FESTIVAL ART
exhibitions - events '
Pissarro in Venezuela *ttt
Tucked away in the City Art Centre's ’something for everyone' summer programme, Pissarro's drawings and small paintings hark back to the Impressionist era, when so many attitudes to painting were revolutionised.
Pissarro is known for having been a man of the people. He wanted to find a way of painting ordinary folks in the city and working in the field; and chose a bolder, more direct style of painting to reflect his subject matter.
Venezuela in the 18505 was his training ground — he made a mass of sketches and drawings in Caracas and the countryside. This exhibition shows the rough with the smooth: overworked sketches alongside slick oil paintings, and delicate pencil drawings of local flora beside busy ink sketches of daily city life. If you ever wondered what it took to become a great Impressionist, these are the works which set Pissarro on course. (Tanya Stephan)
I Pissaro In Venezuela, City Art Centre, 529 3993, until 4 Oct, Mon—Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 2pm—5pm, £3 (£2) to all three exhibitions.
Ernst Giselbrecht
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The Festival is continually hyped as the ’world's biggest’ and yet architecture — the supposed 'mother of the arts’ — is given little more than token representation: a veritable cultural desert rather than a deluge.
The Matthew Architecture Gallery offers some respite with the British premiere of a widely travelled exhibition on Austrian architect Ernst
Venezuelan scene: one of Pissarro's drawings
Giselbrecht. Born in 1951, Giselbrecht is based in Graz but his work carries none of the quirky organic traits so characteristic of his contemporaries. His approach is to strip away such idiosyncrasies and arrive at a pared down architecture which is beautifully crafted. It transcends the ordinary to reveal an architecture of creative sobriety. (Mark Cousins)
I Ernst Giselbrecht, The Matthew Architecture Gallery (Venue 172) until 19 Sep, Mon—Fri 9am—430pm.
Stars And Bars
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Let’s call Jacqueline Donachie's Stars And Bars an installation. The gallery is filled with music — atmospheric country
CRAFTWORK: If anything has an image problem in the 905 it is craft. Think of craft and what comes to mind is anything from pastel-coloured furry animals on bring and buy stalls. to fancy basketware, macramé and
embroidered bookmarks.
out to inject a bit of style into craft is Artisan. Billed as the largest crafts festival in Europe, it is makin its debut at this year's festival and Includes work by Tim Stead 0 furniture making fame and rubber
jewellery by Heidi Yeo.
Artisan, Edinburgh International Conference Centre (Venue 196) 225 2059, Thu 21-Mon 25 Aug, 11am-7pm, £4.
84 TIIELIST 22—28 Aug 1997
numbers. Down a flight of stairs is a piece of sculpture, a bare table With a sign above saying ’bar'. No drinks. No peOple.
In another space is an empty stage and a song list painted on the wall. Do you want to perform? Do you know the tunes? Well, it doesn’t really matter. Someone does.
The exhibition draws on Donachie’s experience in the US, and one guesses the stay must have been a lonely affair. This is a lonely piece of work.
(Paul Welsh)
I Stars And Bars, Collective Gallery 220 1260, until 30 Aug,
10am—5. 30pm.
Integration
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Navigation skills are Vital at Demarcos. In this labyrinthine, multi-layered space, installations lurk in corners and behind closed doors — and a sense of adventure is part of the package.
Highly apt is Peter Fluck (of Spitting Image fame) and Tony Myatt's Chaotic Construction, a kinetic sculpture and sound piece inspired by chaos theory. Uta KOgelsberger has installed a wall to ceiling walkway of nylon thread and on the rooftop Sits George Wylie’s homage to Joseph Conrad. Under a canopy in a display case lies a dead sea bird. Its Wings outstretched, its neck tucked into its breast, it is a mournful sight. Alongside are Conrad's musings on fidelity and seamen.
Hero of a generation, Joseph Beuys also gets a look in. In his Food For Thought he lists everything from Scotch broth to sandWich spread. There is also an amusing shot of the man in front of local canine monument, Greyfriars Bobby. (Susanna Beaumont)
I Integration, Demarco European Art Foundation, 557 0707 until 30 Aug, daily 1 1am—6pm.
H it list
Art that is guaranteed to satisfy your every part
Theories Of The Decorative The ornamental answers back in a show of seven abstract artists in Edinburgh’s finest exhibition space. Theories Of The Decorative, lnverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden, 552 7171, until 5 Oct, daily 10am-5pm.
A New Look At 47 Frocks from the king of haute couture, Christian Dior who sent the fashion world in a spin with his New Look in 1947. A New Look At 47, Talbot Rice Gallery, 650 2211, until21 Sep, Tue—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm, £2 (13 1.50). Raebum Edinburgh's celebrated artist son, famed for this portrait of the skating reverend, gets his first major restrospective for over 40 years. Raeburn, Royal Scottish Academy (Venue 64) 556 8921, until 5 Oct, Mon—Sat 10am—6pm; Sun 11am—6pm, £4 (£2.50).
Surrealism And After The big boys of Surrealism — Duchamp, Magritte, Dali and Max Ernst are seen in all their glory with the first public showing of the Keiller Collection, bequeathed to the gallery by the champion golfer and marmalade heiress in 1996. Surrealism And After, National Gallery of Modern Art (Venue 66) 556 8921, until 9 Nov, Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun
1 1am—5pm.
Reading Room Double page spreads of stocks and shares from the world’s broadsheet press are powerful symbols of market place exploitation in Peter Kennard’s installation. Reading Room, Edinburgh College of Art (Venue 73) 221 6030, until 30 Aug, daily 10am—5pm.
Dalziel And Sculllon The artist duo who have gone rural on Scotland's north-east coast show a stirring, vast two-screen video installation of the waters of the North Sea and a Victorian graveyard angel. Dalziel And Scull/on, National Gallery of Modern Art (Venue 66) 556 8921, until 14 Sep, Mon—Sat 10am-5pm,-