Gordon Wilson ‘Catharsis’
‘The Mudlarker’ Oil, Image 102x102cm, Framed 133x133cm
We would like to invite you, your friends and family to the opening of:
Gordon Wilson ‘Catharsis’
A Solo Exhibition of new paintings by one of Scotland’s most current, exciting and popular contemporary artists.
Opening Saturday 7th September 10am to 5pm
Following on from our hugely successful 2022 Solo Exhibition ‘Objective Perspective’ we’re delighted to welcome Gordon Wilson back to the Annan Gallery with his new and only Solo Exhibition of 2024 ‘Catharsis.’
Featuring a selection of 36 new and original paintings, we delve into the wonderful, emotive, quirky, nuanced and colourful world of Gordon Wilson. This is an exhibition well worth seeing in person so you are able to immerse yourself in a gallery full of paintings from such a highly regarded and collected artist.
With demand for Gordon’s work ever-increasing, he is fast being recognised as an eminent painter in the Scottish Contemporary art scene - an accolade well deserved with over 30 years of honing his craft to his name, so we’re delighted to be hosting this exhibition and looking forward to a popular and busy show.
Meet the Artist
Gordon will be joining us for the opening on Saturday 7th so please come along to meet Gordon, have some food and drink, enjoy the art and listen to Gordon’s stories and inspirations and all about the huge amount of work he has put into his latest collection of paintings.
Sales enquiries welcome on receipt of this catalogue. Please use details below. Exhibition from Saturday 7th to Sunday 29th September 2024
Front Cover: ‘Skye Poppy Plethora’ Oil, Image 122x122cm, Framed 150x150cm
Website www.annanart.com Email gallery@annanart.com
‘Loch Rannoch Afternoon’ Oil, Image 51x51cm, Framed 81x81cm
‘The Heavy Crew’ Oil, Image 51x51cm, Framed 85cmx85cm
‘Bee Squared’ Oil, Image 30x30cm
‘The Flower Seller’ Oil, Image 15.5x11cm
‘Coastal Lookouts’ Oil, Image 102x102cm
‘Helianthus Radiation’ Oil, Image 30x30cm, Framed 62x62cm
‘Wild Pansy Patch, Arran’ Oil, Image 30x30cm, Framed 53x53cm
‘Floral Cacophony And Ailsa Calm’ Oil, Image 102x102cm
Catharsis - noun
1. the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions:
When we view a Gordon Wilson painting, we’re quite literally transported to another world. A simple, more innocent place evoking childhood memories of all that’s good about Scotland. A ‘trip doon the water’; wee fishermen’s cottages with their smoking lums; biddies in headscarves clutching bags - life’s harsh journey carved deep into their faces who, whilst seemingly just bringing home the ‘messages’, find themselves aboard a Clyde puffer, at midnight, with a seagull or a fish atop their head.
You know intuitively what’s inside the shopping bags - a plain loaf, a pound of mince, a forpit of tatties and perhaps a pack of Embassy Regal.. You smile instinctively...
But Gordon’s paintings are also as clever, layered with emotion and nuanced as they are colourful and bold. There’s pathos there - biddies being a manifestation of a Scottish granny Gordon never knew, or a mother or sister, lost yet venerated forever on canvas...
Icons are integral to Gordon’s work and providing a sense of place - the Bass Rock or Ailsa Craig being obvious examples but the Belted Galloway or Saddleback are also like no other and there to make us stop and think about what we have that is unique and special to us. A single croft set amongst the wild flowers or an old biddy standing proudly on a boat is equally impactful and iconic.
Gordon uses his considerable painting talent to seek freedom from the rigors of day to day life. His studio is his sanctuary – a place where the wider worries of the world are forgotten and all are consigned to outside of the studio door. A place where his own inner world and imagination is able to roam free.
Which is perhaps why Gordon paints of a lost time or place that existed for all of us, not so long ago, then frames it up and offers for us to keep – forever.
Pure catharsis…
Annan Gallery, August 2024
‘Glen Garry At Ease’ Oil, Image 10x15.5cm, Framed 58x68cm
‘‘Lanark But ‘n’ Ben’ Oil, Image 15.5x10cm
‘Queen Bee’ Oil, Image 30x30cm
‘Amazing Grace’ Oil, Image 92x122cm, Framed 121x152cm
‘Mauve Glow, Ailsa Craig’ Oil, Image 50x50cm, Framed 80x80cm
‘Moonbathing Belties, Killearn’ Oil, Image 102x102cm, Framed 132x132cm
‘Wee Mags’ Oil, Image 25x7cm, Framed 67x44cm
‘As Happy As Larry’ Oil, Image 49x10cm, Framed 90x45.5cm
‘Pretty In Pink’ Oil, Image 25x7cm, Framed 67x44cm
‘Old Vic’ Oil, Image 51x40cm, Framed 85x74cm
‘Blane Poppy Field’ Oil, Image 51x51cm, Framed 81x81cm
‘Night Time Narcissus, Arran’ Oil, Image 51x51cm, Framed 84x84cm
‘The Unbreakable Union’ Oil, Image 40x50.5cm, Framed 85x74cm
‘West Coast But ‘n’ Ben’ Oil, Image 30x30cm, Framed 53x53cm
‘Waning Crescent And Smokey Lums, Argyll’ Oil, Image 30x30cm
‘Little Miss Independent’ Oil, Image 31x122cm
‘Grandad’s Great Coat Boat And Hat’ Oil, Image 61x51cm, Framed 95x84cm
‘The Winter Saints’ Image 120x100cm Framed 154x123cm
‘Coastal Lookouts’ Oil, Image 102x102cm
‘Blanefield Somnolence’ Oil, Image 51x51cm, Framed 84x84cm
‘The Birds In The Bath’ Oil, Image 61x51cm, Framed 94x84cm
‘Soul Sister’ Image 51x61cm, Framed 84x95cm
‘Cobalt Hill, Kirkcudbright’ Oil, Image 15.5x10cm
‘Summer Lum Lit, Arran’ Oil, Image 15.5x10cm
‘Wild Skye Poppy Line’ Oil, Image 102x102cm
Gordon Wilson b.1968
“I arrive at the studio around 7.30am each day and my routine is always the same - the kettle goes on, my Spotify playlist is selected and off I go! I have a number of paintings on the go at one time, my mind is bursting with ideas for new work. My studio is always brimming with canvases….. Sitting at my easel, time evaporates, reality and subconscious merge happily. It’s a lonely but blessed life.” Annan Gallery
Gordon Wilson grew up in Glasgow where he’s still based today. A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, he began his career as a designer and framer before becoming a full time professional artist.
Although Gordon describes his studio as “organised chaos,” he has always been a highly disciplined painter:
Opening Hours Tues to Fri: 10am - 5pm Saturday: 10am -5:30pm Sunday: 12 - 4pm Monday: Closed
