The Miniaturist Gallery by The Scottish Gallery

The Miniaturist Gallery

THE

SCOTTISH

GALLERY

CONTEMPORARY ART SINCE 1842

The Miniaturist Gallery december 2023

16 Dundas Street | Edinburgh | EH3 6HZ | scottish-gallery.co.uk

James and Dorothy Morrison's 12:1 Gallery, c.1985

The Miniaturist Gallery

This exhibition is inspired by the late James Morrison’s 12:1 Gallery, commissioned by the artist in the 1980s for his wife as a special anniversary gift. His colleagues and fellow artists at Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee created miniature works of art to be housed inside a miniature model inspired by The Scottish Gallery. The gift turned out to be an accidental record of The Gallery and the artists of the day. So, in true miniaturist spirit, we have created our own 12:1 Gallery and invited a wide range of artists across the disciplines to create a miniature work. We also unveil a tapestry by Dovecot Studios who have interpreted one of Angie Lewin’s miniature prints into a large-scale tapestry. The Miniaturist Gallery is therefore a theatrical play on scale offering a gallery within a gallery and a treasure trove of art.

The Scottish Gallery

Ash & Plumb Stephen Bird Kate Black Philip Braham Colin Brown John Brown Ruth Brownlee David Cass Doug Cocker David Cook Peter Davis Matthew Draper Ndidi Ekubia

Fitch & McAndrew Gillian Forbes Andrea Geile Helen Glassford Lachlan Goudie Derrick Guild Claire Harkess Jake Harvey Kathryn Hinton Akiko Hirai Hitomi Hosono Angie Lewin Frances Macdonald

Ewan McClure Alison McGill Hannah Mooney Pascale Rentsch Ross Ryan Lara Scobie Paul Scott Naoko Shibuya Amanda Simmons Emily Sutton Rie Taniguchi Geoff Uglow Yusuke Yamamoto

Ash & Plumb (b.1988 & b.1987)

e’ve delighted in turning and patinating this miniature vessel, a very slight take on our Southease form. We managed to cut a small blank with a characterful fracture that runs through the rim of the piece, providing the opportunity for some intricate stitchwork repair with a Japanese waxed cotton cord.

1. Miniature Southease Vessel, 2023, English oak from Bayam Abbey in Kent & Japanese waxed cotton cord, H5 x W5 cm

ASH & PLUMB

2 Miniature Cauldron in Leathered Oak, 2023, English oak from Bayam Abbey in Kent, H5 x W5 cm

Stephen Bird (b.1964)

work with both paint and clay to make multidimensional imagery which reflects on the global, transcultural nature of myths and ceramic archetypes.

3 Head Cup I - V, 2008, glazed earthenware with decal transfer, H9.5-11 x W10 x D6-7.5 cm

Kate Black (b.1981)

hese small paintings have been made while exploring scale and playing with narrative. I'm interested in how smaller work draws the viewer physically close, creating an intimacy.

4 Fishing, 2023, mixed media, 10 x 10 cm 6 Pintado, 2023, mixed media, 10 x 10 cm

5 Lord Byron, 2023, mixed media, 10 x 10 cm 7 The Favorite, 2023, mixed media, 10 x 10 cm

Philip Braham (b.1959)

y paintings are contemplative reflections on the effects of light in the landscape, and the two miniature studies are part of a series of new works whose subject is the riverbank on Lady Mary’s Walk on the River Earn in Crieff. Walking and taking photographs is a central part of my practice, and I use the camera as a sketchbook to capture images that captivate me. From these I compose paintings that represent the experience more completely than the source image does. The material properties of oil paint and the many thousands of decisions and adjustments made in manipulating and orchestrating the surface are artistry that goes beyond mere description.

8 Overhanging Bough, 2023, oil on board, 10 x 10 cm

lthough my paintings are realistic, closeup the brush marks are really quite loose, and only at certain distances do they coalesce and take on the appearance of a photograph. So, the experience of looking creates a play between integration and disintegration, and it is in this space that the mind of the inquisitive viewer creates meaning or significance.

PHILIP BRAHAM

9 Sunlit Leaves, 2023, oil on board, 10 x 10 cm

Colin Brown (b.1962)

iven the specific size requirements for the Miniaturist Gallery I was challenged with condensing all the elements of my larger paintings into tiny, jewel-like works. I channelled my thoughts on all the beautiful icon paintings I’ve seen over the years, and the power that can still be fully present on a small scale.

10 Persian Buttercup, 2023, mixed media painting, 10 x 10 cm

11 Iris, 2023, mixed media painting, 10 x 10 cm

COLIN BROWN

12 Tulip, 2023, mixed media painting, 10 x 10 cm

John Brown (b.1945)

have enjoyed taking familiar images down a transitional path from representation toward abstraction.

Photograph: Pietro Cenini

13 Fields, 2023, mixed media, 10 x 10 cm

Ruth Brownlee (b.1972)

y paintings are about Shetland’s ever-changing, dramatic weather conditions, exploring the relationship with land, sea and sky.

14 First of the Autumn Gales, Sumburgh, 2023, mixed media on board, 10 x 10 cm

15 Sky Clearing, Scousburgh, 2023, mixed media on board, 10 x 10 cm

RUTH BROWNLEE

16 Scatness High Seas, 2023, mixed media on board, 10 x 10 cm

David Cass (b.1988)

ising sea levels have been the principal focus of my artwork for some time now, and I’ve used a variety of media to raise awareness. But I always come back to painting, the subject I studied, and the medium I feel most affinity with.

17 September 2023 (i), gouache on wooden box, H5.8 x W5.7 x D3.8 cm

David Cass (b.1988)

DAVID CASS

18 September 2023 (ii), gouache on wooden box, H8.8 x W8.8 x D4 cm

Doug Cocker (b.1945)

ometimes an enforced change of scale or material or context provides new ground to explore. I would have seldom have considered making pieces occupying less volume than that of an apple. However, by maintaining a compositional direction related to recent MUSICA UNIVERSALIS pieces and by making requisite adjustments (softening the colour content, reducing the number of elements etc) I began to discover outcomes which seemed to work on their own terms.

19 Scherzo II, 2023, wood, H12 x W12 x D5 cm

David Cook (b.1957)

hen spring arrives, the garden bursts into life, as I do, a relief from long dark winters.

20 Blossom II, 2023, acrylic on board, 10 x 10 cm

Peter Davis (b.1953)

‘skonzjer’ is a Shetland weather word, particularly found in the island of Unst, which describes a strong breeze or strong wind springing up, with or without rain. In this case it’s a small one, ‘peerie’ being the Shetland word for something small.

21 Peerie Skonzjer, 2023, watercolour on Aquabord, 10 x 10 cm

Matthew Draper (b.1973)

22 Sunrise with Rona and the Torridon Mountains Part 6, 2023, pencil on paper, 10 x 10 cm 23 Sunrise with Rona and the Torridon Mountains Part 8, 2023, pencil on paper, 10 x 10 cm

record fast moving, dramatic and ever evolving light conditions.

24 Sunrise with Rona and the Torridon Mountains Part 5, 2023, pencil on paper, 10 x 10 cm 25 Sunrise with Rona and the Torridon Mountains Part 1, 2023, pencil on paper, 10 x 10 cm

Ndidi Ekubia (b.1973)

y work is made using traditional silversmithing techniques that require the beating of sheet metal over steel and wooden forms. This process allows me to explore the resistance and strength of silver sheet with specialist hammers. The process of creating these rich sensual forms is a rhythmical, mesmerising scene of tools pushing the metal to its limit, emphasising the fluid vitality of each form. Each piece exposes an emotional response to the material, each one a unique blend of order and chaos.

Photograph: Sophie Mutevelian

26 Stream Vessel II, 2023, Britannia silver, hand-hammered, H6.5 x W6 x D6 cm

Fitch & McAndrew (b.1964 & b.1977)

ur life is our work, and our work is our life – we live, and we breathe pottery.

Photograph: Shannon Tofts

27 Slip Trailed Flower Plate, 2023, red clay, liquid slips and glazes, H5 x W5 cm 28 Slip Trailed Tulip Plate, 2023, terracotta, liquid slips and glazes, H5 x W5 cm

Gillian Forbes (b.1967)

ven after 30 years of stone carving I am still fascinated by the inherent qualities of the stones I choose to work with – sandstone, limestone, slate and marble. The marks that my chisels make on the stone and the durability of these pieces have allowed me to create a series of unique studies which treasure nature in all its beauty.

29 Bracken Spiral, 2023, Welsh slate and gold leaf, H10 x W10 x D1.8 cm

Andrea Geile (b.1961)

t has been a technical challenge amalgamating the two metals, the cast iron of the bird and pipe steel for the leaf. They are two equal parts forming a perfect symbiosis of my most distinct subjects. It is the tiniest and most intricate sculpture; and a compressed expression of all I hold dear in my work.

Photograph: Sandra Beckefeldt

30 Dawn, 2023, cast iron and steel, H7 x W5 x D4 cm

Helen Glassford (b.1976)

became fascinated by a large painting by Peter Paul Rubens which hangs in the National Gallery London. A view of Het Steen in the Early Morning, 1635. In this painting he celebrates landscape as a means of expressing 'mood, atmosphere and delight in the natural world'. It is a painting of a crisp clear Autumn morning with long shadows. In the top right corner he has painted a mackerel sky. A little symbolism, perhaps, since according to folklore and weather wisdom mackerel skies are a sign of changeable weather. I wished to pay my respect to Rubens whilst suggesting something so vast and ethereal on a miniature pocket scale.

31 Mackerel Sky, 2023, oil on board, 10 x 10 cm

Lachlan Goudie (b.1976)

he materials of painting have always fascinated me. The pigments, oils and varnishes that fill the drawers and shelves of my studio catch my eye every day and, every so often, I am tempted to paint their portrait.

Photograph: Paul Stewart

32 Damar Varnish, 2023, oil on board, 10 x 10 cm

Derrick Guild (b.1963)

llan Ramsay’s 1766 portrait of David Hume is an ambiguous painting to look at. Ramsay’s exquisite lightness of touch makes Hume both highly present and elusive at the same time. The sensuality of the painting seems perfectly in keeping with Hume’s thoughts on the power of the senses and emotions over reason. I always find myself returning to Hume’s right eye; it is a very sparingly painted and the most liquid of eyes, but somehow it is riveting. It is this eye that makes the painting for me.

33 Eye of David Hume after Allan Ramsay, 2023, oil linen, 6.5 x 5 cm

Claire Harkess (b.1970)

love being taken by surprise (every year) by the season’s change, days getting longer, the ground stirring, air warming. My work is of the moment – alla prima – directly observed and completed in one sitting. There is an intensity to painting this way: to focus without interruption, editing or intervention in almost one continuous movement is like an exhale of breath.

34 Early Magnolia, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm

Jake Harvey (b.1948)

esearch in Geology and the ubiquitous rock of Scotland informs my current sculpture practice. Formed in Earth’s mantle and surface then further shaped over eons by the erosive forces of wind, water, and ice, our topography has evolved. Our landscape is one massive carving.

35 Black Moon, 2023, dolerite, feldspar and quartz, H9.5 x W9.5 x D1 cm

36 Lingam, 2023, granite, H6 x W4 x D4 cm 37 Cubic Suture, 2023, dolerite, feldspar and quartz, H5 x W5 x D5 cm

JAKE HARVEY

38 Iapetus Ovoid, 2023, schistus, H5 x W7 x D5 cm 39 Cubic Flow, 2023, psammite and quartz, H4.5 x W5 x D4.5 cm

Kathryn Hinton (b.1981)

have really enjoyed applying engraving line and pattern to my geometric style of work, using the hand and chisel method, making marks that reflect the light and add more depth to the surface.

40 Small Faceted Jug with Engraved Geometric Design, 2023, sterling silver, H4.9 x W5 x D4.3 cm

or me, a pot is like a human and every pot I make absorbs all the information from its surrounding environment; heat, motions and my emotions are all part of the making process.

Photograph: Philip Sinden

Akiko Hirai (b.1970)

41 Miniature Seed Pods I (group of 3), 2023, stoneware, porcelain slip, wood ash, H3.5-6.5 x Ø3-4.5 cm 42 Miniature Seed Pods II (group of 3), 2023, stoneware, porcelain slip, wood ash, H4.5-7 x Ø4-6 cm

t is my intention to transfer the leaf ’s beauty and detail into my ceramic work, using it as my own language to weave new stories for objects.

Photograph: Sylvain Deleu

Hitomi Hosono (b.1978)

43 A Komorebi, H1.3 x W4.5 x D5 cm; 44 A Sakura Yose II, H2.1 x W3.2 x D3.3 cm; 45 A Sakura Yose, H4.5 x W5 x D4.3 cm; 46 A Magnolia, H2.9 x W5 x D3.2 cm; 47 A Clover Yose, H2.6 x Ø3.5 cm, moulded, carved and hand-built porcelain. Hitomi Hosono is represented by Adrian Sassoon, London.

Angie Lewin (b.1963)

found creating the miniature watercolours enjoyably addictive. Perhaps because the limitation of scale relates to my wood engraving practice. The dahlia paintings are portraits of single blooms picked from my polytunnel. The globe thistle and burnet paintings reflect the naturalistic planting outside.

Photograph: Alun Callender

48 Pink Dahlia, Blue, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm

49 Burnet and Grasses, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm 50 Burnt Orange Dahlia, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm

ANGIE LEWIN

51 Globe Thistle and Burnet, 2023, watercolour, 11 x 11 cm 52 Red Dahlia, Pink, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm

’ve enjoyed visiting the Dovecot

Studios for many years and it’s been a long-held ambition to, perhaps one day, collaborate on a tapestry. I love craft and process, which is why I’m a printmaker as well as a painter. I have always enjoyed the challenge of interpreting my imagery in different media and so it has been an exhilarating opportunity to observe the transformation of my 5.5 x 7.5 cm wood engraving, Teabowl and Bracken, into a 75 x 111 cm tapestry.

The remarkable similarities, and also contrasts, between the processes of weaving and printing have emerged in conversations with the Dovecot team. Watching the skilled weavers twisting the tapestry yarns to create blends which colour match the inks printed onto Japanese paper is compelling to see. The resulting woven surface is rich and textural yet still retains, even enhances, the graphic quality of the original wood engraving.

53 Teabowl and Bracken, wood engraving, 5.5 x 7.5 cm

ANGIE LEWIN

54 Angie Lewin and Dovecot Studios, Teabowl and Bracken, 2023 handwoven wool and cotton tapestry, 75 x 111 cm woven by Naomi Robertson, Louise Trotter and Ben Hymers

Frances Macdonald

y painting is suffused with the colour of summer… a storm may be on the horizon and the sense of change in the weather is ever-present.

55 Strait of the Storm, 2023, oil on wood, 10 x 10 cm

Ewan McClure (b.1975)

ven on my most experimental forays into optical distortion, the actual imagemaking remains observational painting, and single-point perspective realism at that. My experimentations arise from simply wanting to see something done, and to indulge a pleasure in practical problem-solving that needn’t equate to artistic sophistication.

56 Ian Hamilton Finlay, 2023, oil on card, 10 x 10 cm

Alison McGill (b.1974)

alking along a beach and observing the constantly evolving interplay of weather conditions and the time of day and their effects on the sky, sea and shoreline has always been a favourite pastime. Nature offers endless inspiration and with my pastel drawings and paintings, I attempt to capture these moments and the sense of calm I feel during these visits to the sea.

57 Silent Shore, 2023, pastel on paper, 10 x 10 cm

Hannah Mooney (b.1995)

ounty Mayo is an area of particular importance to me - drawing me back to Ireland time and time again. It has a character, mood and mystery that will always intrigue me, and I revisit it like an old friend, acquiring new knowledge and insight with every meeting.

58 Study of Mayo, 2023, oil on board, 10 x 10 cm

Pascale Rentsch (b.1975)

am always moved when painting in nature because wherever I look I feel hope – the skylarks singing high in the sky despite the stormy weather and the light sparkling like gold dust on the shoreline. I carry my art materials in my trusty trolley, weathered by big hills, rocks, sand and even snow. It keeps all my materials together in one place and saves my back from a heavy rucksack.

Photograph: Sarah Mason

59 Coastal Memory II, 2023, mixed media on heavy weight watercolour paper, 10 x 10 cm

60 Coastal Memory I, 2023, mixed media on heavy weight watercolour paper, 10 x 10 cm

PASCALE RENTSCH

61 To Go with the Flow, Islay I, 2023, mixed media on canvas board, 10 x 10 cm 62 To Go with the Flow, Islay II, 2023, mixed media on canvas board, 10 x 10 cm

Ross Ryan (b.1974)

Ross Ryan's Sgarbh at Stac Lee, St Kilda

63 Sgarbh at Crinan Lighthouse, 2023, oil and pastel on board, 10 x 10 cm

Ross Ryan (b.1974)

uilt in 1947 on the River Clyde near Glasgow by Adams of Gourock as a herring boat, Sgarbh retired from fishing in 1953 and was beautifully refitted for cruising. Built of teak, fully varnished and completely original, she is the last of her type. Weighing over 20 tons and at 40 foot long she is solid and safe, and my trusty companion exploring the coastline of Scotland.

ROSS RYAN

64 Tobermory Nights, 2023, oil and pastel on board, 10 x 10 cm

Lara Scobie (b.1967)

have enjoyed the freedom of working with composition on a flat surface, free from the challenges of working on form. Inlay drawing and sgraffito have become synonymous with my work and it has been exciting to explore these techniques on a small scale.

65 Miniature I, II & III, 2023, fine parian porcelain, H8.5 x W8.5 cm

Paul Scott (b.1953)

am fascinated by the way images move between medias, histories and geographies. Transferwares (printed ceramics) always involve some degree of miniaturisation as landscapes are configured to fit domestic tablewares. These Fences and Cuttings incorporate 'edited' details taken from more complex patterns, collaged and reconfigured to create new miniature landscapes...

66 Cumbrian Blue(s), Cutting Series No: 53, Willow, 2023, collage (cut detail from antique transferwares, on hand made porcelain tile from Jingdezhen), H5.5 x W12 x D3.5 cm

67 Cumbrian Blue(s), Fence Series small plates, 2022, transferware collages on bone china plates, D10.3 cm

Naoko Shibuya (b.1975)

draw ideas from the forms of trees, plants, flowers and small birds to express the strength and robustness of nature. Plants and flowers show dramatic changes in such a short time. Each figure in each moment represents the turn of time. I am trying to capture something of nature's essence.

68 Hint of Spring I, 2023, oil on canvas, 7 x 10 cm

he circles and spirals in my work represent symbols of reincarnation, which can often be found in Zen and Celtic philosophy. I have been trying to express the repeating and everlasting flow of life through these forms. Getting ideas from these symbols and combining them with my drawing is the essence of my personal artistic rhythm.

NAOKO SHIBUYA

69 Hint of Spring II, 2023, oil on canvas, 7 x 10 cm

Amanda Simmons (b.1970)

have always worked at varying scales from large deep vessels to small hand held pieces but these miniatures are the smallest works I've ever made. I have investigated forms that are difficult at larger scales but still playing with opaque glass that becomes more translucent as the piece grows.

70 Miniature Round Vessel, Light Pink, 2023, kilnformed glass, sandblasted, H3 x Ø5 cm

Emily Sutton (b.1983)

atching spry songbirds dart around the berry-laden autumn hedgerows always lifts my spirits in gloomy times - I love their hopeful cheekiness.

71 September Finch, 2023, ink and watercolour on paper, 10 x 10 cm

Rie Taniguchi (b.1963)

look at endangered, misunderstood and underappreciated species, discovering that real life forms are more fantastic than fantastical.

72 Small Matters (springtail, fungi, slime mould on leaf litter enlarged), 2023, copper, enamel, silver, gold plating, tagua nuts, pearls and glue, H5 x W5 x D4 cm

Geoff Uglow (b.1978)

he tree is a living object bearing the wounds of its own history, like a person shaped by the environment lived in.

73 Quercus 21, 2023, oil, resin and pigment on board, 10 x 10 cm

74 Love Letter 05, 2023, oil, resin and pigment on board, 10 x 10 cm

y work is a translation of my everyday observations. Everything that I experience has potential, from the smells in a green dense forest, to the noise and colour during a trip to the country or city, to the patterns of a mathematical equation on a blackboard. All of these observations stimulate my curiosity and creative obsession which leads to a story in silver.

Photograph: Stephen Heaton

Yusuke Yamamoto (b.1979)

75 Nut Box, 2023, hammer-raised, chased Britannia silver 958, H.5 x W3.5 x D3.5 cm

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition The Miniaturist Gallery 30 November - 23 December 2023 Exhibition can be viewed online at: scottish-gallery.co.uk/the-miniaturist-gallery ISBN: 978-1-912900-77-0 Produced and designed by The Scottish Gallery Printed by PurePrint Group front cover: Hitomi Hosono, A Sakura Yose, 2023, moulded, carved and hand-built porcelain, H4.5 x W5 x D4.3 cm (cat.45) inside front cover: Derrick Guild, Eye of David Hume after Allan Ramsay, 2023, oil linen, 6.5 x 5 cm (cat.33) inside back cover: Andrea Geile, A Wild Land, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm (cat.76) The Scottish Gallery would like to thank the artists for taking the time to make an exquisite work of art for our continued Miniaturist series. All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.

16 Dundas Street | Edinburgh | EH3 6HZ 0131 558 1200 | scottish-gallery.co.uk

76 Andrea Geile, A Wild Land, 2023, watercolour, 10 x 10 cm

THE

SCOTTISH

GALLERY

CONTEMPORARY ART SINCE 1842