FESTIVAL ART
GALLERIES/ MUSEUMS
Festival exhibitions have been listed by category. then alphabetically byvenue. Please send iniorrnation on any unlisted exhibitions to Alice Bain at The List. six days belore publication date. See also the Art Listings tor coverage ot Edinburgh's permanent displays and lortull details at Glasgow exhibitions.
PAST MASTERS
I CHESSEL GALLERY Moray House College. Royal Mile. 556 8455. Mon—Sat 11am—5pm.
I CITY ART CENTRE 2 Market Street. 225 2424 ext 6650. Mon-Sat 10am—6pm. Licensed cafe. [D].
When We Were Young Until Sat 9 Sept. An exhibition ofsculpture. painting and drawings taken from public and private collections throughout United Kingdom. Intending to examine the portrayal of children and childhood in British art since the 18805. the exhibition represents only middle-class charitable values. failing to incorporate a broader critical outlook. Munch and Photography and Munch as a Photographer Until Sat 16 Sept.
This exhibition looks at Munch's own varied photography and examines the effect of photography on his work as a painter. The comparison is useful up to a point. though ultimately the exhibition is dominated by his powerful, highly-charged paintings and lithographs. I FILMHOUSE Lothian Road. 228 2688. Mon—Sat 9am—2am; Sun 9am-11pm.
30 Years ot Cuban Cinema Untii Thurs 14 Sept. An appropriate and brilliantly colourful exhibition of Cuban film posters marking the 30th anniversary ofthe revolution and the formation of ICAIC. the government funded film production and distribution body. They are all original screen prints. with a limited number of copies on sale.
I NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND The Mound. 556 8921. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm.
El Greco: Mystery and illumination Until Sun 3 Sept. Focusing on the series of Fabula paintings. this small exhibition gives us a concentrated comparative analysis of El Greco‘s masterful use of Chiaroscuro and the effects ofcandelight. Also a great opportunity to see the wonderful View of Toledo borrowed from New York‘s Metropolitan Museum.
I THE ARTER THEATRE 32a Broughton Street. 557 1785. Mon—Sat 10.30—11pm. Suzanne Auster Until Sat 2 Sept. Auster has exhibited in several London galleries. Broken Bottles Until Sat 2 Sept. A collection of poems by Andrew Stickland. I ASSEMBLY ROOMS 54 George Street. 226 2428. Mon—Sun loam-midnight. Punch at the Fringe Until Sat 2 Sept. Having recently received a major face lift with its new editor David Thomas. this exhibition of Punch illustrations by Ken Pyne. Steve Wey. Ray Lowry. Tony Husband and Matt is well timed.
I CALTON HILL East End of Princes Street. Every day.
A View From the Hill Edinburgh‘s most spectacular venue surrounded by sea and city, has been used in the past as acreative space with great success. This year. as part
Forms in Nature - Sioerd Buisman, Royal Botanic Garden.
it is a rare pleasure to visit an exhibition and sense that each individual work has been placed with
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sensitivity that goes beyond mere ‘arrangement' and undoubtedly it is the skilled counterpoint between the ordered nature of the Botanic Garden and the tenor ol Buisman’s own pieces
which makes this relatively simple show so engaging and largely successiul. At the exhibition’s core lies the artist’s own painstaking enquiry into the natural laws ot growth and torm.
The outdoor works in bronze and steel are particularly pleasing, echoing the terms of their setting and inviting us to enjoy their steady rhythms. Their common title ‘Phillotaxis; refers to the phenomenon of the repeated growth pattern of leal around stem. Buisman delights in this natural order and as a sculptor plays with it, projecting it and adapting it to a wide variety at sites. Within their ‘species' the sculptures are altered in materials, shape and size to withstand prevailing conditions much as plants adapt to soil and climate.
Inside we discover a delighttul selection oi study-drawings and a
series of sculptures in paper pulp. These maintain the theme ot growth: each piece constructed layer by layer. Like the outdoor works, these pieces indicate Buisman’s mastery as a sculptor oi the balance between negative and positive elements. Their depth, hollows and absences engage with us as tirme and easily as their planes and spirals. ‘There is no environmental message in my work,’ says Buisman, emphasising its tormal aspects. And indeed the theme here is of dissection ratherthan protection. i could not help but feel a sense of irony upon realising that the pulped paper used in some oi the sculptures must have required the destruction ot the very trees whose sliced forms they echo. Thought provoking. (Alison King)
of the ‘Holland at the Festival‘ project.8 Dutch artists have set up sculptural works in an innovative collection. using the space to match their individual styles. Ton van Summeren projects a star onto Edinburgh‘s ‘Acropolis' whilst Jorgen Leijenaar following Marcel Duchamp has installed an Amsterdam urinal alonga footpath. presumably not as a public conveniance.
I COLLECTIVE GALLERY 166 High Street. 2201260. Mon—Fri l2.3()—5.3()pm. Sat l().30am—5.30pm.
OtiThe Beaten Track Until Sat 2 Sept. An innovative exhibition of New Canadian Art organised as an exchange between the Collective Gallery and the Parallel Galleries of Canada. This is one ofthree venues being used in the project. housing an exhibition of paintings. videos and an installation. (See also Wine Emporiam and Gilded Balloon).
I DANISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE 3 Doune Terrace. 225 7189. Mon—Fri 10am—5pm. Public Art in Denmark Until Sat ZSept. Public Arts in Denmark are funded by a scheme which donates 1% ot the cost of public buildings towards decorative art and as a result public art is in a healthy state. This exhibition is of illustrations and sculptures by Anders Tinsbo whose work includes a number of commissions for IBM. Danish State Railways and various town halls.
I FESTIVAL CLUB 9— 15 Chambers Street. 220 2278. Every day loam—noon & 3—5pm.
The Carlton LA Prolessional Cartoonist oi the Year1989 Until Sat 2 Sept. An Exhibition
ofprofessional cartoonists from all over Europe reflecting the diverse and imaginative uses of this underexposed genre.
Patrick Gibbs and David Byers Brown Until Sat 2 Sept. An exhibition ofcolourful impressionistic paintings.
I FORTY FOUR 44 London Street. 557 8210.
New Work From Forty Four Until Sat 2 Sept. Leila Galloway and Tony Cooper set up Forty Four in 1986. Galloway exhibits wire and paper sculpture based on cellular structures and Cooper exhibits a series of large graphic works.
I THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY Market Street. 225 2383. Mon—Wed & Sat 10am—7pm. Thurs & Fri 10am-10pm & Sun 1.30—5.30pm.
Armando Until Sat 23 Sept. This Dutch artist presents large landscapes heavily influenced by his adolescence in wartime Holland. On a lighter note the Gallery will be showing videos of his 1974 cult TV show. Gentleman's Sorrow. Incidentally. Armando claims not to be able to remember his real name.
I GILOEO BALLON 233 Cowgate. 225 4463, performances every day 12.30pm.
Gorilla Until Sat 2 Sept. Ace-Art are a five-person Canadian group who have come to the festival as part of the New Canadian Art initiative. (See Collective Gallery).
This piece of performance art betrays a dark humour incorporating the diverse images ofJesus. gorillas and vampires with music and shadows playing an integral role.
I HANOVER FINE ART 22A Dundas Street. 5562181. Mon—Fri 10am—6pm. Sat 10am—4pm. Summer Festival Exhibition Until Tue 5 Sept. An exhibition of gallery artists from Scotland also featuring works from Spain. USA and West Germany. Over 35 artists will be showing ceramics. sculpture. woodcarving. jewellery and prints. I HILLSIOE GALLERY Hillside St. 5566440. Tue-Sat 1().3()am—6pm. Graham Ward Until Thurs 14 Sept. Intriguing poster. book cover and record designs in gouache. pencil and watercolour. composed with a vivid imagination which lends a surreal quality to the work. Ward has also illustrated for Punch and Gentleman '5 Weekly. I ITALIAN INSTITUTE 82 Nicolson Street. 668 2232. Mon—Fri 9am—5pm. Arte dalla Serenissima Until 8 Sept. in place of the planned exhibition The Garden oflnteractt've Arts. cancelled in the wake of Macbeth. the Institute are exhibiting the work of three artists from Venice: Alessandro Battistin. Paulo Giordani and Gran Carlo Venuto. I KINGFISHER GALLERY Northumberland Street Lane. 557 5454. Mon-Sat loam—4.30pm. Russian Contemporary Painters Until Sat 2 Sept. 25 to 30 paintings by contemporary Russian artists. I PRINTMAKERS WORKSHOP GALLERY 23 Union Street. 557 2479. Mon-Sat 1()am—5.3()pm. Sun 2—5pm. Madrid Prim! Until Sat 16 Sept. Eleven Spanish artists loosely affiliated to the new Realist School of Madrid and interested in
The List 25 — 31 August 1989 45