Day: September 23, 2019

DiXmiX Gallery, curated by Dixmix Source, is celebrating its third anniversary in September 2019, with a triple exhibition by Maloe Vansant, Del May and Key Monk, and with something of a revamp of the gallery’s spaces.

Since its inception, DiXmiX has been a consistent venue for art from the avant-garde to the traditional landscape, although the emphasis has perhaps leant towards avatar studies and portraiture. I’ve covered the gallery in these pages since its inception – (admittedly missing a few exhibitions over the last 36 months), and it has been a fascinating journey from then until now, witnessing the richness of art on display, both 2D and 3D, and also the gallery’s evolution with the guiding support of Megan Prumier.

For its first exhibition in September 2016, DiXmiX offered colour and monochrome images by Grazia Horwitz, Ariel Brearly (via Dixmix Source’s personal collection of her work), Ziki Questi, and also from the portfolios of Megan and Dixmix.  This mix of monochrome and colour art is again on offer in the three exhibitions marking this third anniversary – although the content of the art is very different from that first exhibition, and the three sets offer rich contrast between one another.

Occupying the Grey Gallery, adjacent to the main entrance, Del May presents a set of thirteen avatar studies that are startling in their content, encompassing a form of surrealism that is exceptionally captivating. These are pieces that demand the attention of the heart and emotions rather than the intellect, each piece singularly unique and with its own sense of potential and narrative.

One the upper level’s White Gallery, Maloe Vansant presents a dozen studies in her familiar evocative and provocative style. One of the aspects of Maloe’s work I find appealing is her ability to offer pieces that might be regarded as voyeuristic or NSFW or edging on the taboo/ fetishistic, but which are ultimately introspective / reflective, or which convey an ideal, a provocation to thought, rather than seeking a more basic (hormonal?) reaction. This is very much the case here, with each piece presented intoxicating in its composition, tone and message.

For me, Key Monk’s work, displayed in the lower level Black Gallery, offers a new volume in the school of photography brought to my attention by Melusina Parkin. Rather than provide a broad canvas for his pieces, Key focuses on a single element in scene, using it, something with soft focus or considered depth of field, to present a window into what might be a much more extensive story that only requires our own imaginations to bring to life. And even when the image itself is more expansive – as with #3, there is still the feeling that we are witnessing one small part of a bigger story, and thus we are drawn into each piece to weave our own narrative around it.

Congrats to Dixmix and Megan on the occasion of the gallery’s third anniversary – looking forward to the next three years!

SLurl Details

• DiXmiX Gallery (Bay Port, rated: Moderate)