a font based on the paintings of John Baldessari. This is currently only in beta format with just capital letters but will appear in a fuller format next week. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD BALDESSARI.TTF Part 2: The second part will be an experimental seminar with a new link being shared daily, through the sources listed below for the duration of the exhibition. 21.11.10 Teen Image by Seth Price 20.11.10 The meaning of open is obfuscated an interview between Geert Lovink and Andreas Hirsch These links will also be shared through the Embassys presence on the following social networks http://www.facebook.com/embassy.edinburgh http://www.twitter.com/embassygallery Notes: Jonathan Horowitz's inclusion precedes his first ever solo exhibition in a UK public gallery at Dundee Contemporary Arts. Minimalist Works from the Holocaust Museum combines newly commissioned works alongside key works from the last two decades of the artist's practice. 27.11.10 to 20.02.11 http://www.dca.org.uk Stina Wirfelt will have an exhibition of new works opening at 44 141 Gallery, Glasgow on the 03.12.10 7:30-9:30pm running until 18.12.10 http://www.swg3.tv Darren Banks appears courtesy the artist and Workplace Gallery, Gateshead Jonathan Horowitz appears courtesy the artist and Gavin Browns Enterprise New York image: Darren Banks Clusterfuck, 2010 (detail from Fade Away 2010) Mixed Media Installation incorporating Art, House, Work 2005, Puppet Cinema 2005, Fade Away 2010, Introducing Delia Deetz 2010, Suppertime 2010, David and Medusa 2010, Clusterfuck 2010. Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery, UK

Darren Banks: "Re-make/Re-model" National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK

Re-make/Re-model National Glass Centre Liberty Way Sunderland SR6 0GL 14th October 2010 - 27th February 2011 Monday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm Artists: Darren Banks, Ruth Claxton, Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson, Jacob Dahlgren, Steven Emmanuel, Leo Fitzmaurice, Lothar Goetz, Christian Graser, Lucy Harvey, Charlotte Hughes-Martin, Amikam Toren. Glass is theoretically infinitely recyclable once formed, it takes less energy to recycle than to melt down the original raw materials. Glass can be melted and reused, without compromising its quality, time and time again. We are more aware today, than at any other time, of our impact on the environment. With Christmas approaching - the most poignant reminder of our disposable culture, fueled by consumerism - this exhibition takes a look at artists work and projects that reuse and transform materials, that reconfigure or alter pre-existing objects. In some cases this touches upon the actual recycling of materials, in others it is the making of new work that is more than the sum of its parts. Curated by National Glass Centre and Matthew Hearn. Image: Darren Banks Jump the Shark, 2010 mixed media incorporating Fallen Angel and Public Sculpture/Private Radar Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery.

Cecilia Stenbom - Preview: Friday 19th November 2010

Cecilia Stenbom Homeland Security 20th November - 23rd December 2010 Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 5pm (or by appointment) Preview: Friday 19th November, 6 - 9pm Workplace Gallery is pleased to present Homeland Security the first UK solo exhibition by Swedish artist Cecilia Stenbom. Bringing together works from across media including: performance to video, painting, sculpture, installation, and drawing, Homeland Security explores Stenbom's investigation into her conviction that in the consumer driven culture of a 21st century over saturated with information, fear has become a more powerful motivating factor than sex. Appropriation and re-enactment are central to Stenbom's methodology. Taking her source material from public distribution media such as television, movies, advertising, government information broadcast, 24-hour news, and the internet, Stenbom frequently casts herself as the protagonist of a pastiche that examines our anxieties and desires, reinterpreting scenarios within mass media, retail, and domestic life. "...I have become specifically interested in what triggers fear in contemporary life and how that fear is used to capture our attention and imagination, making us 'happy customers' and ultimately controlling us." State of Emergency is a 6 channel video installation based on interviews extracted from Rescue 911, the hugely popular US docu-drama from the 1990's hosted by William Shatner about real life rescue situations and amazing stories of survival. In State of Emergency Stenbom performs 6 characters from the Emergency services; the 911 Dispatcher, the Police officer, the Paramedic, the Fireman, the Doctor and the Nurse, all talking simultaneously of their experience, delivering a constant barrage of almost indecipherable narrative. You've Had Me Again is an installation of paintings made on the underside of clear acrylic Perspex. The images are a mix of symbols and detail taken from Stenbom's ongoing collection of material associated with real life drama including: 'The Swine Flu Suit' sold to provide the public with protection from the virus, Gas Masks sold for domestic use, a list of resuscitation drugs, and emergency service equipment and patterns. They are presented  alongside patterns and objects that are taken from everyday life, this is echoed in Play Dead, a diptych of giant self portrait ink drawings depicting the artist entirely in monochrome save for a pair of marigold gloves and a red and white gingham apron. Happy Endings Stenbom's series of highly glossed paintings also derive from the overly sentimental concluding scenes of Rescue 911 that brings together everyone involved in the accident to react to it's outcome. A counterpoint to the sensationalism of Stenbom's interpretations of mass media, The Scene is a silent, looped video animation based on emergency vehicle lights. Projected into the darkened domestic interiors of Workplace Gallery's upper floors The Scene recalls the effect of an event outside, spilling in through the window and trailing around the room prompting a more poignant moment of reflection. Much of Stenbom's new work plays on her own susceptibility to be manipulated by mass media and popular culture and her real anxiety around how best to navigate fact and fiction. The sculptures Bio-Terrorism vs. Natural Defences bring together the container of one of the worlds most popular pro-biotic drinks with the Latin names of bacteria and viruses used in biological warfare. DEFCON is an installation comprised of 2 line drawings covering 2 walls of the gallery. The first image is a fictitious depiction of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) taken from the 80's film War Games; the second image is a flowchart diagram of Stenbom's own personal list of threats to her daily existence. Alive - An Essential Guide to Survival is the latest in an ongoing series of video works in which Stenbom performs an unsettling monologue to camera. Past works have included a guide to her collection of gadgets and a sideways look at US fat fighting drugs. In this case she provides us with a contemporary survival guide made up of official and unofficial advice on how to stay alive such as how to avoid being killed by an accident, by an infectious disease, or how to survive a terrorist attack. In Homeland Security Stenbom presents a humorous and self defeating world of narcissism and neurosis where everything from washing up to watching TV is fraught with danger and the potential to discover another way to die. Cecilia Stenbom was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1976. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Finland in 2003 and a Master of Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art in 2005. From 2009 to 2010 she was artist in residence at ISIS Arts in Newcastle. Past exhibitions include: 13th Media Art Biennale, WRO 09 Expanded City, Wroclaw, Poland, Trickle-down Theory, Korjaamo, Helsinki, Finland, The Public Realm Project, Curated by /sLab, Sunderland, TOMORROW THE FUTURE, Fishmarket Gallery, Northampton, All my favourite singers couldn't sing, Workplace Gallery, Connecting Principles, Culture Lab, Newcastle, Breslau CV Rydek, Wroclaw, Poland, King Fisher's Tales, Union Gallery. London, False Witness, Workplace Gallery, Gateshead, Daily Escapes, MUU Gallery Helsinki, Helsinki International, Korjaamo, Helsinki, Formal Dining, Hales Gallery, London, Blue Star Red Wedge, Glasgow International, Glasgow, Glasgow/Beijing, Museum of Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing, China, Exit Strategy, Tramway, Glasgow, UK, The Games We Play, Magyar Képzömüvészeti Egyetem, Budapest, Hungary, When Subjectivity Meets Reality, Gallery 3:14, Bergen, Norway, One Day Stands, ID:I Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden, Crowd Pleasers, The San Francisco Art Institute and Academy of Fine Arts, San Francisco U.S.A. and Helsinki, Finland. Cecilia Stenbom lives and works in Gateshead, UK. Workplace Gallery was founded by artists Paul Moss and Miles Thurlow; based in Gateshead UK, Workplace Gallery represents a portfolio of emerging and established artists through the gallery programme, curatorial projects and international art fairs. Workplace Gallery opened in 2005 at 34 Ellison Street, Gateshead - part of Trinity Square Shopping Centre particularly noted for its iconic Brutalist car park designed by architect Rodney Gordon for the Owen Luder Partnership, which featured as a key location in Mike Hodges 1971 cult British gangster film Get Carter starring Michael Caine. Since the original gallery was demolished in 2008 as part of the planned regeneration of Gateshead Town Centre, Workplace Gallery has relocated to The Old Post Office in Gateshead; a listed 19th Century red brick building built upon the site where the important British artist, engraver and naturalist Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) lived and died. The next exhibition at Workplace Gallery will be a solo exhibition of new work by Mike Pratt opening on 14th January 2011. To celebrate the opening of Homeland Security please join us afterwards at Central Bar in Gateshead. Kindly supported by:

Paul Merrick: Hive Gallery, Barnsley, UK

Paul Merrick Hive Gallery, Barnsley, UK. 13 November - 19 December 2010 http://www.hivegallery.co.uk Paul Merrick's continued interrogation of painting and process has seen him evolve from working exclusively with oil paint and two-dimensions to a broader enquiry of what painting is and pushing his practice into new territories. This solo exhibition at HIVE Gallery presents new works and includes paintings, sculpture and the made with the ready-made. Untitled (Big White) and Untitled (Stalactite Red) are examples of this new investigation into scale, colour and surface. The materials used in both works have been scavenged or recycled. Untitled (Big White) has been assembled using discarded paintings, primed boards, off cuts and seat cushions from the artist's studio. The multiple surfaces have been composed to create a large-scale relief. The backs of old paintings now face the viewer. Subtle textures and surfaces of 'off white' tones that have resulted from their neglect in the studio have now been placed on the gallery wall. Stains, drips, smudges and dusty fingertip marks combine to create a new painting. By contrast Untitled (Stalactite Red) consists of a series of found aluminium shop panels sought from a scrap yard. Merrick's enquiry here concerns itself with the raw matter of the support plane. No paint has been applied to its surface, Merrick choosing instead to respond to the material's found condition to create the final artwork. Cut and bolted together the staggered arrangement of panels form a layered surface that is hung high on the gallery wall and which thus creates a dynamic relationship with the surrounding architecture. Untitled (Grey Fold) 2009 and Box #1 (Yellow) 2010 are further examples of Merrick's new approach to painting and incorporate found surfaces. The spray paint primer in Grey Fold transforms the painting away from its rigid stainless steel material to something more delicate, picking out its subtle folds and surface imperfections. Box #1 confronts the viewer immediately with its physical presence in the gallery space. The found object protrudes from the wall asking to be investigated. In contrast to Grey Fold the yellow high gloss finish of Box #1 seduces the viewer to question the work more closely. Alongside the wall-based works Merrick has created a series of sculptures that resemble familiar domestic objects like chairs, tables and beds. Merrick here creates sculptures from found functional objects like IKEA tables or frames and building objects that recreate the archetypal forms of much loved, familiar objects. Image: Paul Merrick Untitled (Construction White), 2010 chipboard, ply, mdf, sterling board, perspex and cushions height 220 cm (PME0093)

Marcus Coates: "Transformation" Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan

Transformation Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 29 October 2010 - 30 January 2011 AES F, Matthew Barney, Simon Birch, Francesco Clemente, Marcus Coates, Jan Fabre, Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, Naoki Ishikawa, Bharti Kher, Lee Bul. Motohiko Odani, Junya Oikawa. Jagannath Panda, Patricia Piccinini, Shahzia Sikander, Sputniko!, Jana Sterbak, Sarah Sze, Masakatsu Takagi, Tunga, Apichatpong Weerasethakul To live is to change. We change daily as our cells regenerate and we learn new things, as times change and we encounter new environments, and as we give play to our imagination. Under the theme "transformation," this exhibition explores the boundary between humans and non-humans. In all ages and countries, countless images and artworks have been created on the theme of transformation. Japan, in particular, is brimming with rich images on this theme, from the legends of old to the manga and anime characters of today. So, why "transformation" now? With to the spread of the Internet, the development of the global economy, advances in technology, and so on, the traditional forms "humans" take have started to become blurred, and a diversity greater than anything seen before has begun to emerge. At this exhibition, a variety of images of things that traverse the human and non-human - including animals, machines, imaginary creatures and bodies with different genetic compositions - will be unveiled through paintings, sculptures, video, archives and symposiums. Together, the "transforming" forms presented express as a single omen our hopes, dreams and fears. The artworks, created by 21 individual artists and groups from 15 countries over a period stretching from the 1980s through to the present, will demonstrate the possibilities and meanings of change today. What is Tokyo Art Meeting? Tokyo Art Meeting presents a range of possibilities for new art by facilitating encounters between various genres of expression, mainly in the field of contemporary art but also including design, architecture and other specialist fields. Under the theme "transformation," the first meeting sees art encounter anthropology. Also, in cooperation with Tokyo University of the Arts, a range of displays, performances and symposiums will be held as part of Tokyo Geidai Trans Week with the aim of helping nurture future generations. Image: Marcus Coates still image from Toge Rice Ritual, 2006 HD Single Channel Video (MC0017)

Miles Thurlow: "DEADPAN", The Royal Standard, Liverpool, UK

DEADPAN The Royal Standard, Liverpool, UK Liverpool Biennial 2010 28 October -28 November http://www.the-royal-standard.com Amidst a ridiculous tableau of minuscule beasts, repetitive streaks and a gargantuan lobster, DEADPAN presents several newly commissioned works produced especially for the exhibition. From sloppy seconds to flying willies, aside institutional critique and the highly crafted sleek, DEADPAN expands The Royal Standards exhibition spaces, overflowing with large-scale sculptural works, drawing, installation, animation and performance alongside the inaugural presentation of work within The Royal Standard's Sculpture Garden; brought together for DEADPAN along with key works borrowed from collections including The Black Room, a seminal 7 piece installation by Jamie Shovlin, presented here for the first time on British soil. With a good glug of irony and a sarcastic nod, DEADPAN gives a kick up the arse to the utter mess of an art world at a point of over saturation by questioning strategies used by artists to make new work. Considering mimicry and the referential alongside the blatancy of homage, DEADPAN presents with barefaced cheek a pastichised viewpoint of art with lampooning consequences; providing a glimpse into the dirty world of satire within contemporary art today.  David Sherry Jamie Shovlin Jess Flood-Paddock Jock Mooney Josephine Flynn Laura Ford Laurina Paperina Miles Thurlow Noel Clueit Toby Huddlestone The Royal Standard Unit 3, Vauxhall Business Centre 131 Vauxhall Rd Liverpool L3 6BN

Workplace Gallery at The Manchester Contemporary , UK - 28-31 October 2010

Workplace Gallery is pleased to announce our participation at The Manchester Contemporary Booth 2 The Manchester Contemporary Spinningfields, Manchester, UK http://www.themanchestercontemporary.co.uk/ 28-31 October 2010 Arcade, Bureau, Ceri Hand Gallery, David Risley Gallery, Faye Fleming & Partner, Man & Eve, Mermaid & Monster, Nettie Horn, Seventeen, The International 3, Workplace Gallery, WORKS|PROJECTS, and Emin International For a full list of available works please contact info@workplacegallery.co.uk image: Mike Pratt Bombay-Badboy pII, 2010 (detail) crystacal, wood, enamel paint, foam, wire, wool fabric and parcel tape 159 x 65 x 106 cm (MP0120) Courtesy of the artist and Workplace Gallery

Eric Bainbridge: "Facon, Plads og Kulør", Rundetårn, Copenhagen

Facon, Plads & Kulør (Shape, Space and Colour) RUNDETAARN, Copenhagen, Denmark 9 October -21 November http://www.rundetaarn.dk/ A large floor show featuring 26 artists, exploring the boundaries between painting and photography, design, sculpture and installations - an exhibition focusing on the work of Ib Braase: "From my younger sister's room". Parked art If visitors get the impression they are standing in a basement car park when they enter the "Shape, Space and Colour" exhibition, they are not far off the mark. Long neon tubes cast a sharp light over the exhibited works, standing side-by-side, as if Rundetaarn's huge exhibition hall was the most decorative car park in Europe. "We wanted to show how clean and beautiful the over 900 m² room can look when it is used matter-of-factly, without excuses, without interruptions to overview and false temporary walls. We wanted it to be a floorshow with the best works - with artists who can and dare to use all kinds of materials", explain Hans E. Madsen and Torgny Wilcke, the two artists behind the exhibition. Taking inspiration from Ib Braase's work, 'From my younger sister's room', which occupies 4.24 m² of floor space, all participants in the exhibition were asked to create a work of similar size - about the size of a car. "We picture the works being positioned like cars in a car park, where some are parked perfectly, and others hastily, roughly, badly, or terribly", say the organisers. Boundaries Apart from Ib Brasse's work (1979), the 26 floor works in 'Shape, Space and Colour' were created and intended for the exhibition, and contemporary works from 2010. The works feature a variety of materials and expressions, and explore the boundaries between painting and photography, sculpture, design and installation. "The boundaries between the traditional forms have not disappeared, but the ideas behind sculpture, painting, photography and installation art have been influenced. Rather than throwing out these concepts, we choose to actively engage with the boundaries of these forms and work with them", explain the two organisers. They raise Eric Barnbridge as an example of an artist whose sculptures can be mounted on the wall, flat, or built directly without shape, and composed in a way reminiscent of the painting method, with the room serving as the artist's canvas. Everday objects - a means to reflection Another thing the works have in common is the exhibitors' choice of materials, which are both classic, and drawn from everyday surroundings. Cupboard doors made from cheap veneer, plastic bowls, wigs, and chair legs have been put in a context which gives the objects new form and meaning. The title, 'Shape, Space and Colour', hints at this idea of everyday objects being adopted by the art works as a means to encourage reflection about the reality we are living in, here and now. Third exhibition on the same theme 'Shape, Space and Colour' is one of a series of exhibitions, such as 'Wham, Fact & Value, ETC.', 'Fabrikken besøger Illums Bolighus' and 'VÆGTILVÆG' with a focus on paintings and directly executed works.   Artists: Ib Braase (From my younger sister's room) Eric Bainbridge (GB), Thomas Bang, Claus Bjerre og Ditte Hammerstrøm, Maiken Bent, Monika Brandmeier (DE), Claus Egemose, Jesper Fabricius, Kim Grønborg, Peter Holm, Søren Jensen, Pablo Lambias, Axel Lieber (DE), Hans E Madsen, Bjørn Poulsen, Jesper Rasmussen, Finn Reinbothe, Torgny Wilcke, Lone Høyer Hansen, Ellen Hyllemose, Marianne Jørgensen, Karin Lind, Tove Storch, Charlotte Thrane (DK/GB), A-Kassen. Image: Eric Bainbridge New Modernist No.3, 2006 Teak, Melamine 249 x 245.5 x 130 cm 98 1/8 x 96 5/8 x 51 1/8 in (EB0011)

Catherine Bertola: "Thought for the Week" Scion - Beacon Art Project

Artwork of the Month Series Scion, Beacon Art Project Somerset, England 27 October 2010 Contemporary Art at Barrington Court Barrington Court, Nr Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0NQ Scion is the title of a series of activities developed by Beacon and the National Trust that will deliver a programme of contemporary art at Barrington Court over the course of sixteen months culminating in a major exhibition in 2011. Beacon Art Project is based in Lincolnshire and commissions and presents artwork by national and international artists within unusual, non-gallery settings, emphasising the importance of the context in which we experience art. This project is supported by Trust New Art, a programme to connect more people to National Trust places through contemporary art and craft. The National Trust is working in partnership with Arts Council England. Arts Council England and the National Trust believe that placing high-quality and innovative contemporary art within historic settings can inspire artists and audiences and encourage new ways of looking at the work and the world. As the partnership develops, a wide programme of events, projects and products will be developed to make contemporary arts and crafts an integral part of the National Trust's daily offer to visitors, building new audiences and providing career opportunities to both emerging and established artists. Artwork of the Month Series Each month an existing artwork is installed at Barrington Court. The artworks are not new commissions, but are selected on the basis of their fit to the building and to the curatorial remit of Scion. The artist is invited to give a lunchtime talk about the work and a question and answer session follows. Everyone is welcome to attend these talks for which free entry can be gained through presentation of the downloadable voucher (see below). Scroll down to see details of previous Artworks of the Month. Thought for the Week Is an ongoing series of embroideries, each containing a text derived from emails the artist receives every week from a life coaching website. Image: Catherine Bertola Thought for the week (Don't be a prisoner..), 2008 Linen, cotton thread, wadding, mdf, card, brass tacks, glue 23cm diameter (CB0055) Photographer: Colin Davison

Paul Merrick: "The New Domestic Landscape", Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art

The New Domestic Landscape National Gallery for Contemporary Art Sunderland, England 01 - 30 October 2010 http://www.ngca.co.uk "In the 1970s more people than usual were searching for an ideology or an aesthetic which would transform the world... Parts of the 1970s are very much with us. More than 30 years on, 1970s style and design still divides and confuses. It can seem antiquated or contemporary, extravagant or impoverished, embarrassing or enviable. It is reviled and it is revived. It is celebrated and written off." Andy Beckett, London Review of Books, 19 August 2010 "If you never change your mind, why have one?" Edward de Bono Work by: Christopher Cox, (Denver) Dan Ziglam and Elliot Brook (Newcastle) Fantome (North-East England) Kyouei Design, (Toyko) Max Lamb (London) Clarita Lulic (Newcastle) Paul Merrick (Newcastle) Martin Ruiz de Azua (Barcelona) Ronja Svaneborg (Copenhagen) Laila Maia Baria (London) Does the temper of our times demand more contradiction and complexity than ever from "the stuff that surrounds you", as Wallpaper* magazine calls our domestic consumer items? In 1972 the Museum of Modern Art staged a seminal exhibition entitled "The New Domestic Landscape" which revealed a new spirit in design, of exuberance and contradiction. The 'New Domestic Landscape' of 2010 is, if anything, even more complex and contradictory. The exhibition brings together a range of international artists and designers who create objects that might resemble conventional furniture in either form or function, but whose real aims are to challenge our established ways of life or our conventional habits of mind. All of the works are intended to be enjoyed in - or endured in - a domestic environment. 'The New Domestic Landscape' is part of the Design Event North East festival which is supported by the Arts Council, England and Northern Rock Foundation.  The festival takes place from 21-31 October 2010 throughout the North East region and the theme this year is Conversation.  There will be a range of exhibitions and events covering all aspects of design from product design to graphics, fashion and architecture.  For more information please visit www.design-event.co.uk. Image: Paul Merrick Untitled (Chair), 2009 Sterling board, ply wood, aluminium, gloss paint 81 x 48 x 56 cm (PME0082)

Workplace Gallery: FIAC 2010 "Tuileries Gardens & Cinéphémère Projects"

Tuileries Gardens at FIAC Louvre, Paris 21 - 24 October 2010 Darren Banks Palace Band-Wagon : Mobile Cinema, 2010 http://www.fiac.com/tuileries.html Palace Band-Wagon  refers both to Darren Banks' interest in the decline of VHS and to the Ghanian "mobile cinemas" of the 1980's where local artists were commissioned to make promotional posters for the films without necessarily having seen them beforehand. Transforming a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado into a mobile cinema, Palace Band-Wagon presents a continuous show-reel of Banks' archive of Palace Pictures VHS. The public are invited to watch the video show-reel and add to the Palace Band-Wagon archive of promotional film posters. For the fifth consecutive year, in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre, FIAC presents a program of outdoor projects in the Jardin des Tuileries. The growing interest for this annual event among galleries and artists - together with the exceptional beauty of the site - has enabled us to us to bring together over twenty seven projects, including sculptures, installations and ephemeral creations, deployed in the garden's fountains, basins, lawns, alleys and groves. Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Carl Andre, Darren Banks, Mark Dion, Mounir Fatmi, Otto Freundlich, Bruno Giroconli, Subodh Gupta, Thomas Houseago, Rodolphe Huguet, Rolf Julius, Yayoi Kusama, Guillaume Leblon, Jean-François Leroy, Markus Lupertz, Justin Matherly, Jonathan Meese, Richard Nonas, Not Vital, Bernard Pagès, Jean Prouvé, Ugo Rondinone, Assan Smati, Franz West, Virginie Yassef. Cinéphémère at FIAC Tuileries Gardens, Louvre, Paris 21 - 24 October 2010 Darren Banks Found Installation 1.14.33 - 1.14.37, 2009 Marcus Coates Follow The Voice, 2009 (10 min 45) Matt Stokes the Gainsborough Packet, 2008, (8 min 56) http://www.fiac.com/cinephemere.html Hosted by the Louvre Museum and in collaboration with the Ricard Foundation, FIAC will present Cinéphémère in the context of the programme of outdoor projects presented in the Tuileries Gardens. Cinéphèmère is a fully equipped 14 seat cinema installed in a especially redesigned container.  Between 5 and 10 artist's films of a maximum duration of 30 minutes will be screened every day during FIAC. Screenings will take place hourly from 13.00 until 18.00, and will present one or two films depending on their respective duration. A hostess will be present during opening hours to enable members of the public to make advance reservations for screenings Adel Abidin, Boris Achour, Pilar Albarracín, Kader Attia, Darren Banks, Irit Batsry, Louidgi Beltrame, Patrick Bernatchez, Pauline Boudry et Renate Lorenz, Robert Breer, Elina Brotherus, Mircea Cantor, Lu Chunsheng, Marcus Coates, Omer Fast, Michael Fliri, Aurélien Froment, Elika Hedayat, Ryan Gander, Dora Garcia, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Ali Kazma, David Lamelas, Christian Lebrat, Chikara Matsumoto, Christina McPhee, Ra di Martino, Ariane Michel, Robert Morris,  Anca Munteanu Rimnic, John Pilson, Bettina Pousttchi, Moussa Sarr, Matt Stokes, Marie Voignier, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Martin Walde, Jessica Warboys, Sun Xun, Tobias Zielony.

Workplace Gallery at FIAC - Cour Carrée du Louvre, Paris - 21-24 October 2010

Workplace Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in FIAC, LaFayette Sector at Cour Carrée du Louvre, Paris. We will be showing new work by Marcus Coates and Darren Banks Images: (Left) Marcus Coates The Spinach Eulithis Mellinata (Fabricius, 1787), 2010 Silver Gelatin Print, 21 x 27.9 cm (Right) Darren Banks Where Everything Is, 2010, mixed media FIAC Booth F29 LaFayette Sector Cour Carrée du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, 75001, Paris France www.fiac.com

Fade Away, 2010, Darren Banks