At Dovecot Studios – David Remfry: In Residence

David Remfry: In Residence opens at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh this weekend.

Acclaimed artist David Remfry, MBE, RA, is bringing his lyrical artistic vision to Edinburgh by commissioning his first-ever tapestry.

The exhibition features 30 evocative paintings, including a sensitive portrait of his friend, Alan Cumming, on display in Scotland for the first time. 

David Remfry said: “Tapestry marks a new medium in my practice. I have long known of Dovecot’s work through their tapestries for Robert Motherwell and R.B.Kitaj among others. Discussing and seeing the textures in my painting through the eyes of the weavers and how they see colour has been a privilege. It has excited in me a new way of looking at and thinking about how I paint.”

Known for his large-scale watercolours of dancers and his drawings of neighbours and friends from his 20 years living in New York, Royal Academician David Remfry is adept at recording both people and place.

He has long been fascinated by textiles, modelling colour and pattern in his paintings through furnishings, and the drapery and folds of fabric on the body.

The works on display span five decades of Remfry’s career, from McGilchrist Sisters, begun in 1971,to the new tapestry Chandelirium, completed in 2026. 

Celia Joicey, Dovecot Director, said: “Dovecot wanted to interpret the chandeliers because they symbolise the same aspiration, and the opulence that are associated with tapestries.

“There is a wonderful contrast between the soft muted greys that the weavers have mixed to create the shadows and the lustrous yet acidic cottons that bring a beguiling and luminescent sheen to the glass crystals.’’

Commissioned by Dovecot, the tapestry is available to purchase with price on enquiry. The exhibition is accompanied by a major new book that discusses the range of Remfry’s influences and collaborations, including his work with Stella McCartney and paintings of figures such as Ethan Hawke, Quentin Crisp, and Magenta Devine.

The exhibition features 30 evocative paintings and Remfry’s first-ever tapestry, created with the studios. Exhibition runs until 6 June.

David Remfry is published by Lund Humphries and written by Kathryn Johnson, Chloe Aridjis, Hettie Judah, Rosalind McKever, Gerardine Mulcahy-Parker, and Kathleen Soriano.