2017 marks our 175th anniversary. This is a collection of memories from this year, demonstrating how we have looked forward as well as celebrating our past.
January
James Morrison had his first exhi-
bition with The Scottish Gallery in 1959. ‘Decades’, his January show, consisting of new and earlier works was his twenty-fourth with us.
This was silversmith Hazel Thorn’s first solo exhibition with The Scottish Gallery.
This January, we focused on the modern jewellery of Professor Dorothy Hogg, who transformed the jewellery and metalwork department at ECA into a world class centre of excellence and her department produced numerous graduates of distintion,many of whom are shown in the gallery today.
Woven Landscape was Lise Bech’s first solo exhibition with The Scottish Gallery. Originally from Denmark, Lise Bech, lives and works in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, where she grows a wide range of willows (Salix species) for her basket making. In addition to her cultivated willow beds, the local landscape provides a rich source of other traditional basketry materials (heather, fieldrush, hairmoss) and more experimental fibre plants (birch, broom) which are occasionally used for embellishment.
We began our celebratory year with a selection of work at the London Art Fair, beginning with William McTaggart, whose Impressionism, begins the modern period in Scottish art.
David Cass, PEŠÀDA, 06 Jan 2017 - 23 Jan 2017
February
This past February, The Scottish Gallery took part in Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects. The Gallery showcased a capsule collection celebrating the life partnership of two pioneers from the world of modern jewellery: Wendy Ramshaw and David Watkins. We were delighted to win the award for Outstanding Presentation by a Gallery.
For his fifth solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery, Geoff Uglow found inspiration in his rose garden, which he has cultivated from seed.
Restless Talent focused on twenty works by Joan Eardley including unseen work from Townhead. This exhibition coincided with a major Joan Eardley exhibition at The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
FIRE II Lisa Hammond Fascinated with pots from a young age, Lisa consolidated her training in studio pottery in Medway, Kent. She set up Greenwich Pottery Workshop in 1980 alongside teaching at Goldsmiths College for some thirteen years, where committed students and staff helped her to pioneer the use of soda glaze in the UK.
March
GODS, HEROES AND BEASTS, PAUL REID
The imagery in this body of work from Paul Reid seems random, apart from the consistent mythological references and inclusion of studies for finished paintings. But the arbitrary nature of his dry, matter of fact, created world is a visual paradigm for a world of godly caprice, chaos, nemesis and hubris, cruelty and frustration, understood by ancients and moderns alike as our mortal inheritance.
“I am showing a variety of objects in this exhibition, from vigorously textured Moon Jars to small cups. They are all made with one principal in mind; in praise of shadows.�
Akiko Hirai, In Praise of Shadows, 2017
“My inspiration for this new collection stems from concepts of visual literacy, and specifically, the idea of Balance.� Elizabeth Jane Campbell, Balance, March 2017
A memorial exhibition should not be a sombre affair and with the subject being the life and work of David Michie, our exhibition for March 2017 could not be anything but a joyous celebration, as our collection should attest. David was a devoted son to his mother Anne Redpath, the happiest of married men with his wife Eileen, the best of fathers to his girls (who have all our thanks for helping prepare this tribute) and a friend to so many, including succeeding staff at The Scottish Gallery.
April
Echo, was the first solo presentation from Edinburgh based, visual artist Harry Morgan. Harry Morgan currently works from his studio within Custom House Leith, Edinburgh. Originally from Manchester, Harry gained a 1st Class BA (Hons) degree in Glass from Edinburgh College of Art in 2014. Since graduating, he has exhibited at the 2015 British Glass Biennale in Stourbridge, where he was awarded the London Glassblowing Award for Emerging Talent. His work has already been exhibited widely throughout both the UK and internationally, and The Scottish Gallery was his first solo presentation.
“If materials contain history and meaning in their nature, then these ideas are embedded in objects. Echo displays a collection of objects that explores the relationship of materials through contrast. Despite being composed of the same elements, glass and concrete appear as conflicting materials. With unclear borders and internal dimension, glass reflects ambiguity and intangibility. In sharp contrast, concrete is brutally physical; the word itself is used to describe absolutes and certainties.� Harry Morgan, 2017
First brought together nine artists who have not exhibited in The Scottish Gallery before and represents The Gallery’s recognition of the strength and depth of artist talent in this country. There was a deliberate mix of artists from various stages in their careers and an acknowledgment of the validity of all media in creative endeavour. This exhibition was a complementary juxtaposition of sculptural, abstract and figurative work. The investigation of landscape both real and imagined, urban or natural, of process, of the history of art and ideas, iwas embraced. Most importantly, First was a celebration of talent, material and different ways of seeing the world.
UNTROUBLED CERTAINTY Adam Bruce Thomson A long life, good health, and a strict work ethic are necessary ingredients for a productive life. Add to the recipe a considerable talent and you have a description of Adam Bruce Thomson. (below)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MY WEST Felieke van der Leest.
A showcase from the celebrated Dutch jeweller Felieke van der Leest. This exhibition celebrated the fantastical world of fairy tales and the Wild West. (above)
May
May was our 175th anniversary month and a time when we wanted to look forward as well as to celebrate our past. We invited over one hundred artists to respond with a small work of art especially for this exhibition and are delighted with the originality, variety and wit of the artworks. Many are working towards future exhibitions, others have not exhibited with us for some time but all are part of a community of creative people, much wider than can be included in one exhibition, which makes up The Scottish Gallery family. We are very grateful to over fifty applied artists who have produced original, commemorative pins in a range of media and a similar number of artists have made uniformly scaled works of equal originality. The Gallery want to take this opportunity to offer thanks to this wide community of artists; past, present and future for their talent and dedication, without which there would be nothing to celebrate.
It was fitting that Duncan Shanks, in his eightieth year and one of Scotland’s most original and distinguished painters, should have the main gallery for our anniversary month of May. Shanks has been a consistent exhibitor with The Scottish Gallery since the seventies and his commitment to painting, the rigour of his intellect and the inexhaustible energy of his mark-making single him out. This exhibition was thematically rich and included self-portraiture as a poignant ingredient in a narrative of movement of time (season) and place which for the artist is a metaphor of the existential quest.
Artists and staff from The Scottish Gallery have kindly modelled a selection of the pins - including several of the designers showcasing their own creations.
As part of the May celebrations, a selection of jewellers were asked to make a unique commemorative pin in a range of media. The majority of the artists are based in Scotland and we are very grateful to the art schools, who have continued to provide us with such a rich abundance of talent. This exhibition also includes work from senior lecturers within the field.
We invited over one hundred artists to respond with a small work of art especially for this exhibition and were delighted with the originality, variety and wit of the artworks. Many are working towards future exhibitions, others have not exhibited with us for some time but all are part of a community of creative people, much wider than can be included in one exhibition, which makes up The Scottish Gallery family.
June
Sound of Iona was the first site-specific installation from sculptor Lucy Gray; representing a journey through the sounds of Iona. Lucy Gray lives and works on the West Coast of Scotland where she creates her mixed media sculptures. Lucy studied sculpture at The Central School of Art and Design, London where she received the Phoebe Llewellyn sculpture prize. She then subsequently trained in furniture restoration and has worked on various projects from using the finest Japanese lacquer to gilding a palace in Kuwait. Her specialist work as a master gilder and lacquer restorer are clearly reflected in her work. Lucy’s work is held in numerous private collections, both nationally and internationally.
Rhythm was Stacey Bentley’s second solo presentation at The Scottish Gallery. Stacey has been working as a jewellery designer/ maker for over six years and her work is carefully designed and hand crafted from her Edinburgh studio.
The Miniaturists was an exhibition celebrating works in miniature from ceramic artists Marieke Ringel and Yuta Segawa. Animals have always been the main source of inspiration for Ringel’s work; often placed in small boxes made of thin, delicate clay. In contrast, Segawa’s miniature pots are thrown individually by hand and he selects from over five hundred original glazes that are then applied to each miniature. Working in miniature poses a real challenge - testing the limits of what can be created on such a small scale.
2017 marks the 250th anniversary of Edinburgh’s New Town. To mark this cultural milestone Hugh Buchanan created a body of work celebrating the beauty of Edinburgh’s Georgian heritage. Hugh Buchanan is one of Britain’s most outstanding watercolourists, who has long been inspired by Scotland’s architecture. This was his fourth exhibition at The Scottish Gallery.
In 2010 The Scottish Gallery curated and produced the critically acclaimed exhibition The Roberts which featured never before seen photographs from the Vogue archives. This was the precursor for the major exhibition The Two Roberts at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (22nd November 2014 to 24th May 2015). To coincide with this exhibition the Gallery presented Golden Years the largest collection of paintings, drawings and prints for sale since the mid-1970s. In our anniversary year we revisited these two important artists with a selection of available and rare new works.
July
The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present Lines & Lineage, an exhibition that brings together three Scottish tapestry weavers: Jo Barker, Sara Brennan and Susan Mowatt.
The Colourists were prolific draftsmen, seldom without a sketchbook, essential to the working artist. The exhibition included ten recently acquired works by J D Fergusson.
A Studio Practice brought ogether four senior Scottish artists: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Elizabeth Blackadder, Frances Walker and Victoria Crowe. During long and distinguished careers their work has always looked forward and they have all embraced change, new experience, collaboration and experiment. All are best known as painters but have had substantial commitments to printmaking.
The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present Amanda Simmons’s first solo exhibition. Outer Spaces is the culmination of a two-week residency at Lyth Arts Centre in Caithness and the continuing research of the Flow Country and its massive capacity to store carbon in the many layers of peat.
Grace Girvan, originally from Orkney and former graduate from Edinburgh College of Art, held her second solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery – Tide Line, in July.
August
ANATOMY OF HASTE Kate Downie 03 Aug 2017 - 02 Sep 2017
‘Humans. They get everywhere. We think we are going places but actually it is the substance of our journeys, within which we spend so much of our lives, that have created the most indelible monuments to our existence. This exhibition explores what I call the anatomy of haste.’
CLASSICAL GRAFFITI Martin Cook comes from a family of carvers dating back to 1730 and is based in Buckinghamshire. All of his work is individually designed and hand crafted using traditional tools.
We werew delighted to present the work of Philip Eglin who has created Unfinished Business specially for the Festival; his fifth solo exhibition with The Gallery. Eglin is now firmly established as one of the mostbrilliant artists working in the ceramic medium, content to defy an obvious pigeonhole, his work is at once historically familiar and transgressive.
The Scottish Gallery was delighted to be representing the eminent jeweller Jacqueline Mina during the Edinburgh International Festival, as part of The Scottish Gallery’s anniversary celebrating 175 years of art. Jacqueline Mina is an important senior figure amongst The Gallery’s representation of contemporary jewellers. She had her first solo exhibition with The Gallery in 1993 - Jacqueline Mina - New Work in Platinum and Gold - and they have continued to show her innovative work ever since. The Gallery was therefore delighted to be celebrating Jacqueline Mina’s continued development of her beautiful jewellery at 75.
In this Edinburgh Festival exhibition, we marked the centenary of the birth of Alberto Morrocco, one of the dominant figures in the Scottish art world in the second half of the 20th Century.
FOREIGN FAMILIAR AT THE BALMORAL David Cass, David McClure, Victoria Crowe, Elizabeth Blackadder, Earl Haig The paintings that formed this collection draw inspiration from locations that exist in the collective imagination and memory — chiefly Florence and Venice — for that reason, the concept of familiarity surfaces, and a discussion placing the artist in the position of visitor stems.
September
Concentus presented new work from willow sculptor Lizzie Farey. Latin for ‘harmony’ Concentus includes intricate structures that capture a still moment; a distillation and order. Concentus presented new work from the renowned French glass and porcelain artist Antoine Leperlier. Latin for ‘harmony’ Concentus explores the similarities and differences between glass and ceramica moment.
CHAIN REACTION 06 Sep 2017 - 30 Sep 2017 Showcasing new work from 18 contemporary jewellers including: Jane Adam, An Alleweireldt, Malcolm Appleby, Michael Becker, Elizabeth Jane Campbell, Grace Girvan, Lucie Gledhill, Simon Harrison, Dominika Kupcova, Ruth Leslie, Ann Little, Jenny Llewelyn, Christa LĂźhtje, Heather McDermott, Sheila McDonald, Grainne Morton, Kathie Murphy, Joanne Thompson
We were delighted to host Barry McGlashan’s third solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery, The Glass Mountain. The world Barry McGlashan creates in his paintings ranges from the intimate to the monumental, not only in the variety of his subject but in his ability to capture on the largest or smallest canvas an interest with humans, with landscape and with a story.
WORKS ON PAPER James Cowie, William Crosbie
In the last century or so, the modern period, Scotland has accelerated its contribution to British art through hundreds of individual artists, many of them quite resistant to the orthodoxy of art historical taxonomy. Two such are James Cowie and William Crosbie. Cowie had a cussed determination to look back to the early Renaissance and he discouraged his students from indulging in experimentation with the freedoms of modernism.
October October
BRECHT’S JOURNAL Derrick Guild
Guild is a conceptual artist who chooses paint and photography as his primary vehicle, undaunted by the mantra: painting is dead (or only allowed if done ironically), undaunted also by the weight of art history which must be supported by each mark made on canvas in his chosen medium. All art has to be made with conviction and courage but where an artist deploys a realist technique and the choice of what he paints becomes key and his triumphs hard won. There is no iconographical key to unlock meaning, each work has a rich, layered, visual presence which can be taken ‘at face value’; floating just beyond full comprehension.
Ornament featured an installation of Claudia Rankin’s highly coloured sculptures and functional ware; creating a charming, imagined world. Sculptural figures and animals stand alongside slip-cast vessels, press moulded platters and a table laden with candlesticks, caddies and bowls. Uniting these objects is Claudia’s unique cast of expressive animals; none too sweet and conventional but all full of humour.
MASTERS OF THE EDINBURGH SCHOOL Sir Robin Philipson, Sir William Gillies
Sir William Gillies and Sir Robin Philipson emerged in the post war decades as key figures in the Scottish art scene. Both painters who were based at Edinburgh College of Art became associated with a group now known as the Edinburgh School.
In her first solo exhibition with The Scottish Gallery - Tonal Rhythm - Genevieve Howard will show a new collection of paper jewellery.
November
THE DEVON POTTER Clive Bowen
A solo exhibition of new work from ceramicist Clive Bowen. Clive Bowen studied painting and etching at Cardiff Art School before taking up an apprenticeship with Michael Leach at Yelland Pottery in North Devon from 1965 until 1969. In 1971 he bought a small agricultural property at Shebbear, near Holsworthy in North Devon and set up a workshop in the former farm outhouses.
This exhibition featured work inspired by the Forth Estuary. John Houston graduated from and subsequently taught at Edinburgh College of Art and The Scottish Gallery has exhibited his work since the late 1950s. His vibrant, expressive oils and watercolours will be familiar to many. He was honoured with a major retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2005.
ONE DROP PLUS ONE DROP MAKES ONE DROP - A solo exhibition from award winning metalsmith Adi Toch. Adi Toch’s practice as a metalsmith centres on making engaging vessels and containers that investigate colour, movement, sound and tactility.
December Wendy Ramshaw: A Celebration was a solo exhibition from the champion of modern jewellery, including works never seen before in The Gallery and Ramshaw’s signature ringsets. Wendy Ramshaw, CBE, RDI, is an international champion of modern jewellery. Her signature Ringsets are represented in over 70 public collections worldwide. Ramshaw’s work also encompasses designs for textiles, screens, gateways and sculpture.
CHANGE, RIPENESS AND DECAY For this exhibition, the product of two years’ hard work, Cook chose to focus his energies on two specific subjects. The first is the wild and colourful garden surrounding his studio, in these paintings flowers, trees and grasses are captured with deft movements of his knife or brush, the high colour never exaggerated but based on direct observation of his subject.
For December our Modern Masters series of exhibitions continued with this offering and once again we covered 125 years with individual works which speak to the richness of talent in the Scottish school in the modern period. The exhibition coincided with the opening of A New Era: Scottish Modern Art 1900-1950 at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which offered an alternative version of the history of Scottish art from 1900 and includes works by William McCance and William Crosbie, examples of which were featured in our exhibiton.
Kaleidoscope by Bob Crooks was his fourth solo exhibition and was one of our final exhibitions celebrating our 175th anniversary. He created over 25 new pieces for this special anniversary exhibition which contained new directions and exciting developments. Bob Crooks has established a strong reputation for his exceptional blown glasswork with sophisticated use of colour and technique. Each piece is handmade and uses a variety of hot and cold working processes.
‘For twenty years I have continued my passion for the pursuit of perfection within my work. The endless metamorphic qualities of hot glass, combined with traditional British, Italian and Scandinavian techniques and a ‘love affair’ with the material have been synthesised into my work.’
Introducing Stanley, the new Gallery puppy!