VisualArt HITLIST THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
Luke Fowler The award-winning Glasgow-based artist’s most deeply personal exhibition to date includes a 93-minute film, ‘All Our Divided Selves’, whose content is heavily influenced by the renowned anti-psychiatrist RD Laing. See review, page 120. Inverleith House, Edinburgh, until Sun 29 Apr.
Matthew Darbyshire: T Rooms Last chance to catch London-based artist Darbyshire’s installation exploring the role of design as a measure of social change. Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 11 Mar.
Angela Steel: Knots The ECA graduate unveils a series of seven stained glass panels displaying a powerfully Gothic story. See caption, page 121. Compass Gallery, Glasgow, until Sat 17 Mar. Jane & Louise Wilson The sisters unveil photographs exploring the abandoned town of Pripyat in the Chernobyl exclusion zone to DCA. See review, page 120. Dundee Contemporary Arts, until Sun 25 Mar.
Anna Barriball Enjoyable, bold and playful exhibition of works from Plymouth artist Barriball whose strongly-conceived, idiosyncratic practice blurs the lines between drawing and sculpture. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 1 Apr. The Sculpture Show Wide-ranging survey of 20th century sculpture that includes works by Ron Mueck, Rachel Whiteread, Duane Hanson and Damien Hirst. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One, Edinburgh, until Sun 24 Jun.
Alasdair Gray: City Recorder Must-see collection of street scenes, landscapes and portraits created in 1977 when Gray was artist recorder for the city of Glasgow. Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Mon 13 Aug.
Alison Turnbull Paintings and drawings, including works on found sheets of graph paper, exercise books and scores, exploring systems of classification. Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 10 Mar–Sat 5 May.
Allan Sekula: Ship of Fools Major photographic essay depicting the voyage of the Global Mariner and the exploitative nature of the fishing industry, by US artist Sekula. Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 18 Mar.
Cryptic: The View Cryptic Nights presents a large-scale outdoor installation by acclaimed artist Rory Middleton, which features cinematic and live music elements. Cove Park, Cove, Thu 29 & Fri 30 Mar.
list.co.uk/visualart
ARTBeat COLLINS GALLERY
D R E H P E H S
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As Strathclyde University’s Collins Gallery prepares to unveil its final exhibition, curator Laura Hamilton picks her favourite exhibitions from the gallery’s 40-year history
Impossible to select only five top shows from over 250 curated for the Collins since 1989, but here are a few which best captured the attention of the public at large, or provided the greatest inspiration for Scottish makers’ practices. Submarine, Iron and Heavier than Air, a trio of haunting and ambitious, mixed media installations by Tom McKendrick inspired by great feats of engineering.
Chocolate and The Plate Show, two major thematic exhibitions representing over 200 artists from throughout the world. On the eve of the launch of Chocolate, BBC Scotland aired a plea from Glasgow City Council for a public boycott, providing excellent, nationwide publicity while The Plate Show brought Grayson Perry to Scotland and encouraged artists, better known for their expertise in other fields, to experiment with ceramic.
Memorable firsts include major contemporary textile shows from Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, as well as basketry from Japan, Botswana and India, all of which have led to on-going opportunities for local makers to engage in exchanges with counterparts across the globe. Always key to the Collins, was the abolishment of perceived barriers between art, design and craft as illustrated in numerous projects, two favourites of which were the inclusion of Simon Carroll’s chaotic paintings, prints and drawings in a major retrospective of his ceramics, and more recently, a vibrant installation by Glasgow’s Chalet group. ■ George Wyllie: A Life Less Ordinary, Collins Gallery, Glasgow, Sat 10 Mar–Sat 21 Apr.
1–29 Mar 2012 THE LIST 119