ART & EXHIBITIONS LIST
_ ARTIST’S ACTION
WASPS Gallery and Glasgow School at Art, Glasgow.
As well as concentrating the energies of existing galleries, Maytest also attracts artisls‘ initiatives. Two group shows this year bring together the work of young artists in Glasgow.
The six artists working at WASPS studios in King Street saw potential in the empty tloor above them, soon to be converted into more studio space. During Maytesttheir large scale paintings will till this vast lactory lloor. Finding a gallery with those proportions during such a busy period would otherwise have been almost impossible.
At Glasgow School oi Art 3 group at students back lrom travels abroad have organised their own show. Karen Strang left the country originally for ‘economic reasons'. Grants were easier to come by lor foreign study and accommodation thrown in made a brief exile an attractive proposition. But she admits thatpersonal ties drew herto Poland in particular. Part-Polish, her roots were there to discover.
For whatever reason artists leave Scotland, Slrang feels it is important they come back with the fruits of their experience. ‘People expect you to paint it you’re a Scottish artist', she says. ‘lt’s traditional.’ For those who want to stick to painting that is line but, she says, ‘some of my ideas could be better expressed in other mediums. Whenl came back from Poland, where it is difficult to get materials anyway, I was open to more experimentation.’
It is difficult enough for a student who
Glen Sat 2 May—Rue 2 June. Speed and streamlining is not all. and the romance ofsteam travel has never quite got out of the British public's system. This exhibition remembers the days when trains criss-crossed across Scotland taking passengers to the golfcourses ofGleneagles and St Andrews and the wilderness Glencoe and steamers chugged up the Clyde with holidaymakers. A series of posters commissioned by shipping lines and railway companies ofthe 193(ls illustrate in sophisticated graphics the pleasures to be found in travel. See Springburn Museum for details of another type of train journey and the history of locomotive building in Glasgow. Spring ‘87 is an exhibition ofthe Fine Art Society‘s latest acquisitions. The ever-popular Scottish Colourists form the core of the group with fine paintings by Cadell. Peploe and Fergusson. William Mc'I'aggart. who was lightening his palette before them. is represented by a painting of Carnoustie and can be compared with the alternative Scottish tradition in the work of George Paul Chalmers. John Fleming and John Philip. 0 GLASGOW ARTS CENTRE 12 Washington Street. 221 4526. Mon—Fri 10am—9pm. Sat 1(1-5pm. Constructed Narratives, Photographs by Calum Colvin and Ron O’Donnell Sat 2—Sat 23 May. Calurn Colvin pictures
tits all regulation criteria to move away, but as a mature student, Margaret Hunter, also showing at the Art School, did not quality for a grant at all. Determined to get outside experience, she went to Germany independently and was well rewarded.
Venus after Botticelli with a goldfish bowl and Action Man. Ron O‘Donnell puts a giant-sized lizard in a fur shop. Both use photography to create surprising works of art. Colvin. a sculpture graduate from Dundee makes scenes in his studio. transforming old pieces of furniture with paint into reclining lovers and giant faces. Toys from his own childhood and other nostalgic mementoes decorate the set and the whole thing is recorded before it is dismantled. O‘Donnell also builds his pictures. setting up Ajax pillars in derelict buildings. Surfarches in the woods and hieroglyphs in an old flat. Last shown at Stills Gallery in Edinburgh. this exhibition shows a Scottish photography beyond the heathery hills. Much recommended. Ron O‘Donnell is also showing in the group show at the Collins Gallery.
0 GLASGOW PRINT STUDIO 128 Ingram Street. 552 (1704. Mon—Sat 1(lam—5.3()pm.
Elizabeth Blackadder and John Houston — Paints and Paintings Tue 5 May—Sat 6 June. Two senior artists. married for many years and based in Edinburgh. are showing for the first time together in Glasgow. Blackadder and Houston are known individually for their painting— Blackadder for her delicate. oriental flowers and haphazard objects. Houston for his land and seascapes. almost abstract in their sensation. For three years now they have been
Baselitz invited her to visit his studio where she studied outwith an official programme, existing on small donations she collected in Berlin. Whether at home or away, Glasgow artists are actie in promoting themselves. (Alice Bain)
working at the Glasgow Print Studio and this exhibition brings together their etchings. supported by oils. watercolours and drawings.
0 GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART 167 Renfrew Street. 332 9797. Mon—Fri 9.3()am—8pm.
Art in Exile Sat 9—Sat 30 may. Work by painting graduates of Glasgow School of Art — Karen Strang. Alison Harper. Margaret Hunter and Laurence Lonnergan — who have recently lived and studied abroad. Though they left Scotland for economic reasons. — it was easier to
get a grant in another country usually
with the help of the British Council — Karen Strang. their spokesperson. says that the experience ofanother country was both stimulating and confidence-building. On this occasion all the work is painting. though Strang feels Scotland too bound to that medium and has learnt lessons from countries like Poland where artists explore other visual art forms more readily.
O GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Hillhead. Mon—Fri9.15am—9.15pm; Sat 9. 15am—12. 15pm.
Theatre Royal Indefinite. The Scottish stage before 1900.
O GORBALS FAIR SOCIETY The Adelphi Nursery. Adelphi Education Centre. Gorbals.-129 7271.
New Mural A new mural for the nursery was completed at the end of last month. following the departure
ofartist-in-residencc Kate Thomson who had built up an artistic interest in the area over the past three years. Her job has been taken over by Lorraine Peden. a member ofthe community with no art training but a lot ofenthusiasm. The mural. painted by parents and children. depicts the four seasons. country and city and previews an adventure centre for the area which has been designed by a student from Glasgow School ofArchitecture. O HAGGS CASTLE 1()() St Andrews Drive. Mon—Sat lilam—Spm. Sun 2—5pm. Glasgow‘s museum for children. Toys from the Attic Until Tue 5 May. 0 HILLHEAO LIBRARY 348 Byres Road. 339 7223. Mon—Fri 9.3(lant—1pm. 2—8pm; Sat 9.30am—1pm and 2—5pm. Closed Wed. Jim Tweedie - Paintings Fri l—Fri 29 May. At the Open Circle (a small gallery in the library run by writers. artists and composers) Jim Tweedie‘s surrealist paintings cart be seen in his first one-man show since 1981. His work is known internationally and he has shown with the Open Circle group abroad regularly. O HUNTERIAN ART GALLERY University ofGlasgow. Hillhead Street. 3305431. Mon—Fri 9.3(1am—5pm. Sat 930— 1 pm. The Northern Renaissance Print Sat 2 May—Tue 16July. Front their fathomless collection ofprints. the Hunterian‘s latest theme looks at the etchings. engravings and woodcuts of northern artists from Germany. Holland and Flanders during the fertile period between the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Diirer will be highlighted in recognition ofthe Nuremberg Festival which begins early June. Others include Lucas van Leyden. Altdorfer. Cranach and Bruegel. The Mackintosh House Gallery: Open as above but closed for lunch 12.3(l—l.30pm. 50p admission on weekday afternoons and Saturdays. A reconstruction of the architects home fitted with original furniture. Graphics oithe Art Nouveau Era Until summer. A style ofline par excellence. the art nouveau movement is represented by the work of E. A. 'I‘aylor. Aubrey Beardsley. Jan Toorop and others. 0 HUNTERIAN MUSEUM The University of Glasgow. 339 8855. Mon—Fri 9.3()am—5pm. Sat 9.3(iam—lpm. Twice named Museun‘ ofthe Year. the Hunterian Collection includes objects ranging from Captain Cook‘s Pacific treasures to the Bearsden Shark. Fighting lorLile Until Sat 20June. Founded in 1937 the Wellcome Trust (who established the Wellcorne L'nit for the History of Medicine in the University). eomrnemorates its 50th anniversary with a display ofcurrent medical research. 0 IMAGES GALLERY 74 Hyndland Road. 334 5311. Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.3()pm. Nineteenth and twentieth century watercolours and etchings. O J. O. KELLY GALLERY 118Douglas Street. 2486386. Mon—Fri 1().3()am—5.3()pm; Sat
40 The List 1— 14 May