The City Art Centre is to stage A Sketch of the Universe: Art, Science and the Influence of D’Arcy Thompson, a major new exhibition of modern and contemporary art inspired by the pioneering Edinburgh-born biologist D’Arcy Thompson (1860 – 1948). Continue reading ‘A bridge between science and art’: D’Arcy Thomson exhibition opens this weekend
Exhibition features works by William Gillies and John Maxwell
This summer the City Art Centre stages William Gillies & John Maxwell, a major new exhibition exploring two of the best-loved Scottish artists of the 20th century.
The exhibition features over 70 artworks and archival objects displayed across two floors of the gallery. It includes drawings and paintings from the City Art Centre’s own collection, supplemented by loans from the Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture, the University of Edinburgh Art Collection and several private lenders.
At the heart of the exhibition is the Fletcher Collection, a group of 43 artworks that has been on long-term loan to the City Art Centre since 1995. This is the first time in over 20 years that the Fletcher Collection has been displayed together in its entirety.
Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Convener of Culture and Sport, said: “This is a rare opportunity to see some of the finest artworks by William Gillies and John Maxwell – two very distinctive Scottish artists. This exhibition is particularly exciting considering the Fletcher Collection is being shown together for the first time in 20 years.”
The exhibition is timed to coincide with the 2016 Edinburgh Art Festival. Entry is free of charge and further information is given below:
William Gillies & John Maxwell
30 July – 23 October 2016
City Art Centre, Edinburgh
Free Admission
William Gillies and John Maxwell were among the most significant and distinctive Scottish artists of the 20th century. Gillies is best known for his tonal Borders landscapes, spontaneous Highland watercolours and carefully constructed still life compositions, while Maxwell is remembered for his expressive, dream-like depictions of creatures, flowers and timeless nudes. The two artists pursued differing approaches in their work, and had contrasting personalities, but remained life-long friends.
Gillies and Maxwell met at Edinburgh College of Art in the early 1920s. After completing their studies both received travelling scholarships, which enabled them to live and work in Paris and encounter avant-garde movements like Post-Impressionism and Cubism. As they matured they developed in different creative directions, yet their lives continued to interweave as they travelled, exhibited and socialised together. Both joined the staff at Edinburgh College of Art, and while Gillies’ teaching career was longer than Maxwell’s, each of them proved to be a considerable influence on the next generation of Scottish painters.
Two exciting new exhibitions Making It: Sculpture in Britain 1977 -1986 and Don’t be afraid of Pink: Paintings by Stephen Collingbourne opened at the City Art Centre at the weekend. Continue reading New exhibitions open at City Art Centre
Stories told by members of Edinburgh’s LGBTQIA+ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) takes centre stage in a new exhibition now open at the People’s Story Museum. Continue reading Proud City: People’s Story Museum reflects on LGBTQIA life
William Gear exhibition opens this weekend
The story of a former Edinburgh College of Art student who became a highly-acclaimed abstract artist before slipping into obscurity will be remembered at a major retrospective exhibition arriving at the City Art Centre this Saturday.
Featuring around 120 works spanning his colourful career and coinciding with the centenary of his birth, William Gear 1915-1997: The painter that Britain forgot seeks to re-position William Gear in his rightful place as one of the most advanced British abstract painters of his generation.
Following a successful first run at the Towner Art Gallery this summer, the partnership exhibition between Eastbourne and Edinburgh will run alongside Jagged Generation: William Gear’s Contemporaries and Influences, an exhibition drawn from the City Art Centre’s collection which explores the artist’s links to Scotland.
Raised in Methil, a Fife mining community, Gear (self portait, above) studied at Edinburgh College of Art during the 1930s where he was taught by influential figures such as S.J. Peploe, John Maxwell and William Gillies.
He went on to train in Paris under the Cubist artist Fernand Léger before travelling widely during the Second World War, even becoming one of the ‘Monuments Men’ whose job it was to help save parts of Europe’s culture during and after the conflict.
After returning to Paris in 1947, Gear met the avant-garde artists of the CoBrA group and exhibited with them in Amsterdam and Paris in 1949. In the same year his work was shown in New York alongside paintings by Jackson Pollock. He eventually returned to live in the UK in 1950, and continued to exhibit both at home and internationally until his death in 1997.
Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “How and why William Gear fell into obscurity is quite remarkable. Gear was an artist who was born in Fife 100 years ago, trained in Edinburgh and then went on to create some of the most radical compositions of the 1950s. He was one of the greats of British abstract art and his career and his works tell a fascinating story. These exhibitions cement his place as a pioneer and he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
William Gear 1915-1997: The painter that Britain forgot has been created in partnership with the Towner Art Gallery where Gear was curator from 1958 – 1964. It traces his prolific career, from his early pen and ink drawings and experiments in colour during the 1930s and 1940s, to his radical monochrome and block paintings of the 1950s and mature works created during the 1960s and beyond.
As one of the first British artists to present screenprints as works of fine art, the exhibition also presents Gear as a printmaker. This exhibition includes loans from The Estate of William Gear, the Royal Academy of Arts, London and The Redfern Gallery amongst many other lenders.
Jagged Generation: William Gear’s Contemporaries and Influences presents a selection of artworks from the City Art Centre’s own collection. This exhibition focuses on the vibrant circle of Scottish artists associated with Gear – his tutors, friends and contemporaries. It was at Edinburgh College of Art that Gear met like-minded fellow students including Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Margaret Mellis and Alan Davie, who also made innovative contributions to the post-war art scene.
Gear spent most of his career outside Scotland, yet he retained many Scottish ties and friendships. Jagged Generation showcases Gear’s work within this wider Scottish context, shedding light on his personal and professional relationships, as well as his artistic development.
Find out more at the Council’s Museums and Galleries website
New exhibition opens at City Art Centre today
The Capital’s favourite Scottish paintings will be unveiled today at the City of Edinburgh Council’s City Art Centre.
The results of an interactive vote to establish some of the public’s most loved artwork, selected from the gallery’s collection of over 900 oil and acrylic paintings, goes on display today (Saturday 13 December) at the new You Choose: Favourites from the City Art Centre exhibition.
Every year the City Art Centre stages exhibitions drawn from its extensive collection of historic and contemporary Scottish art. Curators spend months selecting which artworks should go on display, and this project has been designed to allow Edinburgh residents and art fans to collectively curate their own exhibition based on their favourite pieces.
The You Choose exhibition features an eclectic mixture of 39 landscapes, portraits, still life studies and abstract images. Renowned Scottish artists have proven to be city favourites, with works from Stanley Cursiter, William McTaggart, Joan Eardley, John Duncan and F.C.B Cadell all due to feature in the exhibition.
Many of the paintings are accompanied by the words of those who voted for them. These quotations explain why individuals chose certain pieces and wanted to see them on display. They provide a fascinating insight into the many reasons why people connect with works of art.
One painting of a dog by an unknown artist was chosen by a voter because it reminded them of Greyfriars Bobby, while another image by Jane Stewart Smith of Dunbar Close in 1868 Edinburgh (pictured top) was selected because it made the voter wonder about the lives of the people who lived there in the 19th Century.
Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “The City Art Centre Collections contain some of the most interesting and influential pieces of art in Scotland and the works are looked after by the City of Edinburgh Council, meaning that they belong to the people of Edinburgh.
“The You Choose: Favourites from the City Art Centre exhibition has given residents from across the city and further afield the chance to collectively curate an exhibition. This is a unique project for the City Art Centre and visitors will enjoy exploring the diverse collection, which features ‘old favourites’ hung alongside lesser-known artistic gems.”
Professor Richard Demarco, artist and art teacher, added: “I am pleased that this exhibition inspired by the physical reality and history of Edinburgh is opening in time for Christmas, as a true celebration of Edinburgh as a uniquely beautiful European city.”
The exhibition You Choose: Favourites from the City Art Centre will be displayed in the new Collection Gallery at the City Art Centre until 24 May 2015.
Opening times:
Monday – Saturday 10am – 5pm; Sunday 12pm – 5pm; please note the building will be closed on 25-26 of December, and 1-2 January.
Admission:
Admission to Collection Gallery exhibitions is free, but donations are welcome.
There are admission charges in respect of some temporary exhibitions; see the relevant exhibition page for details.
Charity catwalk event raises over £3400
Broughton High School student KATHERINE WRIGHT volunteers at the Cancer Research UK charity shop in Stockbridge. The charity stages an annual fundraising fashion show – here’s Katherine’s take on this year’s event:
Cancer Research UK held its fifth annual ‘Charity Chic’ fashion show and pop up shop on Friday 10 October. The event was organised by the local Stockbridge shop where I currently volunteer, a worthwhile and rewarding experience. It was held in the City Art Centre and aimed to both raise money for the charity and bring together customers and friends of the shop. The money raised – a whopping £3413 – will go towards funding ground-breaking research, clinical trials and clinical research nurses, all of which are vital to the fight against cancer.
On arrival, ticket holders received special goody bags filled with treats generously provided by the companies ‘Glow’ and ‘Ilumi’, who sponsored the event. Volunteers at the reception area donned orange tutus and red wigs, and their enthusiasm immediately set the tone for a fun-filled night ahead.
The ‘Commonwealth Catwalk’ was the theme of the evening, showcasing a great variety of clothing and accessories donated to the shop and celebrating the fashion of Commonwealth countries. The audience clapped along while a young woman walked the catwalk in a black sparkly dress, playing the popular hits ‘We will Rock You’ and ‘Five Hundred Miles’ on her set of bagpipes.
The models, all volunteers and friends of the shop, wore a variety of different outfits and confidently strutted their stuff along the catwalk. Elegant dresses, jewelled clutch bags and colourful fascinators were all on display, and the audience enthusiastically clapped and cheered the models on. Eighty-one year-old Betty (below), a cancer survivor herself, was the oldest person to walk the catwalk and described it as “great fun, and a good way to meet some nice people.”
After the fashion show, a selection of pop up stalls gave people the opportunity to buy some of the garments they’d seen on show; as well as a huge variety of other clothes, bags, shoes and accessories. Home-made cupcakes and an assortment of sweet treats were also on sale, and a raffle with generous prizes including a meal at Nandos and a Kenwood ice cream maker proved very popular.
Elaine Lennon (pictured above, left), the organiser of the event and assistant manager at the Stockbridge shop commented: “It’s not just about making money. There’s a real community feel.” Indeed, the open plan room allowed people to mingle and chat, sharing laughs and asking for advice on clothes to buy. Many commented on how well organised the event was, which would not have been possible without the tireless work of an ‘amazing group of volunteers.’
One of the ‘browsers’ was Jill Macgregor, the founder of Glow, a fitness and nutrition company that runs exercise classes across the country. Glow sponsored the event – t’s well known that leading a healthy lifestyle can greatly reduce the risk of cancer, and Jill is passionate about helping people to do this. Jill has also experienced cancer – she was diagnosed last November and finished her treatment in June. Arms laden with shopping bags and champagne glass in hand, she summed up the evening: “It’s been absolutely fantastic. A great night for a great cause.”
Pictures by GAV YOUNG
