ART & EXHIBITIONS LIST
responded so far. including Elizabeth Blackadder. Jean Redfcrn. Eduardo Poalozzi and Ian Hughes. The artwork will be auctioned at the Gallery on 16 December at 5pm by Christies. The proceeds and a selection of the donated works are to go to Milestone House. an AIDS hospice due to open in Edinburgh. lvon Hitchens 9 Dec—21 Jan (closed 24—27 Dec & 31 Dec—3 Jan). A selection offorty works, mainly abstracted landscapes. from this major British painter.
Fun and Games 16 Dec—3 Feb (closed 24—27 Dec & 31 Dec—3 Jan). The games people play. or rather have played. from the 18th century till the present. drawn from the Museum of Childhood‘s reserve collection.
Buying Futures Until 6 Jan (closed 24—27 Dec & 31 Dec—3 Jan). A selection of contemporary Scottish craftwork organised in conjunction with the Scottish Craft Centre.
I COLERIDGE GALLERY 47b George Street.
220 1305. Mon—Sat 10am—5.30pm. Contemporary British artwork in glass. I COLLECTIVE GALLERY 166 High Street. 220 1260. Tue—Sat 12.30—5.30pm. Christmas Exhibition Until 16 Dec. This being the season of Christmas exhibitions for all galleries. the Collective will have members‘ work on show for the beginning of the festive period. - I EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART Lauriston Place, 2299311. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm. Colin Lawson Until 15 Dec. Paintings and drawings influenced by an urban landscape from this former student. John McLean Until 12 Dec. Abstract paintings from the painter who was Artist-in-Residence at Edinburgh Universityin 1985. I ENGLISH SPEAKING UNION 23 Atholl Crescent. 229 1528. Mon—Sat 10am—4.30pm. Christmas Watercolour Exhibition Until 16 Dec. Two dozen watercolours grace the Gallery for two weeks before Christmas. After the festive show comes down the Gallery will be dormant till the end of January. I FILMHOUSE Lothian Road. 228 2688. Mon—Sat noon—l 1pm; Sun 6.30—11pm. Inside the Fort 15 Dec. Another in the Travelling Stills series. which aims to take photographic exhibitions to unusual venues. This one features the good people of Fort William. The pictures were taken as part of a project to enhance the social skills of people with learning difficulties. Thirty Years at Cuban Cinema: Screenprints and Posters 17 Dec— 12 Jan (closed 24—26 Dec 8; 31 Dec—2 Jan). Havana seen these before? Back by popular demand come the colourful cinema posters used to advertise three decades of Cuban films.
I FINE ART SOCIETY 137 George Street. 220 6370. Mon—Fri 9.30am—5.30pm. Sat 10am—1pm.
The first exhibition at the new George street premises is Leonard Rosoman: AWar Retrospective 11 Dec—13Jan. A collection of Second World War paintings by the erstwhile fireman and sailor, Rosoman. Also the new Gallery is due to receive a painting by John Everett Millais. as well as a Raeburn and a Degas. which are on their way up from London.
I FLYING COLOURS GALLERY 35 William Street. 225 6776. Tue-Fri 11am—6pm. Sat 10am—1pm.
Christmas in the Tropics Until 14 Dec. Watercolours of seascapes and tropical birds and fish by Sally Oyler. a Scottish artist. who forced herself to visit the Seychelles and the Caribbean.
Christmas Sale Week 18—23 Dec. A selection of work from the Gallery's stock goes on sale. just in time for Christmas. I FRENCH INSTITUTE 13 Randolph Crescent. 225 5366. Mon—Fri 9.30am—5.30pm.
Ottthe Shelves Until 20 Dec. Some ofthe rarer volumes amongst the thirty thousand books collected by the Institute since 1946.
LESS IS BORE
Alchimia Fa Bene al Design, Friutmarket, Edinburgh. The idea at placing objects, lurniture, rugs and wall hangings, as though the Fruitmarket's upper gallery was a room in a house is not really successlul. The space hardly has that lived-in leel and is more reminiscent of a showroom than a house. The work at the
Milan-based design group Alchimia, the less well-known lorerunnerto Memphis, are showy in the extreme. Much of the work on show was made in the past year, but some pieces chart the history at the group. Established in the late-Seventies Alchimia set out to turn dross into gold and bring design
closer to art. Italy’s post-war design boom had long rejected the pomposity ol Mussolini’s lascism, combining ability with an element of the shocking.
Italian design rejected the austerity ol the German Bauhaus and the earnestness ol Scandinavian Modern. A love at sleek lines evolved in the Seventies to become ‘techno-chic' (a precursor to high-tech) and on to the garish fantasies ol post-modernism.
A lavish new book ‘Design Now: Industry at Art? (Thames and Hudson/Prestel Books, 39.95) quotes Alchimia's 1978 catalogue: ‘Kitsch is the Trojan Horse ol the masses.‘ Thus cheap Fillies styles like the palette-shaped cottee table and assorted wire-and-bobble curiosities are treated ‘alchmically'; translormed by restyling.
Two ol Alchimia’s celebrated neo-modern designs are on show at the Fruitmarket, Allessandro Mendini‘s
outlandish Kadinsky sole and camp Proust armchair. Perhaps more interesting is Mendini's ‘redesign' ot Marcel Breuer's classic low-slung leather and steel Wassily chair which acts as a sort ol awlul blasphemy against cool, pared-down modernism.
It is good to see design taken seriously by a gallery like the Fruitmarket though sad that there is no space lor turther exposition of the group's work and philosophy. As it is the work stands in an icy vacuum and poses the question: ‘ls it turniture or is it sculpture?’
An exhibition of Alchimia’s drawings can be seen at the Edinburgh University Architectural Gallery at 20 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, until 21 January. (Kennedy Wilson)
I THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY Market Street. 225 2383. Mon—Sat 10am—5.30pm Sun l—5.30pm.
Alchimia Until 14 Jan. The Milan-based design group reputedly at the forefront of international design present a comprehensive selection of their work over the last ten years in an installation specifically designed for the Fruitmarket. Willi Baumeister (1889-1955): Drawings. Gouaches, Collages L'ntil 1~IJan.An exhibition of works on paper by the one-time Professor of Frankfurt School of Art. whose experimental paintings reflect his scientific research into colour.
I GALERIE MIRAGES Raeburn Place. 315 2603. Tue—Sat 10.30am—430pm. Sun 2—4.30pm. closed Mondays.
Christmas Exhibition Until 4 Jan. Wall hangings, brooches and carved animals will be among the jewellery and embroidery from the East on display.
I GALLERY OF MODERN ART Belford Road. 556 8921. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm. [D] Cafe.
The gallery's justly renowned cafe is open Mon—Sat 10.30am—4.30pm; Sun 2.30—4.20pm. Cream teas will be served from 3—4.15pm.
The permanent exhibition rules the roost until English Art 1920-1960: Paintings From the Elizabeth Watt Bequest begins on 9 Dec. I GRAEME MURRAY GALLERY 15 Scotland Street. 556 6020. Tue—Fri 10am--5pm. Sat 10am—1pm.
Kate Whitelord Until 30 Jan. ()ne of Scotland‘s most talented female artists. now living and working in London. exhibits some of her recently completed gesso panels.
I HANOVER FINE ART 22a Dundas Street. 5562181. Mon—Fri 10am—5.30pm; Sat
Il)am---lpm (Sun l71)ec1—5pm).
Small Paintings tor Christmas Until 30 Dec. Over one hundred and fifty works by arottnd fifty artists. Includingoil paintings. watercolours. sculptures. jewellery. and woodfired stoneware by Andrew Richards.
I HILLSIDE GALLERY Hillside St. 5566440.
Tue-Sat lt).3(lam--6pm.
Clare Mackie: ATouch ot Humour t 7ntil 23 Dec. More than a touch of humour is apparent in these httgely entertaining illustrations by a young artist whose work has featured on the cover of this very magazine.
I ITALIAN INSTITUTE 82 Nicolson Street. 668 2232. Mon 2-~5pm. Tue 9am—5pm. Wed 2- 7pm. Thurs 9am~5pm. I-‘ri 9am~2pm.
The Lost Paradise lintil 29 Jan. Iitchings by
the Italian artist linrico Baj. in which he offers an interpretation of Milton's famous work.
I KINGFISHER GALLERY Northumberland Street lane. 557 5454. Mon—Sat
10am 4.30pm.
Art and the Female Form L'ntil 13 Dec. Sculpture and paintings from over a dozen artists including David Donaldson. Norman Iidgar. Vincent Butlerand Hamilton Itiraser.
Christmas Show 18-201)ec.'1‘hirty artists have donated works to the sale. the proceeds from which will go to the Save the (‘hildren Iiund.
I MALCOLM INNES GALLERY 67 (ieorge Street. 226 4151. Mon~I5rl 9.30am—-6pm: Sat 10am ~Ipm.
Christmas Exhibition limit 23 Dec. Seventeen contemporary British artists in a festive season show.
I NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND 'l'he
Mound. 556 8921. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm‘. Sun 2—5pm.
How Prints are Made Until 17 Dec. The exhibition traces the development ofthe printingofartistic images from the 15th century to more modern times. Major works are on loan from the Fitzwilliam. Hunterian and British Museums and among the artists whose techniques can be scrutinised are Rembrandt. (ioy-a. Picasso. Manet and Matisse.
I NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND George 1V Bridge. 226 4531. Mon-Fri 9.30am— 5pm; Sat 9.30am—1pm; Sun 2pm—5pm.
The Summer at '89 limit 28 Feb. A remarkable collection of photographs of Scotland taken during the summer of 1889 when Dr FIG. Smart of Tunbridge Wells embarked on a journey around Scotland. This visual record was recently unearthed in a second hand bookshop in Stockport by Bob (‘harnley. who has painstakingly researched the location ofeach photograph.
Ronald Stevenson L'ntil Zs' l-‘ch. An exhibition that charts the life and timesof one of Scotland‘s best known contemporary composers.
I NETHERDOW ~13 High Street. 5569579. Mon-Sat Wain-4.30pm and evenings
w hen perlormances. (‘al'e.
Christmas Exhibition t'ntil 231)cc. Paintings. sculptures arid ceramics by Jane Fletcher and Susan Nuttgens.
I OPEN EYE GALLERY 75 Cumberland Street. 557 1020. Mon—Fri 10am- 6pm.Sat Illam-me.
Christmas Exhibition: On a Small Scale Until 31 Dec. A mixedexhibitionof contemporary British paintings and
The List 8— 21 December 1989 61