– Hidden Gems opens at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre on Saturday 7 October
Showcasing 50 artworks from the City Art Centre’s collection that have rarely – and in some cases never – been seen before by the public, an exhibition opening at the City Art Centre this weekend (Saturday 7 October) will shine a spotlight on Edinburgh’s lesser-known treasures. Continue reading City Art Centre reveals Hidden Gems in new exhibition
Shedding light on Edinburgh’s murky medical past, the face of an early autopsy patient has been unveiled for the first time. Visitors to the City Art Centre’s new ‘Edinburgh Alphabet’ exhibition, a major display spelling out an A-Z of the City’s Collections, will come face to face with an 18th Century resident under the letter O for ‘Old Town’. Continue reading O my! Face up to a grave discovery at City Art Centre
From the cobbles to the catwalk, this season’s most coveted collection will be shown at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh. The gallery’s major summer exhibition, ‘Edinburgh Alphabet: An A-Z of the City’s Collections‘, will spell out 60,000 years of the Capital over 300 artworks and objects when doors open tomorrow (Friday 19 May). Continue reading Edinburgh Alphabet spells out start of Festival of Museums
Hundreds of objects from Edinburgh’s museum and gallery collections will be drawn together and placed on display for the very first time. Spanning 60,000 years and over 300 items, Edinburgh Alphabet: An A-Z of the City’s Collections will combine artworks and artefacts across four floors of the City Art Centre this summer (Friday 19 May – 8 October). Continue reading Edinburgh Alphabet Exhibition to open next month
Six striking shots of Edinburgh have been chosen from almost 400 entries to be displayed in a major new exhibition at the City Art Centre this summer. Continue reading Competiton captures the imagination of city’s photographers
CITY ART CENTRE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
The City of Edinburgh Council is searching for six striking shots of the Capital to sit alongside some of the greatest artworks in the Council’s collection. Photographers with a keen eye for the Capital are being invited to ‘Capture Edinburgh’ for the chance to see their work displayed in a major new exhibition at the City Art Centre next year. Continue reading CAN YOU CAPTURE EDINBURGH IN A SINGLE CLICK?
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.
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
