A selection of the art on show at some city centre galleries
& Gallery
3 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6QG
Open Tuesday to Friday 10am – 5pm, Saturday 10am – 4pm, Sunday (closed)
Mary Morrison
Undertow
Saturday 2 – Wednesday 27 November 2019
I grew up in the Western Isles, and am drawn to exploring the space and light which is particular to these islands. I am largely led by the pursuit of ‘memory places’ and aim to evoke a sense of place through fluid paint effects which combine with graphic elements of annotation – the visual language of mapping, measuring and music.
Grids, staves, elements of maps and tide tables recur in my work.
Where works have titles referring to specific locations, the intention is to draw on personal connections to these places in order to explore wider themes.
My intention is not to render the topography of a landscape but to explore in a more abstracted way the relationship between the individual and the landscape that has shaped them, something you carry with you – a ‘geography of the mind’.
My work suggests liminal spaces, edges, tidal lines – always shifting.
I am continually inspired by relationships between the written word – poetry in particular – and image, and some paintings have titles responding to works by Kenneth White, and the Sufi poet, Rumi for example.
| The Fine Art Society 6 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6HZ Open Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 11am – 2pm, Sunday (closed) |
| Timorous Beasties Friday 15 November – Monday 23 December 2019 |
| Fiona Dean The Arrangement of Skin Friday 15 November – Monday 23 December 2019 |
| 1650 – 1950 Scottish Painting Friday 15 November – Monday 23 December 2019 |
| The Open Eye Gallery 34 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6QE Open Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 4pm, Sunday (closed) |
Neil Macdonald PAI RGI RSW
Of Time and Place
Exhibition Friday 1 – Monday 25 November 2019
Neil Macdonald is drawn to locations abundant with historic and mythic presence and is particularly engaged with Scottish history and the evidence of its previous peoples.
Macdonald’s works explore the lyrical narrative of natural sites and strong bold shapes offered by castles, churches, old townships and harbours.
Through the distortion of perspective, invention and editing, Macdonald reimagines the subjects he paints, aiming to capture an essence of the structure or place in its previous glory.
In some pieces topographic accuracy is replaced by an imaginative response to the subject, the atmosphere and mood of a place enforced by
Macdonald’s dramatic use of light, revealing the subject’s unique sense and poetry of place.
‘Of Time and Place’ continues this theme, concentrating on Macdonald’s enjoyment of the landscape and human interaction with the land in the Northern Isles, Orkney in particular.
Preview Neil Macdonald exhibition online here
Andrew Squire
Showcase
Exhibition : Friday 1 – Saturday 23 November 2019
Andrew Squire presents a selection of bold and colourful paintings in his first showcase with the Open Eye Gallery.
Squire’s naive and beautifully composed paintings draw inspiration from his surroundings on the edge of the elemental and diverse Northwest Highlands.
Squire plays with familiar icons of birds, beasts and human myth blended with more ambiguous, abstracted pieces drawn from the textures and forms of the Highland landscape, creating thoughtful and contemplative paintings which hint at not only his own environmental concerns but the subconscious which lies beyond.
Preview Andrew Squire Showcase online here
Disa Allsopp
New Jewellery
Exhibition on View: Friday 1 – Saturday 23 November 2019
Handmade jewellery in gold and silver using vibrant, colourful semi-precious gemstones.
Disa was born in London and grew up in Barbados, which especially influenced her jewellery designs, visible in her use of colourful gemstones.
Amongst others Disa incorporates lemon quartz, citrines, garnets and aquamarines with precious metal which has been reticulated, hammered and forged to create an ancient feel to her work and enhances the surface of each piece.
Jacqueline Leighton Boyce
New Works
Exhibition on View: Friday 1 – Monday 25 November 2019
Jacqueline Leighton Boyce presents a showcase of narrative hand-built ceramics inspired by the organic landscapes of Exmoor.
Through drawing inspiration from immediate landscape rather than research, Jacqueline’s work is uncomplicated and intended to simply portray love for this particular environment.
The work is fairly personal and solitary, displaying a simple and sometimes romantic narrative taken from regularly walking in and around Exmoor.
| The Scottish Gallery 16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ Open Monday to Friday 10.00am – 6.00pm, Saturday 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sunday (closed) |
A Journey Through Four Decades
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Wednesday 30 October – Tuesday 26 November 2019
The Scottish Gallery enjoyed a lifelong association with Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
(1912–2004).
She was a dedicated artist, an innovator in times of change (and chaos); a woman artist finally triumphant in a predominantly masculine world; an artist happy to be a Scotswoman but whose work transcends boundaries.
We are delighted to offer this latest selection of her work from four decades and give thanks to Kate Downie, Dr. Isobel MacDonald and Geoffrey Bertram for their contributions to the accompanying catalogue.
Click here to purchase a copy of the publication that accompanies the exhibition.
Mythos
Paul Reid
Wednesday 30 October – Tuesday 26 November 2019
The Gallery welcomes back the masterful Paul Reid for his seventh solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery. Mythos continues to explore mythological subjects including characters from both Classical and Celtic traditions.
The heightened reality resulting from the artist’s meticulous approach requires careful consideration as each painting or drawing is open to individual interpretation.
Paul Reid is an artist who uses his skill to create a world which is both beautiful and uncompromising in its vision.
Click here to read more about the work in Paul’s exhibition.
Feeling Fabric
Eleanor Bolton, Yoko Izawa, Beth Pegler
Wednesday 30 October – Tuesday 26 November 2019
Feeling Fabric presents a diverse selection of textile jewellery from Eleanor Bolton, Yoko Izawa and Beth Pegler.
Each designer uses textiles in a variety of ways to create stunning, wearable jewellery pieces.
A Fine Line
Katharine Coleman
Wednesday 30 October – Tuesday 26 November 2019
Katharine Coleman presents her solo exhibition A Fine Line, featuring eleven new works inspired by the many locations Katharine has visited to teach glass engraving over the past decade; from Upstate New York to Beijing and back home again.
Each example is a personal memory of the place and her own art journey, which has since the 1980s been dedicated to glass engraving.
Also included in the exhibition are three works from the late 2000s from the Larry Brown Collection.
Now considered one of the UK’s outstanding craftsman, Katharine was awarded an MBE for services to glass engraving in 2009.
She was elected an Honorary Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London and a Freeman of the City of London in June 2015.
Click here to purchase a copy of the publication that accompanies the exhibition.
Meet the Artist | Wednesday 30 October 2019, 11.00am – 12noon
The Miniaturists III
Wednesday 30 October 2019 – Monday 23 December 2019
This November and December the gallery presents their third instalment of The Miniaturists.
For this collection, they were inspired by the miniatures of Hilliaird & Oliver, which were exhibited in Elizabethan Treasures at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery earlier this year.
As our first two editions were limited to three dimensional objects, we wanted to continue the theme but broaden the challenge to fine artists and include tapestry for the first time.
The Miniaturists III presents artworks that are 7.5 cm square, two dimensional in format, with anomalies here and there.
We are overwhelmed by our artists’ response; some have spent more time creating a miniature than a full size work or rather have regarded the miniature in exactly the same terms as a large scale work. We are, as ever, indebted to all the artists who responded to the brief with such enthusiasm and detail; for many, making a miniature has given birth to new ideas and directions.
November Staff Picks
Wednesday 30 October – Tuesday 26 November 2019
The Scottish Gallery staff would like to share with you, on a monthly basis, some of our favourite things that we come across that are here in The Gallery but are not always on
display.
Click here to read more about their choices.
| The Torrance Gallery 36 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6JN Open Monday to Friday: 11am – 6pm, Saturday: 10.30am – 4.00pm, Sunday: 11.00am – 4.00pm |
Stuart Herd & Nichola Martin
Opening: Saturday 2 November
Closing: Saturday 16 November
Torrance regular, Stuart Herd, returns in his usual slot in November, exhibiting a stunning array of landscapes, seascapes, and Highland Cows! This year, he is joined by Scottish artist, Nichola Martin, who creates the most amazing charcoal and graphite drawings, playing dramatically
with light and shade to great visual effect.
Christmas Exhibition 2019
Opening: Saturday 23 November 2019
Closing: Saturday 10 January 2020
The gallery’s usual blockbuster Christmas show!
Including special Featured Artists, Helen Tabor, Lisette Degioanni and Liz Cameron.
In Scotland I attended Dunfermline High School from 2010 to 2016 and Edinburgh Napier University from 2016 to 2020, emerging with two Advanced Higher and five Higher qualifications from the former and graduating with an undergraduate bachelor of arts honours degree in journalism from the latter. After two years away from further education due to the coronavirus pandemic, I'm going to be studying the MFA Photography course at York St John University in England from 2022 to 2024. I've achieved The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Bronze) Award and received grade five level certification for electronic keyboard from Trinity College London. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, watching television series, listening to music and going to the cinema as well as catching up with friends, travelling by railway and hostelling overnight and overindulging in food and drinks in a pub or restaurant then having to go to the gym to burn it all off again.
By studying journalism and photography, my aim of practicing photojournalism professionally will hopefully be once step closer. Both are partial artforms requiring the rest of the work to be undertaken by the audience, the specialism of photojournalism, however, providing each of its two parts with greater context. Exploring photographic techniques (aerial, timelapse, editing) through a variety of journalistic styles (features, poetry, songwriting) will allow me to develop my portfolio, hone my camera skillset and narrow my focus further in anticipation of working life. Without a global pandemic to deal with this time. Fingers crossed.
