Developing ambitious, experimental & inspiring artistic projects and programmes

Commissions & exhibitions in the gallery

I read the wind, Studio Potapota

The Portsmouth-based artist achieved a personal milestone and life-long ambition to present a solo show at Aspex. His memory of first visiting the gallery at the age of six featured in the exhibition, alongside the story of his gradual sight loss and other formative experiences, told entirely through colourful braille paintings and tactile paving. Supported by Colas.

Spring 22

Japanese duo Hidekazu a-wa Sogabe and Kaori Miyachi Sogabe presented their cobanashi series of ceramic ‘objects as poems’. Alongside the exhibition we profiled Outside In, who have supported both Clarke Reynolds and Studio Potapota in developing their careers.

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Sink or Float: An Artificial Island, Jessica Wetherly

Solo exhibition of new work by the London-based sculptor, selected from the Emergency 2021 group show. The sculptural installation of ponds, fibreglass birds, large scale photographs and pewter charms, presented the artist’s research into the unique ecologies surrounding Portsmouth including Farlington Marshes and Portsdown Hill. The exhibition was accompanied by an artist publication including contributions by local scientists and ecologists, supported by a National Lottery Project Grant through Arts Council England.

Tide Pool, Sarah Drew, Tanvi Kant, Jasmine Linington & Amy Whittingham

A group exhibition of intricate contemporary jewellery which tied in with our seasonal themes of coastal ecologies, recycling and sustainability. Materials used in the creation of the featured pieces ranged from cast glass to found beach plastics and sea kelp.

Summer 22

Deliquesce, Vicky Smith

The artist/filmmaker was commissioned to make a new 16mm film work, three 30 second self-portraits which use visual metaphor to explore concerns about plastic sea pollution. The film was presented on our website as a virtual exhibition, on the Big Screen in Guildhall Square, and featured as part of the We Shine festival.

The Platform Graduate Award 2022 (group show)

An annual initiative to support emerging artists at a key moment of transition from university, Platform has been running since 2012. Led by Contemporary Visual Arts Network South East (CVAN South East) in partnership with four galleries: Aspex Portsmouth; MK Gallery in Milton Keynes; Modern Art Oxford; and Phoenix Art Space in Brighton. At Aspex we presented work by twelve artists from six universities: Besma Alwesmi and Annabel Miller (Arts University Bournemouth); Sam Atherton and Zayd Menk (UCA Farnham); Amanda Berridge and Amy Standing (University of Chichester); Shalom Nuhu and Thaïs Verhasselt (University of Portsmouth); Erica Cannon and Beth Givens (Solent University, Southampton); Eleanor Brown and Annabel TennysonDavies (Winchester School of Art, Southampton University).

Touchy Subject, Harry Chadwick & Bonnie Mustoe-Whitehill

To mark the addition of Arts University Plymouth (AUP) as a new partner in CVAN South East’s Platform Graduate Award, we showcased two of this year’s graduates from AUP’s BA (Hons) Craft and Material Practices course, on display in the Craft Space.

Autumn 22

CAPSID, John Walter

Presented in partnership with the Arts Council Collection as part of their Borrow Big! initiative, the exhibition was a ‘capsule’ version of a huge body of multidisciplinary works originally made in 2018. The result of a collaboration between the artist and molecular virologist Professor Greg Towers, the works bring to light the underrepresented debate around viruses such as HIV, uncovering new scientific knowledge about viral capsids and sharing it with the wider public.

m_Doomsday{Shitney (exorcism)}, John Walter

We hosted Walter’s epic new performance which narrates the history of the universe from the Big Bang through to viruses of the mind, using script, song, costume and projection of video footage created in Virtual Reality. The audience were lured into a parallel universe of algorithms, wit and philosophy. Part gig, part art-hack, we watched Walter transform the ‘do-loops’ of creative routine into ‘strange loops’ of consciousness.

Winter 22/23

Crosswise Collection, Fiona Ross /Candy Coated Accessories

A vibrant textile collection of jacquard knitted hats, scarves, and headbands featuring bold colours and geometric patterns which complemented the main show, CAPSID.

An ambitious and innovative new moving image work using Extended Reality technologies to retell stories from local people with connections to Clarence Pier. Commissioned by Aspex Portsmouth in partnership with the University of Portsmouth’s CCIXR (Centre for Creative & Immersive Extended Realities) as part of the Enabling XR Enterprise (eXRe) project, supported by the government’s UK Community Renewal Fund. The film was produced on location and within a digital recreation of the Southsea amusement arcade built in a gaming engine.