Visual art and Painting & drawing

Warm up this winter with free art in Edinburgh

4 Jan 2012

Now the party season is over and the festivities long gone, you and your wallet could probably do with a little TLC. Luckily the National Galleries of Scotland have a full programme of free exhibitions and events during January, to help nourish the mind…

Alasdair Gray: City Recorder

Fantastic exhibition of drawings chronicling Glasgow's past

19 Dec 2011

For one year in 1977, at a time when many of Glasgow’s famous old industries were closing, Alasdair Gray was commissioned to capture the life of the city in ink, watercolour, acrylic and oil on paper. Glasgow’s local history museum, the People’s Palace…

Alison Watt – Hiding in Full View

The artist's paintings are good, but suffer in comparison to the photography of Francesca Woodman

19 Dec 2011

‘All rooms will hide you, if you stand just so – ghosts know this, that’s really all they know,’ declares one of the poems by Don Paterson (a credited collaborator in this show), which are printed in fluid lower case type just below eye level on the…

Andrew Kerr – So Ensconced

Over 70 new paintings in this debut solo exhibition from the Glasgow-based artist

19 Dec 2011

Absence makes the heart grow fonder in Andrew Kerr’s first major solo show in Scotland. Almost 70 new paintings discreetly dominate both floors, only interrupted by the odd smattering of drawings or sculptural intervention. Most of the mainly…

The Scottish Colourists series: FCB Cadell

Retrospective of the early 20th century colourist's work displays a life-long development of talent

15 Nov 2011

To modern eyes this retrospective of the work of early 20th century Edinburgh colourist FCB Cadell might appear a little staid, a procession of chintzy New Town interiors and still life compositions involving china crockery and the distinctive white…

Hiding in Full View - Alison Watt interview

The painter discusses her latest exhibition, a response to American photographer Francesca Woodman

21 Oct 2011

What first made you want to be a painter? My father is a painter, so the idea of looking at and making paintings has always been a very normal and natural activity for me. The place I felt most at home as a child was in my father’s studio. It seemed to…

Ciara Phillips: The only rule is work

Exhibition the result of a three-month residency at Kendall Koppe, inspired by Sister Corita Kent

21 Oct 2011

‘The only rule is work’ is one of ten accommodating rules for students and teachers developed by artist and educator Sister Corita Kent. Ciara Phillips’ exhibition is the result of her three-month residency in the gallery space where she shared a…

Central Station: Charlie Anderson

Provocative rising artist with an eye on contemporary culture

21 Oct 2011

Since graduating in 2009, Charlie Anderson has pissed off art collectors, curators, graffiti writers, three world-renowned artists, been threatened by a leading London gallerist, and has been punched in the face by an Edinburgh artist. He has also won…

Lucy Roscoe - The Beach House

Collection of sea-themed prints and paper sculptures in convivial deli setting

21 Sep 2011

Edinburgh-based artist-illustrator and founder of the Book Tree Press, Lucy Roscoe, brings a body of new work to Edinburgh’s Broughton Deli. The Beach House is the tenth in a specially curated series by Nicola Brooks and fills the space with delicate…

Alan Reid: Boudoir Concrete

Delicately balanced clashing of art and design

16 Sep 2011

Looking for all the world like propaganda posters for Nazi leisure organisation Kraft durch Freude, Alan Reid’s representational drawings of lissome young bodies appear to promote healthy living and sexless appeal. Lithe bodies are interrupted by…

Smile

Feeble collection riffing off ill-conceived ideas

24 Aug 2011

Between the Spangles wrapper psychedelia of its poster to the feeble collection of art in the gallery, Smile does nothing to live up to its name. Riffing off ill-conceived ideas honed from (a misunderstanding of) the Fluxus movement and the writings of…

Interview: US artist Ingrid Calame

Transferring transfers marks and cracks from ground outside to gallery walls

3 Aug 2011

‘This is it!’ exclaims US artist Ingrid Calame, waving towards a radiant tabletop awash with transparent sacks of bright pigments, a sea of reds, pinks, blues and greens. She’s referring to a new drawing based on tracings plucked from the cement…

The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein

Compendium of works inspired by the Renaissance innovator

3 Aug 2011

There’s something of an inky-fingered Dürer overload in the ‘burgh just now. Following on from Dürer’s Fame over at the National Galleries, this 16th century compendium of more than 100 works uses his output as a springboard for the burgeoning of…

Elizabeth Blackadder

Brilliant retrospective of work by one of Scotland’s major artists

3 Aug 2011

Elizabeth Blackadder is a Dame, a Royal Academician and arguably Scotland’s most popular female painter and printmaker. A major retrospective of her work at Scotland’s biggest gallery space was only ever going to draw sighs of resignation from art snobs…

Michelle Hannah: Who Wants to Live Forever

Prints and paintings based on Highlander film and Queen soundtrack

14 Jun 2011

Can God create a rock so heavy that even God himself cannot lift it? If so, then the rock is now unliftable, limiting God’s power. But if not, then God is not omnipotent because he cannot create that rock. The work of Michelle Hannah is concerned…

Scottish artists Alberto Morrocco, William Littlejohn and David McClure feature in Kinblethmont Gallery exhibition

14 Apr 2011

The artists Alberto Morrocco, William Littlejohn and David McClure were all contemporaries who painted in distinct modern styles influenced both by European painting and the Scottish tradition epitomised by the Scottish colourists. Much acclaimed in…

A Drawback

16 Aug 2010

The phenomenon of drawing has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, with many artists now returning to producing, exhibiting and selling contemporary drawings. This exhibition by Perennial Art celebrates the diversity and richness of the practice and…

Artist Anthony Fry on why he’s happy to be back in Scotland.

As well as why he loves coming home to paint

5 Aug 2010

As he prepares to showcase work inspired by exotic foreign locations renowned painter Anthony Fry tells Talitha Kotzé why he’s delighted to be back in Scotland. Well-known for needing the heat to paint, Anthony Fry has spent a great deal of time in…

Simon Yuill: Fields, Factories and Workshops

3 Aug 2010

Neil Cooper talks to Simon Yuill, whose solo exhibition explores the relationship between space, community and politics...

Hat Trick: Recoat Third Birthday Exhibition

Glasgow gallery's third birthday brings artists from all over Europe

3 Aug 2010

Break out the candles and streamers – Recoat, those West Coast specialists in illustration, street art, graffiti and photography have hit another milestone. To mark the gallery’s third birthday, artists from Poland, Belgium, germany and England…

ECA and GSA Degree Shows 2010

9 Jun 2010

As Glasgow and Edinburgh prepare to showcase their finest outgoing talent with their much anticipated degree shows, Talitha Kotzé meets some of the makers

Affordable Art: Getting Started - Susanna Beaumont

29 Apr 2010

Buying and owning art can bring both pleasure and profit, and you don’t need stacks of cash to get started. We begin our guide with some tips from a prominent gallery owner...

Affordable Art: Getting Started - Hugo Brown

29 Apr 2010

Buying and owning art can bring both pleasure and profit, and you don’t need stacks of cash to get started. We begin our guide with some tips from an established collector...

Linder - King’s Ransom (Hybrid Tea)

15 Apr 2010

Legendary visual artist and Morrissey pal Linder discusses her epic new performance piece and eagerly awaited exhibition with Neil Cooper What are words worth? ‘Glamour’, for instance, is a Scottish derivative that comes directly from the word…

The End of the Line: Attitudes in Drawing

29 Oct 2009

Time was when the only thing artists drew was the dole. With a return to the dark ages of Tory government imminent, the halcyon days of the unofficial fortnightly grant that allowed an entire generation of Thatcher’s children to explore their creativity…