ROOMS WITH A VIEW Scotland’s galleries scene isn’t just about the big guns and wee treats around Glasgow and Edinburgh. Rachael Cloughton takes a look at some of the exciting art spaces far away from the central belt
MOUNT STUART ROTHESAY
One of the most eclectic visual art spaces in Scotland, Mount Stuart is a grand 19th-century neo-gothic mansion on the Isle of Bute. When the house was i rst built it represented an eccentric mix of technological innovation (it was the i rst home in Scotland to have an indoor heated swimming pool) fused with the nostalgic opulence of the Gothic Revival style. Its owner, the Marquess of Bute, was a keen art lover and his private collection is still available to view at Mount Stuart. That collection includes some outstanding works by Scottish artists Allan Ramsay
and Henry Raeburn, as well as Italian masterpieces from the 16th century and works by Dutch and Flemish Old Masters. But what’s really exciting about this house is its outstanding contemporary art programme. Since 2001, Mount Stuart has quietly commissioned and supported some of
Scotland’s most prominent contemporary artists. The house’s visual art programme kicked off with a residency and exhibition by Kate Whiteford, who produced an enormous representation of a prehistoric necklace discovered on the island. This work set an ambitious precedent for future artists with Thomas Joshua Cooper, Langlands & Bell, Anya Gallaccio, Kate Davis, Lucy Skaer and Lorna Macintyre just a handful of those who have since spent time making and showing work here. It was also Mount Stuart that supported the production of Nathan Coley’s iconic There Will Be No Miracles Here (2006), which is now permanently installed in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s grounds in Edinburgh. This summer, Mount Stuart will open a new exhibition of work by Christine
Borland, timed to coincide with the November centenary of World War I’s Armistice. It’s an eagerly anticipated show, not least because it presents an entirely new body of work by Borland, and was inspired by another chapter in Mount Stuart’s history as a WWI naval hospital. The exhibition, The Power of Twelve, looks at the number 12, which recurs
symbolically in major world religions and across traditions, mythology and superstition. These seemingly contradictory belief systems are rel ected, yet happily co-exist, in the eclectic architecture, design and décor of Mount Stuart. Borland will exhibit across the house, in the swimming pool, conservatory (once a WWI operating theatre), and the Marble Hall and Dining Room. Mount Stuart may be almost 200 years old, but the house is as innovative as ever. Christine Borland: The Power of Twelve | Mount Stuart, Rothesay | Sat 23 Jun–Sun 18 Nov.
112 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2018