VISUAL ART SUPPORTED BY
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LAST CHANCE RSA New Contemporaries 2014 Until Wed 12 Mar. The RSA’s annual show of work by 62 graduates from the 2013 degree shows in art schools around the country, one of the art calendar’s most important showcases for emerging talent. See preview, page 100.
■ THE SCOTTISH GALLERY 16 Dundas Street, 558 1200. Mon–Fri 10am–6pm; Sat 10am–4pm. LAST CHANCE Amy Dennis: New Paintings Until Sat 1 Mar. Amy Dennis’ linear paintings combine views of Edinburgh, nearby landcapes and aspects of still life. LAST CHANCE David Cook: Savage Tranquillity Until Sat 1 Mar. Paintings by artist inspired by the Scottish landscape. LAST CHANCE Rebecca Callis: Porcelain Until Sat 1 Mar. Understated porcelain tableware. NEW David McClure: The Art of Picture Making Wed 5–Sat 29 Mar. A retrospective of the work of distinguished artist and teacher David McClure. NEW Jim Malone: Studio Pottery Wed 5–Sat 29 Mar. A look at the work of the distinguished Cumbria-born ceramicist. NEW Passing It On Wed 5–Sat 29 Mar. Contemporary engraving by Malcolm Appleby and five artists who’ve worked with him: Kate Earlam, Miriam Hanid, Theresa Nguyen, Karen Marion Wallace and Max Warren. NEW The Thrie Estaits at The Scottish Gallery Wed 5–Sat 29 Mar. Work from specialist shop The Thrie Estaits. ■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY The Mound, 624 6200. Mon–Wed & Fri– Sun 10am–5pm; Thu 10am–7pm. Edward Lear in Greece Until Sat 7 Jun. Images of Greece from the pioneer of Victorian nonsense, who was also a highly talented artist.
■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART ONE 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Daily 10am–5pm.
✽Louise Bourgeois: A Woman Without Secrets Until Sun 18
May. Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) was one of the great artists of the 20th century, who drew on her own private demons and made them into works of art. This major exhibition focuses on her sculptural work, including pieces such as Spiral Woman, Avenza and Cell (Eyes and Mirrors). It complements the Fruitmarket Gallery’s exhibition of Bourgeois’ drawings, which is running at the same time. LAST CHANCE New Acquisitions at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Until Sat 1 Mar. A display of recent additions to the Museum’s collection, including prints by Picasso, Cezanne and Hockney, paintings by Joan Eardley, and many other works.
INSTALLATION TANIA KOVATS: OCEANS Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 15 Mar–Sun 25 May
In 2012 Tania Kovats collected and collated water from 100 rivers around Britain. The resulting work, Rivers, was installed at Jupiter Artland as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. ‘I knew I wanted to make a kind of big sister for this work, to expand my collection to include the sea,’ Kovats says. From this initial idea came conversations with the Fruitmarket Gallery about an exhibition of water from the world’s seas. ‘I couldn’t collect all the water myself, so I had to develop a network of people globally.’ Those people have sent Kovats water from around the world, which,
she points out, has involved them sharing their own very personal experiences of the coast. ‘It’s where people go on holiday, where they recreate, where they go to cry, where they’ve gone on a date,’ she says. ‘It’s something we’re endlessly drawn towards. Water is such a powerfully emotive element and there are things that are not fully understood about it. It’s part of the reason it’s so compelling.’ The idea of ‘gifting’ is central to the exhibition. ‘Within certain
cultures you get gifted things, and you might hold on to them but they’re not exactly yours. This work is built on people’s generosity and their gifting of the water. The work is still mine but it wouldn’t have been possible without those acts of generosity.’
The specimens will be collated by Kovats and presented in
alphabetical order according to the name of each sea. ‘We’ve just been sent a bottle of water from two Atlantic rowers, who filled a bottle of water in the middle of the Atlantic,’ Kovats says. ‘I think that’s amazing – that they had the energy to do it. But it’ll be labelled “The Atlantic Ocean” – you can’t necessarily indicate just what a remote bit of water that was.’ (Rhona Taylor)
■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART TWO 73 Belford Road, 624 6200. Daily 10am–5pm. The Scottish Colourists Series: JD Fergusson Until Sun 15 Jun. £7 (£5). A major retrospective of the ebullient and sensual work of John Duncan Fergusson, featuring more than 100 paintings, sculptures, works on paper and archive items. ■ SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. Mon–Wed & Fri–Sun 10am–5pm; Thu 10am–7pm. Citizens of the World: David Hume & Allan Ramsay Until Dec 2015. Images of the Scottish Enlightenment, focusing on the circle around Hume and Ramsay. Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause Until Dec 2015. An exhibition looking
102 THE LIST 20 Feb–20 Mar 2014
at the way the Jacobites presented themselves in portraiture. Making History Until Sun 28 Sep. Work by Sandy Stoddart, Sculptor in Ordinary to the Queen, who was commissioned by the Portrait Gallery to make a monumental figure representing History, intended to stand outside the gallery from autumn 2014. Playing for Scotland: The Making of Modern Sport Until Wed 31 Dec. Images of how sport was transformed by social and infrastructural changes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Reformation to Revolution Until Dec 2016. Portraits of Scottish people from the turbulent 17th century. The Age of Improvement Until Dec 2015. Portraits from Scotland’s great transformation, 1750–1850. The Nation // Live | Work, Union, Civil War, Faith, Roots Until Tue 6
May. A major new exhibition examining national identity. Tickling Jock: Comedy Greats from Sir Harry Lauder to Billy Connolly Until Sun 25 May. Portraits of Scotland’s funny men and women.
✽NEW Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize Sat 1 Mar–Sat 14 Jun. Work by photographers from around the world, with images from established professionals alongside that of students and gifted amateurs, including the competition winner, Spencer Murphy’s portrait of jockey Katie Walsh. See preview, page 97.
■ ST ANDREW SQUARE St Andrew Square Bruce Munro: Field of Light Until Sun 27 Apr. All day. Installation artist Bruce Munro sets up 9500 glass spheres and then turns on the lights to make us ohh and ahh.
■ STILLS 23 Cockburn Street, 622 6200. Daily 11am–6pm. Constructions of Landscape: Work in Progress 3 Until Sun 6 Apr. Photographers engage with landscape using refraction, juxtaposition, montage and alternative processes. Featuring work by Sam Dransfield, Ryan Gibson, Paolo Monti and Aleksandra Zawada.
✽ SUMMERHALL 1 Summerhall, 0845 874 3001. Daily
11am–6pm. See preview, page 96. Alan Smithee: The Grudge Shed Until Sat 22 Mar. In a tribute to the Scottish people’s collective mastery of begrudgery, artist Alan Smithee sets up a ‘Grudge Shed’ in the Summerhall courtyard, for visitors to leave small offerings to the gods of grievance. Colin Jarvie: In Praise of Shadows Until Sat 22 Mar. Images by the late and hugely respected photographer and teacher, including his celebrated series (The Bus Drivers of Acapulco). Dieter Roth: Rot Rot(h) Roth Until Sat 22 Mar. Book works, ephemera and printed editions from the late Swiss artist. Harry Papadopoulos: The Edit Until Sat 22 Mar. Photography by legendary photographer of the Scottish post-punk scene, featuring Orange Juice, Claire Grogan, the Dreamboys (with a very young Peter Capaldi) and others. Ian Hughes: Unearth Tongues Set Free Until Sat 22 Mar. Icon-like images inspired by the artist’s trips to Russia and Poland, exploring the effect of the Holocaust on Europe, Russia and elsewhere. Karin Gunnarsson: Apparitions Until Sat 22 Mar. Site-specific work by the Swedish artist, examining the other- worldliness associated with ghosts. Kevin Williamson: Love to Love You Baby Until Sat 22 Mar. Short films by the Rebel Inc founder, inspired by Donna Summer. Stefan Roloff: NSA Until Sat 22 Mar. Video work by the veteran German-American video artist, who’s collaborated with (among other people) Peter Gabriel. Stephanie Mann: Inherit this Mango Until Sat 22 Mar (closed Sat 1 and Sat 15 Mar.) Stephanie Mann presents large video and photography works referencing the history of still life painting, incorporating her own body into the work by heaping fruit and other objects (plasticine, gold foil) onto her face. Thomas Anderson: Rest Assured Until Sat 22 Mar. Debut solo show of the Edinburgh artist, featuring works inspired by literature.
■ SUTTON GALLERY 18a Dundas Street, 07854 972930. Tue–Sat 11am–5pm. NEW John Slavin: New Works Sat 22 Feb–Wed 12 Mar. Paintings inspired by the artist’s recent travels in the Pyrenees. NEW Arran Ross Sat 15 Mar–Tue 15 Apr. Surreal paintings, drawings and sculptures by the Edinburgh-based artist. ■ TALBOT RICE GALLERY University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, 650 2210. Tue–Sat 10am–5pm. NEW A Wide New Kingdom: The Celtic Revival in Scotland Sat 15 Mar–Sat 19 Apr. An overview of the impact of the Celtic Revival on Scotland, with paintings, illustrations, books, photographs, manuscripts and other ephemera. NEW AR Hopwood: The False Memory Archive Sat 15 Mar–Sat 19 Apr. Films, photography and documents investigating the role of photographic images in the creation of fake childhood memories. NEW David Rushton: Art as Conceit Sat 15 Mar–Sat 19 Apr. David Rushton produces scale models of art and social incidents, such as a scale model of a cultural centre in the abandoned Ukrainian city of Pripyat, near Chernobyl nuclear power station.