VisualArt Fraser Sim
5 BEST
EXHIBITIONS OF 2010 Martin Creed: Things A playful, humorous and beautifully installed exhibition by Turner Prize-winning artist Creed. Seventeen of the artist’s works were on show under the wonderfully vague title of Things, including piled-up boxes, pot plants, nails painstakingly arranged in a wall and a mischievously placed doorstop. The Common Guild, Glasgow, Mar/Apr. Christoph Büchel: Last Man Out Turn Off Lights One of the shining highlights of this year’s Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art had, as its centrepiece, a defunct aeroplane, blown up by Swiss artist Büchel to set up a fictitious scenario showcasing a futile attempt to put the plane’s pieces back together again. Powerful stuff, created with painstaking sweat and tears. Tramway, Glasgow, Jun/Jul. Impressionist Gardens This year’s flagship exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland surpassed even the popular Impressionists and Scotland show of two years ago in its ambition and scope. The dizzying display included iconic works by Monet, Manet, Pisarro, van Gogh and Klimt. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Aug-Oct. Julie Roberts: Child The Glasgow School of Art-trained painter Julie Roberts created one of the most striking exhibitions at this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival, a frank and compelling exploration of childhood and the displacement of children in the mid-20th century, whose stylised doll-like figures seemed both truthful and fantastical. Talbot Rice, Edinburgh, Aug/Sep. Alasdair Gray: Gray Stuff The Glasgow-based novelist, poet and painter topped off a busy year with this highly praised exhibition of murals, theatre posters, book cover designs and sketches, which showcased the depth and breadth of his craft and revealed the thought process and editing behind his works. Talbot Rice, Edinburgh, Nov/Dec.
106 THE LIST 16 Dec 2010 – 6 Jan 2011
Fraser Sim graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1999, winning the Royal Scottish Academy Student Prize for Printmaking in the same year. Having worked in the UK and internationally as a graphic designer and web designer for several years he returned to making artwork in 2008. With subject matter derived from a variety of sources, his current practice uses digital processes combined with handcrafted techniques, grid systems, experimentation and chance, to create arrangements of reductive geometric forms and patterns using non-traditional materials on found substrates. He lives and works in Glasgow. ■ www.frasersim.com www.thisiscentralstation.com
Exhibitions are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to art@list.co.uk. Listings compiled by Laura Ennor. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
GLASGOW ■ +44 141 AT SWG3 Studio Warehouse, 100 Eastvale Place, 357 7246. Wed–Sat noon–6pm. FREE Stina Wirfelt Until Sun 19 Dec. Presentation of video work. ■ ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN SCOTLAND Level 2, The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, 225 8350. Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri & Sat 10.30am–5pm; Tue 11am–5pm. FREE Various Exhibitions Until Sat 15 Jan (call for Christmas opening hours). Exhibits exploring Scotland’s urban landscapes, natural materials and designers of the past, present and future.
■ CAFÉ COSSACHOK 10 King Street/Trongate 103, 553 0733. Tue–Sun 11am–11pm. FREE Cossachok Christmas Show Until Fri 31 Dec (closed 25 Dec). Prints of St Petersburg and crafts and jewellery to buy. ■ CASTLE GALLERIES Level One, Princes Square, 48 Buchanan Street, 221 6867. Mon–Wed, Fri & Sat 10am–6pm; Thu 10am–8pm; Sun noon–5pm. FREE It’s a Stripe Thing Until Fri 24 Dec. Pictures of made-up animals by Peter Smith.
■ CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. Tue–Sat 11am–6pm. ✽✽ FREE Revealing the Invisible: Stansfield/Hooykaas Until Sat 29 Jan (closed 23 Dec–4 Jan). A major retrospective of Scottish/Dutch video arts duo Elsa Stansfield and Madelon Hooykaas.
■ COLLINS GALLERY 22 Richmond Street, 548 2558. Tue–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat noon–4pm. FREE Fire & Fibre Until Fri 17 Dec. Collaborative work by members of the Scottish Potters and the Scottish Basketmakers Associations. FREE Private World: Moray Hillary and Agnes Nedregard Until Tue 21 Dec. An evolving installation exhibition of photographic and print explorations of interior landscapes.
FREE Cyril Gerber Christmas Exhibition Until Sat 15 Jan (closed 25–27 Dec & 1–2 Jan). A wide-ranging selection of painting.
■ THE DUCHY GALLERY 23 Duke Street, 237 8754. Fri & Sat noon–6pm. FREE Michael White: So Miami!!! Sat 18 Dec–Sat 22 Jan (closed 19 Dec–6 Jan). Witty sculptures from the Glaswegian. ■ GALLERY OF MODERN ART Royal Exchange Square, 287 3050. Mon–Wed & Sat 10am–5pm; Thu 10am–8pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Closed 25–26 Dec & 1–2 Jan. FREE Unsettled Objects Until Tue 1 Mar. Photography, video and installation from GoMA’s collection. FREE Hertie Querty Until Sun 1 May. Merry and mischievous pieces of art.
■ THE COMMON GUILD 21 Woodlands Terrace, 223 0087. Wed–Fri noon–7pm; Sat noon–5pm. FREE Tacita Dean Until Sat 5 Feb (closed 19 Dec–4 Jan). The artist’s first solo exhibition in over a decade explores displaced objects and processes of transformation. ■ GATEHOUSE GALLERY Rouken Glen Road, 620 0235. Mon, Fri & Sun 1.30pm–5.30pm; Sat 11.30am–5.30pm. FREE Christmas Exhibition Until Fri 24 Dec. Paintings, sculpture, ceramics and jewellery by regular gallery artists.
■ COMPASS GALLERY 178 West Regent Street, 221 6370. Mon–Sat 10am–5.30pm. FREE The Winter Exhibition Until Mon 31 Jan (closed 25–27 Dec & 1–3 Jan). Work by contemporary British artists and recent graduates. ■ CYRIL GERBER FINE ART 148 West Regent Street, 221 3095. Mon–Sat 9.30am–5.30pm.
■ GLASGOW PRINT STUDIO Trongate 103, 552 0704. Tue–Sat 10am–5.30pm; Sun noon–5pm. FREE A Hand-Made Christmas Until Fri 24 Dec. Handcrafted original Christmas gifts. Academicians Until Sun 30 Jan (closed 24 Dec–5 Jan). The works of four artists – Eileen Cooper, David Mach, Neil MacPherson and Michael Visocchi.