BARRY M c GLASHAN
02 AUGUST — 15 SEPTEMBER 2024
BARRY M c GLASHAN
WE DREAM OF THE PACIFIC
MAYA FRODEMAN GALLERY
WE DREAM OF THE PACIFIC
We Dream of the Pacific brings together luminous oil paintings by the acclaimed painter Barry McGlashan. Painting from a deep well of cultural references both literary and visual, McGlashan as a Scotsman hits at the very nerve of what it is to experience the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains in this exhibition. “These shared cultural origins often manifest themselves in my work as images of solitary travelers, wandering on the edge of some new-found knowledge or frontier. A certain time and place seems to suit this thematic lure - so I find my world populated with prospectors, drifters, and the lost but hopeful: all dreaming of their Pacific,” McGlashan notes in his artist statement.
References to the rich history and timeless appeal of the American West abound in subject matter, transporting the viewer a dreamy, visceral landscape. Whitman’s “All the pulses of the world’’ are present; mountains rise up, waterfalls flow countless vertical feet, nearly cowing their human counterparts where they feature. Human individuality rises to the task in the striped dress of the undeniable heroine of Tuolumne, the unmistakably chic sweater of Nostalgia, and the patched sweater hung to dry in The Elders. The work is undeniably peppered with a feeling of nostalgia, even when impossible to find a chronological timestamp. From a literal image of prospectors ( The Elders) staring back from the canvas as though captured in a large-format, turn-of-the-nineteenth-century camera lens, to the Instagram-worthy capture of the woman and her dog at the beach (Nostalgia), or the cowboy, an Everyman, galloping through any moment in time, as captured in Chalk Pass, it is occasionally difficult to place the work in a specific century.
According to McGlashan, “Painting is a learnt languagesomething shared throughout history that allows you to talk to the past and the future at the same time. It is far more than the sum of its parts. So in terms of making, the paintings coalesce through a well-practiced form of exploration and finding,
perhaps why I find prospecting to be such an eternal subjectwe’re all just trying to find something of value in all that dirt.” McGlashan paints in a style all his own, in richly layered veils of pigment, the paint quality akin to a dreamy, neo-impressionist handling of washes. But it is the landscape itself, the dreamy awe he is able to convey so deftly, that holds powerful potency in these works. McGlashan continues, “The landscape becomes very important to me - not only as the setting for these events but also in the hope of evoking an innate sense of familiarity with the viewer.”
Barry McGlashan was born in 1974 in Aberdeen on the NorthEast Coast of Scotland, where he lives and works. McGlashan studied painting at Gray’s School of Art, graduating in 1996. He taught in the painting department at Gray’s between 1998 and 2005. In 2001, McGlashan was awarded The Alastair Salvesen Scholarship through the Royal Scottish Academy. Through this pivotal scholarship, McGlashan was able to fund 3 months of travel through the United States. This trip became the starting point for several exhibitions based on this and subsequent journeys taking him through the Mid-West, the Southern States and West Coast. In recent years McGlashan’s fascination with exploration and discovery has led him on a journey through historical travelers, writers and at one point, famous artists in their studios. Examples of his work are held in numerous private and public collections including Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland; The Scottish Society, New York, USA; and the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland.
70 1/2 x 60 inches
TUOLUMNE , 2024
Oil on canvas
THE ELDERS , 2024
62 1/4 x 54 inches
Oil on canvas
DISTANT FIREWORKS , 2024
51 1/8 x 39 3/8 inches
Oil on canvas
WE CUT DOWN THE PINES
TO MAKE A NEW FLOOR , 2024
39 3/8 x 48 inches
Oil on canvas
BENEATH THE PINES , 2024
19 3/4 x 16 inches
Oil on canvas
16 1/8 x 12 1/4 inches
THE GOLDEN STAIR , 2024
Oil on canvas
Oil on canvas
16 1/8 x 12 1/4 inches
APPALOOSA , 2024
NOSTALGIA , 2024
16 1/8 x 12 1/4 inches
Oil on canvas
16 1/8 x 12 1/4 inches
GOLD CREEK , 2024
Oil on canvas
HOG OF THE FORSAKEN , 2023
Oil on paper over panel
12 1/4 x 8 1/8 inches
DRIFTERS , 2024
Oil on paper over panel
12 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches
, 2024
Oil on paper over panel 12 1/4 x 8 1/8 inches
MANKATO
CREEPING MURMER , 2023
Oil on paper laid on panel 12 x 8 inches
THE FALLS , 2024
Oil and pencil on paper over panel
12 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches
THE SHORE , 2024
Oil on paper over panel 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches
PALE NIGHT , 2024
Oil and pencil on paper over panel
8 1/8 x 12 1/4 inches
RED NIGHT , 2023
Oil and pencil on paper over panel
8 1/8 x 11 5/8 inches
HIGH PLAINS , 2023
Oil, paper and varnish on panel
8 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
CHALK PASS , 2024
Oil, paper and varnish on panel
8 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
THE WICKED FLEE , 2021
Oil, paper and varnish on panel
8 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
HOBO’S LULLABY , 2021
Oil, paper and varnish on panel
8 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
BARRY MCGLASHAN
Scottish artist, born in 1974 in Aberdeen, UK
EDUCATION
1992-1996 BA Hons (First Class), Grays School of Art, Aberdeen
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 We Dream of the Pacific (Maya Frodeman Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY, USA)
The Distant Ideal (Frestonian Gallery, London, UK)
2023 Up You Go, Little Smoke (Annarumma Gallery, Naples, IT)
2022 Living Memory (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
Night Music (Tatha Gallery, Newport on Tay, UK)
2021 Between The Dream And Waking (The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
2020 Natura Naturata (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2018 Line Of Beauty (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2017 The Glass Mountain (The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
2016 Mudlarks and Connoisseurs (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2014 The Burning Heart (John Martin Mayfair, London, UK)
The Sunken Dream (The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
2013 That Howling Infinite (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2012 We Are Stardust (Smart Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
Quiet Please (Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
2011 The Secrets (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2010 The Whiteness Of The Whale (Foyer Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
2009 Somewhere In The North (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK) Wonderland (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2007 New Ways To See The World (The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK) Way Out West (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2006 The Big Country (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
2005 The Great Adventure (John Martin Gallery, London, UK)
2004 Between Journeys (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
There And Back Again (Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow, UK)
2003 Recent Works (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
2002 Small Town Continuation (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
2001 The Alastair Salvesen Art Scholarship
Small Town (Royal Scottish Academy, The Fettes Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
2000 New Lands (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
1999 Work on Paper (The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
Recent Work (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
1998 New Works (The Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Soulscapes - curated by Uwe Henneken (Meyer Riegger, Berlin, DE)
Hinterland - curated by Jane Neal (Cromwell Place, London, UK)
2022 The Power to Dream - curated by James Bolton (Galerie Hussenot, Paris)
Moon Child (Bark Berlin Gallery, Berlin, DE)
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, invited artist (Royal Academy, London)
2021 Here Come The Suns - curated by Uwe Henneken (Bark Berlin Gallery, Berlin, DE)
PPP On Paper - curated by Danny Lamb (Painters Painting Paintings in coalition with Gallery Climate Coalition, online)
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2021 (Royal Academy, London)
Postcards - curated by Brit Pruiksma & Magnus Karlsson (Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Sweden)
The John Moores Painting Prize 2020 (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK)
2018 Rubenshuis (Antwerp, BE), 4 month loan to the studio of Rubens
2016 Figurative Art Today / Columbia Threadneedle Prize (Mall Galleries, London, UK)
2015 Spring Masters Park Avenue Armory (New York, NY, USA)
2012 Art Toronto (Toronto, CA)
2011 Edward Cutler Gallery (Milan, IT)
2009 The Threadneedle Prize (Mall Galleries, London, UK)
2008 BP Portrait Award (National Portrait Gallery, London, UK)
1996 - 2014 Chelsea Gallery (Palo Alto, CA, USA)
The Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition (Edinburgh, UK)
John Martin Gallery (London, UK)
John Martin Chelsea (London, UK)
Affordable Art Fair (New York, NY, USA)
20/21 British Art Fair (London, UK)
New Acquisitions, Aberdeen Art Gallery (Aberdeen, UK)
20 Years Of The Alastair Salvesen Scholarship (Dovecot Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
The Alastair Salvesen Scholarship (Reunion Show, Royal Scottish Academy, UK)
The Festival Show (The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
The Coaster Project (Transcultural Exchange, 98 global venues)
The Morrison Portrait Exhibition (The Royal Scottish Academy, UK)
The Islington Art Fair (London, UK)
Frame of Mind (The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
New Blood (The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
Recent Works (A.R.I. Art Gallery, Aberdeen, UK)
The Scottish Gallery (Edinburgh, UK)
On a Small Scale (The Open Eye Galley, Edinburgh, UK)
Artists Alphabet (The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
Compass Gallery Christmas show (Glasgow, UK)
Roger Billcliffe Gallery (Glasgow, UK)
Christmas Show (Peacock Printmakers, Aberdeen, UK)
Northern Exposure (The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK)
Silver (Peacock Printmakers, Aberdeen, UK)
The Royal Glasgow Institute (McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, UK)
Contemporary Scottish Art (Napier Gallery, St. Helier, Channel Islands)
New Generation (Compass Gallery, Glasgow, UK)
Viewmount Graduates Show (Stonehaven, UK)
1995 - 2011 Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition (Aberdeen Art Gallery)
AWARDS
2019 The Tatha Gallery Award (Society of Scottish Artists/Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy)
2018 The Scottish Gallery Award (Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy)
2018 The W Gordon Smith & Jay Gordonsmith Award (Royal Scottish Academy)
2015 The Open Eye Gallery Award (Visual Arts Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy)
2011 The Cuthbert Award (Royal Glasgow Institute) Commendation (Aberdeen Artists Society)
2009 First Prize, The Meffan Winter Exhibition (Meffan Museum, Forfar)
2006 The Meyer Oppenheim Award (Royal Scottish Academy)
2005 The James McBey Travel Award
Aberdeen Visual Arts Awards Scheme Grant Commendation (Aberdeen Artists Society)
2003 The Shell Expro Award (Aberdeen Artists Society)
2001 The Alastair Salvesen Travelling Scholarship - three months study in the USA (Royal Scottish Academy)
The Shell Premier Award (Aberdeen Artists Society)
2000 The Shell Expro Award (Aberdeen Artists Society)
1998 The Guthrie Award (Royal Scottish Academy)
1996 The MacAllan Award (Royal Scottish Academy)
The John Kinross Scholarship - three months study in Florence (The Royal Scottish Academy)
1995 The Steele-Cornwall Scholarship (Grays School of Art)
Grays Former Pupil Award (Grays Former Pupil Society)
1994 The Hector Memorial Prize (Grays School of Art)
The Wood Group Purchase Prize (Grampian Hospitals Art Trust)
COLLECTIONS
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Asset Management (UK & New York)
Aberdeen City Council
Alastair Salvesen Trust
BP
Grampian Hospitals Art Trust
MacAllan Distilleries (Scotland)
Paintings In Hospitals (Edinburgh)
Professional Footballers Association
Rubenshuis Museum (Antwerp, loan)
The Fleming Collection (London)
The Robert Gordon University (Aberdeen)
The Royal Bank Of Scotland (Edinburgh)
The Royal Scottish Academy (Edinburgh)
The Scottish Society (New York)
W Gordon Smith & Jay Gordonsmith Trust
Walter Scott Global Investment Management
JUDGING PANELS
2017 – 2019 Regional Selector, FBA Futures (Mall Galleries, London, UK)
2014 – 2019 Art & Heritage University Collection Prizes, Grays School Of Art (Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK)
2010 The Alastair Salvesen Scholarship (The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK)
EMPLOYMENT
1998 – 2005 Grays School of Art (Part Time Lecturer, Drawing & Painting)
June 1998 Summer School, General Painting (Grays School of Art)
