At Dovecot – Jock McFadyen: Lost Boat Party

Artist Jock McFadyen is in his 70th year and the big birthday is being celebrated with an exhibition of his recent paintings, in a collection of over 20 works.

The show at Dovecot Studios in partnership with The Scottish Gallery, is also part of the Edinburgh Art Festival 2021 programme.

These paintings show the romance and grandeur of Scotland, as well as the urban dystopia for which McFadyen is known.

The artist was taught by a generation of abstract painters, so it is little surprise that paintings such as Mallaig and Estuary Music are almost minimalist. All of them have no human presence, except one which has a half-inch tall tiny figure.

Christina Jansen, director of The Scottish Gallery, said: “McFadyen paints the exterior world with a cool detachment that carries an emotional punch, and Lost Boat Party perfectly describes his approach – floating through the landscape to find and show the strange enigmatic portion only seen when looking for something else.

“The painting Lost Boat Party is a monumental work, depicting a seaside funfair which appears to have detached itself from the land and is slowly drifting out to sea. The metaphor for the human condition is unavoidable, and many of the paintings in the exhibition describe the sea with all its implications of threat and indifference, as well as painterly possibility.”

During the last seven months Dovecot has collaborated with McFadyen to make a new artwork inspired by his painting, in the same way as they have already with other artists such as Barbara Rae and Chris Ofill. The Mallaig Commission will be unveiled at the exhibition.

Naomi Robertson, Master Weaver at Dovecot Studios, said: “Our initial aim was to explore the beauty in the paintings. We have experimented with how to amplify the complex undertones in Jock’s use of paint through the blending of yarn as well as the innate sensuality of the textile surface.

“The way in which the final work absorbs light emphasises a depth of colour that is just not possible with paint.”

Jock McFadyen – Lost Boat Party at Dovecot 10 Infirmary Street EH1 1LT Friday 11th June – Saturday 25th September 2021 Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm

www.dovecotstudios.com www.scottish-gallery.co.uk