VISUAL ART list.co.uk/visualart
Y L L E K H T R O W S L L E ©
HITLIST THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
✽ Ellsworth Kelly: Twelve Colour Prints From the Artist’s Collection
Prints selected by the artist spanning a period of 40 years, which are displayed around the Ingleby’s first-floor gallery space like a vibrant musical score. See review, page 98. Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sat 22 Feb.
✽ Mary Modeen: The Absolutely Other Series of printed landscapes by
the Duncan of Jordanstone academic that veer into abstraction, displayed alongside a new set of work commissioned by the gallery. See preview, page 98. Edinburgh Printmakers, until Sat 15 Mar.
✽ Thomson & Craighead: Maps, DNA and Spam The pair return to the city in which they trained for a show mixing old and new work including ‘Dundee Wall’, an installation that uses social networking status updates posted by people in and around the city. See preview, page 98. Dundee Contemporary Arts, until Sun 16 Mar.
✽ The Scottish Colourists
Series: JD Fergusson The third and final of the National Galleries of Scotland’s Colourists exhibitions curated by Alice Strang, this time focusing on Leith- born Fergusson. More than 100 works are on display. Modern Two, Edinburgh, until 15 Jun.
✽Sarah Lucas The first substantial exhibition in Scotland by the former Young
British Artist brings together pieces of work from the past 20 years. Expect provocative works that challenge perceptions of body, gender and sexuality. See preview, left. Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 31 Jan–Sun 16 Mar.
23 Jan–20 Feb 2014 THE LIST 97
SARAH LUCAS Powerful retrospective targets the male-dominated media world
W hen asked why the time is right for Scotland to host its first retrospective of the work of YBA Sarah Lucas, the Tramway’s director Sarah Munro is frank. ‘Her work is provocative, challenging and subverts attitudes towards the body, gender and sexuality,’ she says. ‘These are topics of extreme relevance in today’s world.’
The show will contain new works as well as old, and while descriptions of the pieces on display haven’t been announced as yet, one key work will be ‘Fighting Fire With Fire x 20 Pack’, a meditation on smoking which uses 20 self-portraits of the artist. Lucas’ face is a constant throughout her work, particularly in the early days, as is the sculptural creation of hard ‘masculine’ forms
dressed in soft female textures, for example a rock or a mannequin clad in tights. ‘On a personal level, I’ve wanted to work with Sarah for over 15 years,’ says Munro. ‘It’s all about getting the right moment and context. She’s an artist that had a real impact on me, from the first time I saw her work in the early 90s. She left school at 16, did a year at the Working Men’s College, created powerful, extraordinary series of self-portraits and felt like she was totally unintimidated by the male dominated media world around her. All those things inspired a young me, and her work today is stronger than ever.’ (David Pollock)
Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 31 Jan–Sun 16 Mar.