E D N Y E N A V M O T
VisualArt HITLIST THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
Annuale City-wide showcase of art programmed by Embassy Gallery, including Francis Thorburn’s ‘Scapegoat: No Manichino, 2012’ (pictured), which is part of Social Growth at Embassy itself. See review, page 120. Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh and various venues around the city, until Sun 24 Jun.
Michael Clark: Quintessentially French Ayrshire-born artist Clark details his love affair with France in an exhibition of new work. See picture, page 123. Doubtfire Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sat 23 Jun.
Helen Fay Glasgow Print Studio’s 40th anniversary celebrations continue with an exhibition by Helen Fay who creates prints of landscapes and animals. See art spotlight, inside back cover. Glasgow Print Studio, until Sun 1 Jul. A Parliament of Lines Fascinating group show exploring the very definition of drawing and its boundaries and overlap with other disciplines. See review, page 120. City Art Centre, Edinburgh, until Sun 8 Jul.
Sarnath Banerjee: History is Written by Garment Exporters The acclaimed Indian artist and graphic novelist, Sarnath Banerjee, exhibits his work, new and old, for the first time in Scotland. CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 28 Jul. Lotte Gertz Beautiful yet unassuming showcase of new works from Lotte Gertz, whose abstract, almost child-like paintings come to life on startling hand- stitched canvases. See review, page 120. Mary Mary, Glasgow, until Sat 4 Aug.
LeithLate Series of late-night visual art and music events Lis Rhodes: Dissonance and Disturbance Work
around Leith Walk, including site-specific installations in venues ranging from a gym to a hairdressers. See picture caption in Music. Various venues, Edinburgh, Thu 28 Jun. by the British filmmaker and artist, whose work is political, feminist, visually rich and powerfully poetic. See review, page 120. Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 24 Jun.
Infinite Jest Cinthia Marcelle, Rob Pruitt and William Mackrell look at the idea of infinity in work, which involves circular narration, infinite loops and möbius strips. Reviewed next issue. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Sat 23 Jun–Sun 26 Aug.
Studio 58: Women Artists in Glasgow since WW II Major exhibition of Glasgow’s woman artists since 1939, curated by Sarah Lowndes. See Artbeat, right. Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow, Sat 7 Jul–Sat 29 Sep.
list.co.uk/visualart
ARTBeat SARAH LOWNDES
Curator SARAH LOWNDES discusses her exhibition and publication examining the period between 1939 and now when women artists have been at the forefront of Glasgow’s art scene
Two years ago, Jenny Brownrigg, director of exhibitions at Glasgow School of Art, invited me to curate an exhibition for the Mackintosh Museum. I decided to highlight an alternative history of the building and its use, through the work of the women artists who either studied or taught in the school from 1939 onwards. Many people are familiar with the Glasgow Boys and the New Glasgow Boys but perhaps less so with the work of the city’s postwar women artists. I also wanted to draw out thematic links between different generations of artists, for instance to consider a 1958 Joan Eardley seascape alongside an abstract painting from the late 90s by Victoria Morton or to look at a 1970s painting by Bet Low in relationship to a new suspended sculpture by Karla Black. I also decided to situate embroidery, ceramics, textile design, print and illustration beside ‘high art’ forms like painting and sculpture, and to address the importance of photography and film for women artists in Glasgow.
Glasgow is a city with a rich socialist history, and the women’s movement and left wing politics have been closely entwined here, from the days of the Suffragettes right up until the 1980s when radical groups like Transmission gallery, the Free University and the Women’s Library formed in opposition to the doctrines of the Thatcher government. The art scene that has grown here since the 1980s is anything but macho – thanks in large part to the efforts of women like Adele Patrick, Sam Ainsley and Cathy Wilkes, who have worked tirelessly both as artists and educators. ■ Studio 58: Women Artists in Glasgow since WW II, Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow School of Art, Sat 7 Jul–Sun 30 Sep.
21 Jun–19 Jul 2012 THE LIST 119