Visual art

Return of the Soul - The Nakbah Project

A secret persecution preserved in wax

14 Aug 2008

Scottish based painter, theatre designer and now multimedia artist Jane Frere revisits the Nakbah, the catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people in 1948 when the newly UN-sanctioned nation of Israel expropriated ‘lebensraum’ (living room) through…

Sanford Wurmfield: E-Cyclorama

Rainbow in the round

14 Aug 2008

New York based artist Wurmfield’s new creation is a sight to behold. He channels the colour theories of the great Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell by way of Goethe, the Scottish Enlightenment (there is a reason this work is being premiered in the…

Frances Richardson: Playing Against Reason

The great global economic gamble, in heavily symbolic form

14 Aug 2008

Take Frances Richardson’s drawing and sculptures (the latter she refers to as ‘walk-in drawings’) literally and it seems the world is falling down around us. Or at least the financial world is, and that might not be too far from the truth. But how…

Gledinbow

Glasgow and Edinburgh reconciled through art?

14 Aug 2008

‘gleDinBow’ is pitched as an exhibition that has paired artists from Edinburgh with partners from Glasgow as a way to explore ‘sibling rivalry’ and attempt to cross perceived artistic boundaries between the two cities. In practise there is little…

Painting Music Workshop

The art of sound

14 Aug 2008

There are several enjoyable aspects to this imaginative workshop, but the best one is the gift that keeps on giving. In just 40 minutes, Rhuti Carr and her musical cohorts give you a new skill that will stay with you for life. Gathered around a giant…

5 Questions - Spam the Musical

14 Aug 2008

5 words to describe SPAM the Musical Viral, punk, trojan, fabulous & fucked up. 4 places we might be able to catch it Where you least expect it. Or www.spamthemusical.com, if you’re lazy. 3 other EAF exhibitions you’re looking forward to…

Samuel Bough painting due at auction

14 Aug 2008

An early landscape work by English artist Samuel Bough RSA is expected to reach over £30,000 at Bonhams' Scottish Sale, which is due to be held in the company's new Queen Street premises in Edinburgh on 29 August. The work has reportedly not been seen…

Jim Lambie: Forever Changes

14 Aug 2008

The quietest month on Glasgow’s art scene means you should pick your moment to get a little alone time with Jim Lambie’s current exhibition at the GOMA. Despite invoking the bustle of pop culture, rock gigs and glitzy local discotheques called things…

Bond Bound: Ian Fleming and the Art of Cover Design

Of human bond-age

7 Aug 2008

It’s strange, considering how conservative a character James Bond is, that his presentation and marketing seems to fall so readily in step with the times. From Sean Connery throughout the smooth, swinging 60s, to the more cartoonishly lurid 70s and…

Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School

7 Aug 2008

I blame after-school ‘buff club’ for the prudish apprehension I felt on entering Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School. The life drawing class of my youth utterly succeeded in repressing my schoolgirl giggle. Week after week the models’ towelling gowns would…

Ingleby Gallery

All change

7 Aug 2008

Edinburgh’s Ingleby gallery has gradually developed a solid reputation for showing emerging and established contemporary art in a domestic Georgian setting, but their art collection has grown along with their status, prompting directors Richard and…

Garlands - Falkirk

7 Aug 2008

What does the richest man in America in the early 20th Century have in common with the Cocteau Twins? Falkirk. Or more specifically, the area around Falkirk and Grangemouth, birthplace of Captain Robert Dollar, Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie. They…

Gledinbow

A Tale of Two Cities

7 Aug 2008

Glasgow and Edinburgh: what a pair. Like errant brothers at a wedding, you can bet they’ll be brawling on the dance floor before the end of the night. The roots of this mutual antipathy are too numerous to mention, yet they extend into all aspects of…

5 Questions - Chad McCail

7 Aug 2008

5 words to describe your current show: Achingly beautiful, heart-wrenching eye candy. 4 other exhibitions you want to see: The Mike Kelly retrospective in Brussels I missed; a Tony Oursler retrospective, a George Condo show... that’s enough wanting. 3…

Eskimo

7 Aug 2008

Scottish artist partnership Polarcap are into puns, which is why they called the inaugural project at the Gallery at Eskmills Eskimo. There aren’t any actual representatives from the Inuit people among the 14 (mostly Scottish) artists who they…

Patricia Cain

7 Aug 2008

Intricate drawings in pencil and pastel looking at the gradual regeneration happening in Glasgow, particularly along the River Clyde. Patricia Cain’s work focuses on the construction process rather than the finished project, observing and precisely…

Don't let media circus obscure Tracey Emin's talent

Adam Fraser's festival blog

4 Aug 2008

In this writer’s opinion, the most impressive show of the Fringe so far was the one which kicked off with a circus show on Friday morning (1 August). A media circus, that is, as Tracey Emin appeared in Edinburgh for the press viewing of her debut UK…

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller

31 Jul 2008

Six different, self-contained installation pieces by hugely acclaimed Canadian artist partnership Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, which run a series of gamuts, taking in culture both high and popular, film, multimedia robotics and…

Edinburgh Art Festival

Street arts

31 Jul 2008

Edinburgh residents are used to a takeover at this time of year. As hoardes of performers, artists, comedians and their assorted entourages set up a whole other city on top of theirs, the festivals can feel divorced from the realities of Edinburgh life.

Kenny Hunter

31 Jul 2008

People who live in cities are dishearteningly used to stepping over piles of rubbish from split bin bags and negotiating street obstacles such as piles of old furniture and abandoned televisions. This phenomenon is international, and is becoming ever…

All day hip hop event

31 Jul 2008

Banksy’s subversive street art sells for millions, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre are basically musical royalty and films such as Step Up 2 continue to popularise break-dancing and battling. Hip hop and street culture couldn’t be having more of a moment. Funny…

What is Life?

Scottish sculptors take on biological investigation

31 Jul 2008

Exploring a common interest in plants and scientific enquiry, Inverleith House curator Paul Nesbitt has drawn together works by Scottish sculptors Christine Borland, Graham Fagen and Simon Starling. In a bold and considered move, he’s chosen to eschew…

Frances Richardson: Playing Against Reason

Sculpture and walk-in drawings explore the gambler’s mindset

31 Jul 2008

In rationalising her new exhibition, English artist Frances Richardson finds it best to quote the wisdom of Chico Marx: ‘If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.…

The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection: The Renaissance

Treasure trove of Italian masters

31 Jul 2008

You wonder what Prince William was thinking when he switched courses at university – when your Grandma owns art like this, studying Art History must have been a doddle. This exhibition, the first of two from the Royal Collection’s holdings of 16th and…

5 Questions - Joanne Brown

31 Jul 2008

Director of the Edinburgh Art Festival, takes stock of the programme. Five words to describe the Edinburgh Art Festival programme this year: Wide-ranging, exciting, challenging, colourful, fun. Four aspects of the EAF you’re looking forward to: Visiting…

Chad McCail

31 Jul 2008

The well-revered Scottish artist has created a series of new screenprints exclusively for Edinburgh Printmakers. McCail’s deceptively bold, cartoonish graphics mask the social critique at the centre of the work, which focuses on subjects like education…

Rosalind Lawless: Contained

31 Jul 2008

Last chance to catch the Scottish artist’s most recent series of works on paper, which continue her fascination with architecture and the spaces that buildings inhabit. These new prints overlay blocks of colour, texture and materials: charcoals…

Golden years - Tracey Emin

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

As the leading female light of Britart, Tracey Emin has been revered and rejected in equal measure. Writer and broadcaster Bidisha has a few words of scorn for the detractors and reflects on the already profound legacy she will leave behind It’s been…

Picture this - World Press Photo

Festival of Politics

22 Jul 2008

From soldiers to skiers, featuring death and dresses, the World Press Photo exhibition captures life at its extremes. David Pollock views the cream of this year’s selection and discusses life through a lens.

Scavengers - Joshua Sofaer interview

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

Anneka Rice may have popularised scavenging but performance artist Joshua Sofaer is taking it to a new level. Claire Sawers asks him why he wants to trash Edinburgh Joshua Sofaer was wandering around a London art gallery recently, minding his own…

No more heroes - graphic novels

Edinburgh International Book Festival

22 Jul 2008

The Book Festival is once again acknowledging the rapid expansion in graphic novels. Henry Northmore chats to a number of comic book guys (and girl) to ask what the future may hold for the superhero While graphic novels may be still be a minority…

Turning point - Richard Wilson

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

Installation artist Richard Wilson is a true pioneer whether he’s experimenting with drawing, film or sculpture. Rosie Lesso hears from the man about how he loves to defy preconceptions British artist Richard Wilson has an uncanny ability to distort…

Room with a view - Ingleby Gallery

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

From much-missed nightclub space to the biggest commercial gallery outside of London, Kirstin Innes goes behind the scenes at the new Ingleby Gallery

Andrew Grassie

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

There promises to be a lot of visitors doing a double-take in front of Andrew Grassie’s paintings at Edinburgh University’s Talbot Rice Gallery this summer. While a fleeting glance might suggest that the images are photographs, Grassie actually…

Foto: Modernity in Central Europe 1918-1945

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

Between the wars, the world changed. European cities were rebuilt taller and denser than before, with new technology giving rise to an industrial and creative hub. More than half a century on, this major touring show originating from Washington’s…

Best of the rest - Edinburgh Art Festival

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

Richard Hamilton One of the key figures of British Pop Art brings us Protest Pictures, a selection of paintings, installations and collages examining his often damning portrayal of politics, movements and leaders. Inverleith House, Inverleith…

Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

Husband and wife duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller are quite possibly the most vibrant artistic force to have emerged from Canada in recent years. Certainly, this show will be one of the least missable exhibitions of the Festival period, as…

Quiet revolution - Scottish Impressionism

17 Jul 2008

Liz Shannon considers the enduring appeal of work by the ground-breaking French Impressionists and the Scots they inspired

Cathy Wilkes: Prices

17 Jul 2008

REVIEW INSTALLATION The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Sat 6 Sep Cathy Wilkes is adept at creating compelling discomfort, making us look, and look again at queasy or disturbing phenomena in search of hidden meanings and narratives. In this…

Mark Neville: Fancy Pictures

17 Jul 2008

REVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY & FILM Mount Stuart, Isle Of Bute, until Tue 30 Sep A man sits at his living room table, a pet pug and its pups at his feet. An elderly couple walk through the countryside, posing for the camera, stiff-backed and proud. The…

Altered States of Paint

17 Jul 2008

REVIEW PAINTING (GROUP SHOW) DCA, Dundee, until Sun 7 Sep DCA’s excellent new exhibition manages to assail you before you even enter the gallery, thanks to Rabiya Choudhry’s vibrant wall painting that presents the show’s title across the blade…

Karin Christiansen and Lys Hansen: The Other Side – A Dialogue

17 Jul 2008

REVIEW PAINTING & SCULPTURE Collins Gallery, Glasgow, until Sat 16 Aug (closed Fri 18–Mon 21 Jul) Lou Reed had never been to Berlin before he wrote his doomed rock opera named after the then divided city. If he had, it might have been even…

Au Fil D’Ecosse

17 Jul 2008

REVIEW PAINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, INSTALLATION Institut Français, Edinburgh, until Fri 29 Aug This collaboration between artist Cyril Barrand and poet John Hudson leaves no thread untied, no thematic ambiguity unresolved, with the result that our…

Harry Smith Anthology Remixed

17 Jul 2008

REVIEW PAINTING, DRAWING, PHOTOGRAPHY, MUSIC CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 26 Jul Artist, filmmaker, musicologist: just a few of the labels attached to Harry Smith, the great American polymath of the 1950s. This exhibition celebrates the chain-smoking…

Visual Art - List picks

17 Jul 2008

Mark Neville With Fancy Pictures (which features Neville’s new 16mm film and audio-slide installation of still photographic work) the artist captures 21st century Bute in wonderful living, breathing colour. See review, page 87. Mount Stuart, Isle Of…

Kenny Hunter: A Shout in the Street

17 Jul 2008

Following the popular success of such major works as Citizen Firefighter and Girl with Rucksack, Edinburgh-born Kenny Hunter returns to showcase his works in Scotland after a hiatus of over four years. Both new and reworked sculptural pieces, as well as…

Found

3 Jul 2008

ART/MUSIC INSTALLATION Dialogues of Wind and Bamboo, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Sat 21 Jun It was the all-you-can-eat buffet of line-ups. There were robots playing bamboo instruments, dancing in the sculpture garden, tai chi and the chance to…

Altered States of Paint

3 Jul 2008

According to clichéd legend, if you can remember the 1960s, you weren’t really there. The artists taking part in Altered States of Paint at DCA who were around during that heady decade were still in their wide-eyed infancy. The ones who weren’t are…

Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

3 Jul 2008

PHOTOGRAHY National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 21 Sep Any exhibition that begins with an Ashkenazi Jewish songwriter (Irving Berlin) and ends with a sloaney celebrity culture muse (Diana, Princess of Wales) is worth a peek. Following New…

Edinburgh Art Festival announces programme

Where the art is

3 Jul 2008

Another week, another festival launches. Hot on the heels of the Fringe, the EIF and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, relative newbie the Edinburgh Art Festival last week laid out its stall, boasting a roster of art glitterati from a 20-year…

Foto: Modernity in Central Europe 1918-1945 (Group Show)

3 Jul 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 31 Aug The years between the two World Wars marked an incredibly innovative period in the development of Modernist photography. Today the photographic image is so ubiquitous that it barely merits comment…

Three Blows

3 Jul 2008

PERFORMANCE St Cecilia’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 5 & Sun 6 Jul As the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland, St Cecilia’s Hall is in possession of unique acoustic properties. St Cecilia, of course, was the patron saint of church music, whose…

Nicky Bird: Beneath the Surface/Hidden Place

3 Jul 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 20 Jul For a project which corrals so many amateur photographers and their family photos to share co-creative billing with the artist, its unifying theme is acutely realised. This show is about…

GoMA Family Festival 2008

3 Jul 2008

FUN DAY Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Sat 5 Jul Messing around with paint, glue and glitter is fun at any age, so why should kids have all the fun? Although aimed primarily at 3–12-year-olds, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) Family Festival…

Mladen Stilinovi?: On Money, Zeroes, etc

3 Jul 2008

MIXED MEDIA CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 19 Jul According to the Croatian artist Mladen Stilinovic, there is no art without laziness. A series of photographs entitled ‘Artist at Work’ shows his theory in action: Stilinovic lying in bed, looking melancholy…

Haptic

3 Jul 2008

DESIGN The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until Mon 29 Sep High design and its pioneering spirit are taken on a Seuss-like tangent in this enjoyable, inventive and very silly exhibition. According to curator Kenya Hara’s notes ‘haptic’ means ‘relating or…

Radiohead Nude remix film finds audience

3 Jul 2008

A Glasgow School of Art student has become a YouTube sensation. James Houston featured a remix of the Radiohead single 'Nude' from their album In Rainbows in a four minute video, 'Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)', as part of his Degree Show. Houston has…

Jim Dick: Fornixxation

3 Jul 2008

This exhibition presents a series of compelling paintings by Glasgow School of Art graduate Jim Dick on the theme of subconscious memories, desires and symbolic associations. The title is taken from a number of strands related to the exhibition and its…

Harry Smith Anthology Remixed

19 Jun 2008

When American song-collector, artist, ethno-musicologist and experimental filmmaker Harry Smith released The Anthology Of American Folk Music in 1952, it was a labour of love which had a huge influence on the 1950s so-called Folk revival. Without this…

James Ryan: Parallax

19 Jun 2008

PAINTING Corn Exchange Gallery, Edinburgh, until Thu 17 Jul Young painter James Ryan was the recipient of the Conran Foundation Award when he graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2007, yet his work falls between the pillar of artistic intent and…

Jo Spence: Self Portraits

19 Jun 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Sun 16 Nov Working class artist, photographer, Marxist, feminist, teacher and publisher Jo Spence was an extraordinary talent. Issue-based but always accessible, her work can be seen as the progenitor…

Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show

19 Jun 2008

MIXED MEDIA Edinburgh College of Art, until Tue 24 Jun Information overload, autonomy, inquiry, provocation and dissent. Not themes as such, but rather loose strands in the willfully disparate expanse that makes up this class of 2008…

Glasgow School of Art MFA Degree Show (Group Show)

19 Jun 2008

MIXED MEDIA Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 22 Jun While locating good work by up-and-coming artists at an undergraduate show can feel like you’re searching for a needle in a haystack, at the Glasgow School of Art MFA show, as might be expected, the work…

X (Group show)

19 Jun 2008

MIXED MEDIA Recoat, Glasgow, until Wed 2 Jul The title of this group show in the intimate space of Glasgow’s Recoat shop-come-gallery is a reference to the venue’s tenth show, but it also suggests a lot about the work on display. There’s no apparent…

Michael Stumpf: Glöckchen Whiplash

19 Jun 2008

MIXED MEDIA SCULTURAL INSTALLATION Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow, until Sat 5 Jul There are two identical wall paintings, apparently of sunsets, in Michael Stumpf’s new exhibition. Why two sunsets, and no sunrise? Part of the strange mix of disparate…

Edinburgh artist to swim the city

18 Jun 2008

Edinburgh based artist Tim Taylor is to take the plunge this Friday with a swim down the city's secret river. In his first piece of performance art, Taylor will swim his way from Gracemount to Portobello via all 14 public baths in town. The event is to…

Leith School of Art announces end of year exhibition

16 Jun 2008

The End of Year Exhibition at Leith School of Art will open on Friday 20th June. Now in its 20th year, the Leith School of Art continues to actively promote and encourage artistic talent to the highest level. The School enjoys an excellent reputation…

Vanity Fair Portraits

5 Jun 2008

We didn’t need Princess Diana to die to know we live in a celebrity-obsessed age. The love/hate relationship between the people and the famous is now more fraught than ever. Fame has never been so easy to come by, but we seem to take even greater joy in…

Foto: Modernity in Central Europe 1918-1945

5 Jun 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Jun–Sun 31 Aug The Dean’s new exhibition argues that across Central Europe between the wars the driving force of modernity in art could be found in the field of photography. Artists and amateur practitioners…

Haptic (Group show)

5 Jun 2008

MIXED MEDIA (DESIGN) The Lighthouse, Glasgow, Wed 18 Jun–Mon 29 Sep Kenya Hara, from Tokyo’s Nippon Design Museum, has suggested a new model for design: ‘Whilst affirming scientific progress, I would like to propose that we use not technology, but the…

Paul Rooney

5 Jun 2008

VIDEO The Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sat 12 Jul Liverpool-based artist Paul Rooney’s two video works on show at the Collective Gallery include the newly commissioned ‘Lost High Street’ (2008), which draws on his experiences as an art student…

Louise Bourgeois: Nature Study

5 Jun 2008

PAINTING, SCULPTURE Inverleith House, Edinburgh, until Sun 6 Jul It’s a weekday lunchtime in spring and the Royal Botanic Garden is teeming with new life. Mothers push buggies, primary school children dig into the earth and the plants are a riot of…

Lucy Skaer

5 Jun 2008

DRAWING, SCULPTURE & FILM Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until Wed 9 Jul Looking at Skaer’s black drawings is like watching someone trapped under a thick sheet of ice. Admittedly, the likelihood of ever having witnessed such a death is rare, but the…

Iain Hetherington: Diversified Cultural Workers

5 Jun 2008

PAINTING Mary Mary, Glasgow, until Sat 28 Jun Using a combination of abstract and realist painting techniques, Iain Hetherington’s new exhibition presents an intriguing twist on the idea of the painted portrait. These new works build on themes…

Proposals invited for public art in Portobello

3 Jun 2008

The ‘Big Things on the Beach’ Public Art Group has announced a call for proposals for three public art works which will be located on the beach front of Portobello. In 2007, Wonder, by artist Hill Jephson Robb, saw the construction of 3 giant pyramids…

Three Harbours Arts Festival

22 May 2008

We’re all about the community arts festivals this week, it seems. Summer is finally coming, and we can’t think of a nicer way to spend a sunny weekend than tracking down art in unusual places. So, in East Lothian, the main premise behind the Three…

Lucy Skaer

22 May 2008

As an artist who once claimed to have secreted moth and butterfly larvae into the Old Bailey and reportedly left a scorpion and a diamond lying side by side on an Amsterdam pavement, convention is not something we would expect of Lucy Skaer. While the…

Peter Liversidge and Fischli + Weiss

22 May 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 31 May–Sat 7 Jun If you notice smoke coming out of Edinburgh’s Ingleby Gallery towards the end of the month, you should probably investigate before you phone the fire brigade: it might just be…

Ellipsis

22 May 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM DCA, Dundee, until Sun 22 Jun That these works by three defining female artists form such an easy fit is testament to the expert touch of Lynne Cooke, curator of New York’s Dia Center for the Arts. In terms of style, intention…

Art School Degree Shows

22 May 2008

GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART Ragnar Jonasson Painter Originally from Iceland, Ragnar Jonasson paints, but not using brushes or canvas. ‘I’m pouring paint,’ he explains, ‘from saucepans. I pour it onto plastic, then peel it off, so there’s nothing…

Janice McNab

22 May 2008

PAINTING Doggerfisher, Edinburgh, until Sat 12 Jul In recent years the work of Aberfeldy-born, Amsterdam-based painter Janice McNab has lent itself towards a series she calls her ‘Chocolate Box Paintings’. While that term has developed from…

X (Group Show)

22 May 2008

MIXED MEDIA Recoat Gallery, Glasgow, Sat 31 May–Wed 2 Jul Life can be tough for a young gallery, particularly when it comes to finding its niche. Yet, this has not been a problem for the team at Recoat Gallery, who are gearing up for their tenth…

Catherine Yass: High Wire

22 May 2008

FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY INSTALLATION CCA, Glasgow, until Sat 24 May In July 2007 French high wire artist Didier Pasquette attempted to walk between three of Glasgow’s Red Road high rise tower blocks. The event turned out to be somewhat anti-climatic with…

Michael Stumpf: Glöckchen Whiplash

22 May 2008

SCULPTURE Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow, Sat 31 May–Thu 5 Jun Following his 2005 exhibition at Sorcha Dallas, Once, Michael Stumpf returns to the Glasgow venue with Glöckchen Whiplash, a series of new sculptural works produced at the Scottish Sculpture…

Dislocation

22 May 2008

The current exhibition at Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange Gallery pairs established Edinburgh-based artist Anna Constantinou with sculptor Thomas Winstanley, who graduated from the RCA in London last year. The two bodies of work relate to each other in the…

Adel Abdessemed: Trust Me

22 May 2008

A final opportunity to see this exhibition of work by the controversial video and installation artist Abdessemed. Works such as ‘Also Sprach Allah’ reflect the ways in which politics and religion infiltrate life on the street, exposing some ugly truths…

Chinese Contemporary Art - Asking for It

8 May 2008

China has become something of a cause célèbre in contemporary art market circles. Tales abound of international collectors swooping in to snap up entire bodies of work, leaving artists with empty studios and considerably enriched bank accounts. Whether…

Records Played Backwards

8 May 2008

GROUP SHOW The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Sat 10 May Just like the teenager in the 80s playing his or her Iron Maiden records in reverse while hoping to hear Satanic messages, the artists in this group exhibition busy themselves trying to find…

Melanie Gilligan

8 May 2008

PERFORMANCE AND INSTALLATION Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, until Sat 10 May This exhibition by London-based artist and writer Melanie Gilligan takes place not in the usual Transmission gallery, but in an upper Wasps studio space opposite. The…

Jonathan Monk

8 May 2008

INSTALLATION, SCULPTURE, PAINTING Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 18 May ‘Something No Less Important Than Nothing’ and ‘Nothing No Less Important Than Something’ are the first Scottish shows by Jonathan Monk in a decade, though actually it’s the same…

Interview - Zatorski

8 May 2008

David Pollock Why do you both refer to yourselves just as Zatorski, and not speak about your relationship? Zatorski We like the anonymity of it, really. There’s a pair of us, we work together, but otherwise we like the sexlessness and impersonality…

Leith Festival announces line up

8 May 2008

Leith provided further evidence of its status as one of the city's most vibrant areas with the launch of its annual festival. Organisers revealed that the Leith Festival would showcase its trademark brew of home grown talent, alongside big name…

Scottish Arts Council funding shift causes controversy

1 May 2008

A redistribution of Scottish Arts Council funding, announced today, has readjusted the balance of financial power within the Scottish arts. Among those to benefit under the new plans are: Arika, who run experimental music festivals Instal and Kill…

Ingleby Gallery moves to new premises in its 10th year

1 May 2008

Edinburgh's Ingleby Gallery is to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a move to 15 Calton Road, a new premises behind Waverley Station. The move will take place in July. Spread over three floors and 6000 square feet, the new Ingleby will be the…

Submissions wanted for Diesel Wall 2008

28 Apr 2008

Applications are being sought from 'creative, inspired' people for Diesel Wall 2008. The scheme seeks design ideas for walls based in prominent urban environments around the world, with the winners' work going up on a wall in Manchester, Barcelona…

Alasdair Gray

24 Apr 2008

Sometimes it’s more fun to ignore the explanatory gallery text and have a good look at the work. This seems an obvious enough way of dealing with art objects, but usually makes for lazy viewing and reviewing on the part of the critic. But it is…

Ladyfest

Various venues, Edinburgh, Sun 4 May–Sun 1 Jun

24 Apr 2008

Ruby-red lips, set perms and Avon panstick. Not the traditional image of a feminist – certainly not the popular, laddish stereotype of a feminist. However, Ladyfest, Edinburgh’s first female-focussed festival, launches this fortnight with an event that…

Jim Lambie: Forever Changes

24 Apr 2008

SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Mon 29 Sep Lambie seems to be an ideal choice for the Gallery of Modern Art’s contribution to the Glasgow International, particularly given his established international reputation yet…

Kalup Linzy

24 Apr 2008

FILM, PERFORMANCE AND PAINTING Washington Garcia, Glasgow, until Sun 27 Apr New-York based Kalup Linzy is more Vaginal Davis than a ‘Paris is Burning’ starlet, more Judy la Bruce (Bruce’s alter-ego) than Hedwig. But it cannot be denied that all of…

Maternity: Images of Motherhood

24 Apr 2008

PAINTING, PRINT, SCULPTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, until Sun 22 Jun This exhibition takes us down the well-trodden path of ‘maternity in art’ and, for the most part, succeeds in eliciting ideas beyond the…