Cut It Out: Contemporary Paper Cut Artists

24 July - 18 October 2009

Gallery 6, Southampton City Art Gallery

Stefan Saffer - Georgia Russell - Ciara Healy - Chris Kenny Henna Nadeem - Oona Patterson - Karen Logan

This exhibition continues the Millais Gallery’s commitment to supporting and promoting artists and innovative exhibitions around the city and Southampton Solent University campus. The Millais Gallery has a number of further exhibitions planned to be announced shortly. For more information please contact Bridget Cusack or Les Buckingham on 023 8031 9916.

Cut It Out exhibition showcases seven contemporary paper cut artists from the UK and Europe. Together they form an eclectic approach to the medium of paper and its use in contemporary art.

Paper cutting has its roots in decorative tradition with a long and distinctive past. In China since 206 BC cut-outs were used as wall and window decoration with artisans widely respected for their intricate and delicate designs and patterns. There is also a long history of paper cutting in Eastern Europe where it was used as a simple means to cheaply decorate the home. This exhibition transcends the use of paper cut as a folk art tradition and blurs the boundaries between craft and visual art.

There is something quite particular and deliberate about the artists’ choice to cut and manipulate paper.  The meticulous nature of cutting can have obsessive tendencies and whilst on the surface work may appear decorative, it can often have slightly sinister undertones.

Cut It Out is an opportunity to see the myriad of approaches that current contemporary artists have towards paper.  From the subversive to the fantastical, the sculptural and the textual, it is clear that, that whilst rooted in a decorative background, these artists have evolved the art of paper cutting into something uniquely modern.

Cut It Out is curated by Kate Maple, and toured from the Otter Gallery, University of Chichester to Gallery 6, Southampton City Art Gallery. The exhibition has been supported by the Millais Gallery, Southampton Solent University.

Southampton City Art Gallery, Civic Centre, Commercial Road, Southampton, Hampshire,  SO14 7LP Telephone: 023 8083 2277

Email: art.gallery@southampton.gov.uk         www.southampton.gov.uk/art/

ADMISSION IS FREE TO THIS EXHIBITION

Opening Times: Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm. Saturday and Sunday 11am – 6pm.

From 28 September the opening times changes to: Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm.  Saturday and Sunday 11 – 4pm.