VisualArt HITLIST THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
Dialogue Show curated by the well-known Canadian printmaking collective Engamme that uses a variety of printmaking techniques. See review, page 89. Edinburgh Printmakers, until Sat 21 Jul.
Edinburgh Art Festival The city-wide celebration of the visual arts gets underway with major exhibitions including Picasso, Lusieri and the Symbolists as well as Roddy Buchanan, Susan Philipsz and Harry Hill. Various venues, Edinburgh, from mid-July. Sarnath Banerjee: History is Written by Garment Exporters Images by graphic novelist Banerjee that give a strong insight into Indian society. See review, page 89. CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 28 Jul.
David Peat: A Retrospective A rich exploration of the art of street photography from Scots documentary filmmaker Peat. See review, page 89. Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, until Sun 5 Aug. Infinite Jest Three artists, Cinthia Marcelle, Rob Pruitt and William Mackrell, explore circular narration, infinite loops and möbius strips. See review, page 89. Dundee Contemporary Arts, until Sun 26 Aug.
Weaving the Century: Tapestry from Dovecot Studios 1912– 2012 Major collection of over 60 tapestries by acclaimed artists to celebrate Dovecot’s centenary. See Artbeat, right. Until Sun 7 Oct.
Lotte Gertz Beautiful yet unassuming Katja Strunz: Dynamic Fatigue Test New work
exhibition of new work by the Danish-born, Glasgow- based artist, painted onto hand-stitched canvases made from pure-white muslin. Mary Mary, Glasgow, until Sat 4 Aug. by acclaimed sculptor Strunz, which explores the capacity of materials to absorb stress. Reviewed next issue. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Sat 18 Aug.
Studio 58: Women Artists in Glasgow since WWII Major survey of Glasgow’s leading female artists from WWII to the present day. Reviewed next issue. Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow School of Art, until Sun 30 Sep.
Sanctuary | Comraich Short films, sculpture and works on paper within the historic surrounds of Mount Stuart House, including works by Ian Bourn and Lucy Skaer. Mount Stuart House, Rothesay, Isle Of Bute, until Wed 31 Oct.
88 THE LIST 19 Jul–2 Aug 2012
list.co.uk/visualart
ARTBeat ELIZABETH CUMMING, CURATOR
There are over 60 tapestries in the Dovecot’s centenary exhibition. What has struck you most about the work? The sheer diversity of the designs and the many imaginative ways the weavers interpreted the designs. It was much more varied and stronger than I had realised. I am full of admiration for weavers’ skills but they bring so much more to the work. Their interpretations are highly individual and often worked in close conversation with the artists, a rich dialogue of ideas. What shared themes have emerged? I guess the first section of the show, which looks at the first half century to the very early 1960s has tapestries which are generally figurative and extremely romantic. Then a tapestry would be largely image- based. Later on Eduardo Paolozzi, Harold Cohen and Archie Brennan were intrigued by popular culture of the 1960s. Those are the times when there was more cohesion of any ‘style’ (though their pieces are incredibly individual). Is the exhibition arranged chronologically? Yes, but fairly generally. It is three rooms, each of which looks at a period in Dovecot’s history – 1912 to 1960, the 1960s to mid-1980s, and work since then. These show the many directions the studio has taken – the character of the work is always changing and this gives it its vibrancy. Is weaving once again thriving as an art form? Of course! The dialogues with artists are ongoing. The exhibition includes not only more tradiitonal tapestry made this summer but pieces where tapestry is an element in different kinds of art objects – I am thinking here of Claire Barclay’s installation work and jeweller David Poston’s delicate constructions. Here again the weavers can work closely with the partner artist. ■ Elizabeth Cumming is curator of Weaving the Nation, Dovecot, Edinburgh, until Sun 7 Oct.