ART & EXHIBITIONS LIST
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New Decades, 90s Gallery.
One of the great fallacies of the art world is that its productive members- the artists- maintain a pious disregard for material gain. Surprisingly, this is not an exclusively public mistake (remembering Dali), but overall it tends to emerge from the leisurely character of exhibition-going: no one wants their aesthetic encounters shattered by a price tag. Artists, therefore, are not profit-makers. Legend has it that they live off rice and emotional integrity.
Which places the commercial sector -the artists and the galleries which sell directly to the public— in an awkward position. Any artist who allows his or her work to go straight into the arms of a private collector must be some kind of bastard, and any gallery which actively encourages this process must be doubly so. Not only are the public being bypassed, but also the artist, bound by the constraints of good taste, is no longer free to experiment at will.
This attitude has always been misrepresentative and, in an age of arts-funding cutbacks, it seems Important that the myth be exploded. Commercial galleries do sell paintings, and yes, every painting does have a price tag. Beyond that, however, there is very little difference between a public and a privately owned gallery.
Take, for example, the 90s Gallery. The current exhibition (the first often this year), displays the work of ten Glasgow artists and uses colour as its
ART FOR ART’S SAKE ‘
common theme. The work is wide-ranging both in scope and technique and, as with any other ‘free-range’ exhibition, the quality of the work varies according to taste. There is no evidence that these artists are moving in the direction of ‘Hipnosis’ or Roger Dean.
The only genuine problem with this environment is that, allowing for budgetary constraints, there is a tendency to hang as many paintings as the (small) walls will hold. This is off-putting, and it requires a more diligent attitude on the part of the viewer: you have to look more carefully. Otherwise, there seems to be no problem. Gallery owners are quite willing to accept casual viewers: most of them want to extend their reputation anyway. (Philip Kingsley)
March.
I PORTRAIT GALLERY Queen Street. 556 8921. Mon-Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm. Portraits in Fashion Until 2 April. After four years as an assistant to David Bailey. John Swanncll fought his way out ofthe shadow of his illustrious boss and established himself as a fashion photographer of some note. The portraits on show are of Andy Warhol. Bob Geldof. Grace Jones and Billy Connolly among others.
I DUEEH'S HALL Clerk Street. Box Office 6682019. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm. Cafe. Body and Soul Until 4 March. Black and white prints of jazz stars at the Queen‘s Hall by local boy Marc Marnie.
I RIAS 15 Rutland Square. 229 7205. Mon-Fri 9.30am—5pm.
Scott Robinson 12- 17 Feb.
I RICHARD DEMARCO GALLERY Blackfriars Church. Blackfriars Street (off High Street). 557 0707. Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.
Polish Contemporary Drawings Until 10 Feb. The work of fifteen Polish artists. including Anna Beller. Marek Chlanda. Edward Dwurnik and Group ‘LUXUS‘ appear in this show organised by galleries in Southampton and Lodz.
Should I be Afraid to Trust Myself?! 20 Feb-10 March. New work by Terry Newman.
Denis Drihat: Photographs 20 Feb— 10 March. Also on show between these dates are paintings by Michael Upton. Samuel Robin Spark and Timothy Emlyn Jones. I ROYAL DOTAHIC GARDEN 552 7171. Gardens Mon—Sat lOam—sunset; Sun Ham-sunset. Plant houses and exhibitions (mounted in lnverleith House) Mon—Sat lOam—Spm; Sun 11am—5pm. Green Belt Around the Sahara Until 28 Feb.
The precarious existence of those living on the edges of the great desert. and the efforts being made to establish a ‘grcen belt‘ round its circumference. provide the subject of this exhibition.
I ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY The Mound, 225 6671. Mon—Sat 10am—6pm. Sun 2—6pm.
Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour Until 15 Feb. After this the next specific exhibition will be the Scottish Society of Women Artists beginning around 20 March.
I SCOTTISH CRAFT CENTRE 140 Canongate. 556 8136. Mon—Sat
10am—5 .30pm.
Display of Scottish contemporary craftwork.
I THE SCOTTISH GALLERY 94 George Street. 225 5955. Mon—Fri 10am—6pm; Sat 10am— 1 pm.
The Decade Ahead Until 27 Feb. The gallery. gazing into their crystal ball, try to predict painters and craftworkers who may gain greater recognition in the near future.
I STEP GALLERY 39 Howe Street, 556 1613. Mon-Fri 11am—5.30pm; Sat 11am—4pm; Sun 12—3pm.
The gallery will be closed for redecoration until 23 February when Anne Mendlow, Alma Wollson and Jan ltlmmo will be exhibiting their recent work.
I STILLS GALLERY 105 High Street. 557 1140. Tue—Sat Ham—5.30pm.
Other Than Itself Until 10 Feb. Four photographers explore the ability of the camera to relate a story.
Bitter Harvest 17 Feb-17 March. David Lurie‘s stiking images record the lives of farm labourers in South Africa. The photographs were all taken in January and February of last year on fruit farms in the Western Cape. D
TALBOT RICE ' alum
University of Edinburgh, Old
Tel: 031 6671011 ext 4308 10 -1 7 February IOHN LAING ART COMPETITION
24 Feb — 24 March FRANCES WALKER Tiree Works -
'Tues—Sat IDam—Spm. Admission Free. Subsidised by the Scottish Arts Council
College, South Bridge.
Subs/arsed by the Scottish Arts Councrl
19 January — 25 February WILHELMINA BARNS-GRAHAM
Mon-Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm Crawford Arts Centre, 93 North Street,
Retrospective 1 940—1 989
SHEILA CLEUGH Scarves & Jewellery
Sculpture on display ‘Pan-Am’ by Eduardo Paolozzl
ADMISSION FREE
St Andrews (0334) 74610
ARV
THE
retetnly redstovered pltotogroplts of Scotland 100 years ago.
I Decanter 1989 — 28 Fehnioty 1990. Mon-Fri 9.30m-S.00pm Sol 9.30om-I.00pm Sun 2.00pm-5.00pm Adnv'ssion Free.
SUMMER or '39 }
RONAlD STEVENSON moo, min, urivetsdst.
maid tam ofSrot/md, George [1’ huge, [Mum rm Irw. rd. 031-226 453/.
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INTERDEC GALLERY
nextto Maryhill Burgh Hall 24 Gairbraid Avenue, Glasgow 041 946 5912/5032
SMALL PAINTINGS OF SCOTTISH SCENES Until 15th February
Various invited artists including Anne Gordon, Sylvia Allen Marie Aitken, Forbes Yule and Peter Graham
Mon-Fri 1Dam—5.3me; Sat 1Dam—4pm
The List 9 - 22 February 1990 59