VisualArt
FREE Painters in Parallel: William Johnstone & William Gillies Until Sat 3 Mar. A look at two major 20th century Scottish artists. The smaller exhibition Landscapes and Still Lifes revisits the work of William Gillies, whereas the Marshlands exhibition looks at his lesser-known contemporary William Johnstone and aims to establish him as an artist of equal stature. ■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY The Mound, 624 6200. Daily 10am–5pm (Thu until 7pm). FREE George Bain: Master of Modern Celtic Art Until Mon 13 Feb. George Bain (1881–1968) was one of the most important figures in the 20th century revival of Celtic art, through both his work as an artist and his highly influential manual Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction, still a standard text on the subject. This display features examples of his watercolours, drawings, sculptures and jewellery and includes much material that has never been publicly exhibited before.
■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART ONE 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Daily 10am–5pm. FREE Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1136, 2004 Until Sun 6 May. Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #1136, 2004 has been executed by members of the gallery team according to the late artist’s instructions; it’s a huge, vibrant and colourful abstract painting which is painted directly onto the gallery wall and therefore only exists for the duration of its exhibition. When the exhibition is over, the painting will be painted over again (until it’s painted in some other gallery some other time.)
✽✽ FREE The Sculpture Show ●●●●● Until Sun 24 Jun. A major new exhibition of sculptural works from the collection, alongside important works on loan. Featured artists include Rodin, Degas, Hepworth, Moore, Giacometti, Duchamp, Hirst, Lucas and others, along with photographic and film documentation. Ron Mueck’s enormous A Girl returns to the Gallery from its world tour. See review, page 120.
■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART TWO 73 Belford Road, 624 6200. Daily 10am–5pm. FREE Scottish Painting Between the Wars Until Sun 18 Mar. An exhibition of an alternative tradition in Scottish painting to the one represented by the Scottish Colourists. Artists like Edward Baird, James Cowie, William Crosbie and William Crozier drew inspiration from the cubist and vorticist movements. The Scottish Colourist Series: FCB Cadell ●●●●● Until Sun 18 Mar. £7 (£5). The first of a series of retrospectives about the four artists known as the ‘Scottish Colourists’. Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883–1937) was born in Edinburgh and is remembered for his interiors, still lifes and landscapes of Scotland and France. FREE The Scottish Colourists and their Circle Until Sun 18 Mar. An overview of the work of FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson, GL Hunter and SJ Peploe, and other artists who were working in the similar manner at the same time, as
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124 THE LIST 2 Feb–1 Mar 2012
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well as younger artists inspired by their work. ■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. Daily 10am–5pm (Thu until 7pm). A host of new long-term displays exploring different aspects of Scottish Portraiture. On show are: a set of portraits of people painted wearing their tartan in the 18th century; a display looking at the relationship between philosopher David Hume and painter Allan Ramsay; Thomas Annan’s haunting photographs of a condemned Victorian Glasgow slum; a corner devoted to George Jamesone, widely accepted as Scotland’s first great portrait painter; an investigation into the Jacobites’ self-presentation through portraiture; military engineer John Slezer’s landscape engravings from the late 17th and early 18th centuries; a survey of how and why women had their portraits painted in the 19th century; an exhibition of work showing how sport was transformed by wider social and infrastructural changes in the last two centuries; a section focusing on the Reformation; and finally a group of portraits of the heroes of Scotland’s great industrial and cultural transformation of 1750–1850. FREE Graham Fagen: Missing Until Sat 31 Mar. A specially commissioned new video work projected onto two screens, based on the theme of missing people. FREE Hot Scots Until Sun 1 Apr. Display of photographic portraits of some of Scotland’s top creative people. FREE Migration Stories: Pakistan Until Wed 31 Oct. An exhibition exploring Scotland’s links with Pakistan using three different displays: an exhibition of photos of prominent Scots with Pakistani heritage; a film by Pakistani-born film-maker Sana Bilgrami; and a look at the life of a Scottish teacher in Lahore. FREE Pioneers of Science Until Wed 31 Oct. An exhibition of portraits of the men, women and in at least one case the sheep, whose adventures in science have shaped the modern world. FREE Romantic Camera: Scottish Photography & the
Construct
Modern World Until Sun 3 Jun. The opening exhibition of the refurbished National Portrait Gallery consists of some of the greatest photographs in the Gallery’s collection and explores questions of national identity. FREE The Modern Scot Until Wed 31 Oct. An exhibition exploring how Scottish writers and artists developed a uniquely modern sensibility in the aftermath of World War I, featuring such pivotal figures as Hugh MacDiarmid and JD Fergusson. FREE War at Sea Until Wed 31 Oct. Sir John Lavery was a slightly unusual war artist in that he never visited the main theatre of the conflict he was covering: the Western front of the First World War. Instead he recorded the lives of airmen, sailors and munitions workers. This exhibition features numerous paintings on loan from London’s Imperial War Museum.
■ THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT Horse Wynd, Holyrood, 0800 092 7500. Opening hours vary depending on parliament activities, please phone for info. FREE Design & Democracy Until Fri 23 Mar. Work by 15 new designers, all recent graduates from Scottish art schools, and all demonstrating how design can alter the ways in which we live, be it in the fields of health, society or environment. ■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Mon–Sat 10am–6pm. FREE A New Look at the Old Town Until Sat 25 Feb. The results of an ambitious two-year project by artist William Highet to paint the whole south side of the Royal Mile.
■ SIERRA METRO Ground Floor North, 22 West Harbour Road, sierrametro.com Sat & Sun noon–6pm.
✽✽ FREE A useful-looking useless object Sun 5–Sun 26
Feb. Group show of new work by Johann Arens, Shelly Nadashi, Emily Wardill and Jennifer West.
The new group show at Mary Mary aims to explore ideas of construction and reproduction in the practice of four artists: Barbara Kasten (whose work is picture, above), Ricky Swallow, Alan Michael and Daniel Sinsel. While the exhibition features an array of mediums, from sculpture to photograpy and painting, the common thread is that each of the artists undertake a series of alterations and manipulations in order to generate their final images. ■ Mary Mary, Glasgow, Sat 11 Feb–Sat 24 Mar.
■ ST JOHN’S CHURCH Princes Street, 221 2273. FREE Aisha Al-Sadie: Land of the Sun Sat 18 Feb–Sat 3 Mar. Sat 18 & Mon 27 Feb, Fri 2 & Sat 3 Mar, 8am–4pm; Tue 21, Thu 23 & Tue 28 Feb, 1–4pm; Mon 20 & Sat 25 Feb, 8am–noon. Painting exploring the mixed cultural heritage of the Scottish-Iraqi artist. Part of the Middle East Festival.
■ STILLS 23 Cockburn Street, 622 6200. Mon–Thu 11am–9pm; Fri–Sun 11am–6pm.
✽✽ FREE Allan Sekula: Ship of Fools Until Sun 18 Mar. A
photography exhibition documenting the voyage of the MV Global Mariner, a cargo ship that toured the world from 1998 to 2000 carrying in its holds a travelling exhibition of working conditions at sea. See review, page 120. FREE Richard Williams: United States Until Sun 18 Mar. Richard Williams’ exhibition of photos and artefacts is an examination of the history and future of the great Atlantic ocean liner SS United States. The largest ocean liner ever constructed entirely within the USA, she still holds the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing in passenger service and is now slowly rusting in a Philadelphia dock because nobody can agree on what to do with her: one of the most impressive (albeit obvious) metaphors ever constructed. ■ TALBOT RICE GALLERY University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, 650 2210. Tue–Sat 10am–5pm. FREE Beholder ●●●●● Until Sat 18 Feb. An innovative exhibition exploring ideas of taste, beauty and subjectivity, curated as part of David Hume’s 300th birthday celebrations. Artists include Yoko Ono, Karla Black, Giorgio Morandi, Alan Reid, Hamish Fulton, Anthony Schrag and many others.
■ TORRANCE GALLERY 36 Dundas Street, 556 6366. Mon–Fri 11am–6pm; Sat 10.30am–4pm. FREE Jolomo: Boats, Crofts and Kirks Until Sat 11 Feb. Hebridean scenes by the ever-popular artist.
■ UNION GALLERY 45 Broughton Street, 556 7707. Mon–Sat 10.30am–6pm; Sun noon–6pm. FREE Poetic Licence Until Mon 27 Feb. Paintings and drawings inspired by poetry, featuring work by Joyce Gunn Cairns, James Newton Adams, Iain Finlay MacLeod, Olivia Irvine, Imogen Alabaster and others. ■ THE VILLAGE 16 South Fort Street, 478 7810. Mon–Sat 11am–11.45pm; Sun 12.30–11.45pm. FREE John Nicholls: Recent Work 2010–2012 Sun 12 Feb–Fri 16 Mar. A photo journal from across Scotland, London, Prague and Marrakech.
OUTSIDE THE CITIES ■ DUNDEE CONTEMPORARY ARTS 152 Nethergate, Dundee, 01382 909900. Tue–Sat 11am–6pm (Thu until 8pm); Sun noon–6pm. FREE Jane & Louise Wilson Until Sun 25 Mar. Two bodies of recent work: Atomgrad (Nature Abhors a Vacuum), a collection of photographs of sites around the abandoned town of Pripyat in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, and a film installation called Face Scripting - What Did the Building See?, exploring the assassination of a Hamas operative in Dubai.
■ THE PARK GALLERY Callendar Park, Falkirk, 01324 503789. Mon–Sat 10am–5pm. FREE Elizabeth Blackadder: Journeys from Home Until Sat 25 Feb. An exhibition charting the life of Elizabeth Blackadder through the artist’s own paintings.