Auctions, Aquarius, and Abstract Expressionism: This Week in Scottish Art
This week sees a host of free events and exhibitions across Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, from photography, painting and film to avant-garde garments and an experimental blog format...
Starting in Dundee this Wednesday (11 Feb), artists (in the most expansive use of the term) will share their experiences at Generator in an event titled Nine Lives After Art College. The evening hopes to create a welcoming group environment for artists and art lovers, “whether art is a chosen or involuntary, active or dormant part of your identity”. Head along from 7pm to present or just to listen; warm clothing is advised.
"I am the Artist, You are the Artist", Hans Clausen tells us. Until 28 Feb, Clausen's studio is installed in the upper galleries of the RSA in Edinburgh and is the setting for a live work within the Visual Arts Scotland 2015 exhibition. With reference to artists like Gilbert and George and Marina Abramovic, Clausen has planned for the studio to be occupied by “The Artist” for the duration of the show.
In Glasgow this Wednesday from 7pm, there is Beta Aquarii, an exhibition by recent Napier University Photography graduate Ingrida Danieliute at the Old Hairdresser’s. Taking her title from the bright star of Aquarius, Danieliute promises work with a romantic, surreal bent, “while engaging in the production and presentation of the self portrait by making it a ruminative process.”
The next day in Glasgow (Thu 12 Feb), there’s the opening of Teen Spirit, a new presentation of work by Evita Yumul in Good Press. Working in print and on a variety of different objects, Yumul has for example reprinted Jenny Holzer’s truisms on baseball caps, made to read “Protect me from what I want”, and scaled Felix Gonzalez-Torres' Perfect Lovers wallclocks onto wristwatches.
Staying in Glasgow on Thursday, there is the preview for Kari Robertson’s Ohmage in SWG3 from 7pm. Beginning with Godard, Robertson explores his thesis regarding the revolutionary potential of film’s sound, following from the corruption by capital of the image.
Still in Glasgow, and back at the Old Hairdresser's, Friday sees the fundraiser for the Open House festival. The festival itself will take place this year during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend (1–4 May) and will involve 200 artists, 47 exhibitions and 17 events. This Friday, the fundraiser event will involve a silent artwork auction, with art bargains aplenty, DJ sets and live music.
Video of the Week:
All Your Relations in This System of Alienations by Hannah Black; new work by Black appears as part of Self-Storage at Embassy Gallery from Fri 13 Feb
Speaking of money, there’s the excellent news that Hospitalfield Arts will continue the Scotland + Venice art student learning programme, which is now into its 12th year. The programme will fund students from art colleges across the country to take care of Hospitalfields' Graham Fagen exhibition in Venice this summer. With the students now selected, it’s the biggest cohort yet, with students heading to Italy from Moray School of Art, the University of the Highlands and Dundee and Angus College for the first time.
Back in Edinburgh, there are three new exhibitions opening this Friday and across the weekend. At Collective on Friday from 6-8pm, there is the preview for Georgia Horgan’s Machine Room, a presentation of Horgan’s research into 17th century witch hunting in Scotland. Machine Room will run until 19 April. Across the city in Embassy Gallery from 7pm, there is the opening event for Self-Storage. The exhibition features new commissions from four diverse artists, including film-maker, theorist and occasional Marxist feminist (as evidenced in our video of the week above) Hannah Black, avant-garde clothing designer Paloma Proudfoot, recent Google resident artist Adriana Ramic, and Rosemary Kirton whose recent medium of choice is her Tumblr blog Grossmary.
The last of the three openings in the capital comes on Saturday 14 Feb from 12.30pm at Inverleith House, with the first major exhibition by Belgian painter Raoul de Keyser (1930-2012). Making work that combined the uneasy bedfellows of abstract expressionism and figuration, de Keyser’s work combines sophisticated composition and colour decision with simplified forms and a more reserved aesthetic than the label “expressionist” would suggest. The exhibition will run until 12 April. Finally on the exhibitions front, it’s last call for Christopher Orr at the Talbot Rice gallery (closing Sat 14 Feb) and Stan Douglas at the Fruitmarket (Sun 15 Feb).
As a final piece of unfortunate news, the GRID Art Map "is hibernating until funding is found". GRID's a simple, common sense way to make art in Glasgow and Edinburgh more accessible; read our interview with founders Sebastian Kalvik and Arron Sands from back in 2012 for more background on the project, and email glasgowgrid@gmail.com with any suggestions or queries.