This Week in Scottish Art: 25-31 Oct

Tue 25 Oct: Mary Mary

Why not visit Milano Chow’s exhibition Egg and Tongue? The show, at Mary Mary gallery (open 11am-6pm), closes on Saturday. Her beautiful, detailed pencil drawings bring together the unreal spaces of old lifestyle magazine illustrations with surreal crossings of architectural and fashion detail. For the lovers of dedicated technique!

Wed 26 Oct: Sketchy Beats Café

Head to Life drawing: The adorned body at Sketchy Beats Café in Edinburgh from 7-9pm as part of their weekly Wednesday life drawing sessions. The model, Maria, will be wearing all of her own macramé jewelry creations, which will also be for sale on the night. Also on offer on the night are music, drinks and nibbles from the café, materials to borrow, and an unlimited BYOB corkage for £2. Tickets here on Eventbrite, or for a fiver at the door.

Thu 27 Oct: GSA Protest, Koppe Astner, House for an Art Lover & more

Elsewhere in Glasgow, it’s your last chance to catch Laura Aldridge’s Inside All My Activities at Koppe Astner, open from 12 to 6pm, while House For An Art Love marks its 20th anniversary with Nori Rakhra’s show People and Places (open from 6-8pm). Specially commissioned photographs by the Glasgow-based photographer are on display in the Café Gallery from 25 Oct to 13 Nov, open daily from 10am to 5pm.  

Also on Thursday, The Common Guild is also hosting an artist talk by Kate Davis in collaboration with Mount Stuart from 6-8pm. The talk runs parallel to the artist’s show That Which Remains at Mount Stuart house on the island of Bute. Places are limited, but free; book here on Eventbrite. Alternatively, visit Transmission Gallery from 7-9pm to catch one of a series of three performances by Tomas Palmer. Encircling investigates over-competitiveness and the ensuing loss of progress. Palmer is concerned with concepts of success pertaining to the individual, and the behaviour and transformation of crowds and spaces. Spaces for all three performances, (7.30, 8 and 8.30pm), are limited, so book a free spot here on Eventbrite to guarantee entry.

If you find yourself in Edinburgh tonight and fancying another shot at life drawing, head to Whitespace for SOUND ART: life drawing x sound bathing. This evening promises to be an immersive drawing experience accompanied by Dave House aka The Reverse Engineer, who will live sample participants’ mark-making sounds (pencil scratches and rustles of pages), and the model’s breath and movement to create a unique electronic soundscape. Tickets can be purchased for a tenner at Sketchy Beats Café on Wednesday, online on Eventbrite (£18, £15 concession), or on the door (£20).

Fri 28 Oct: Talbot Rice Gallery, Transmission, and Cooper Gallery

Talbot Rice Gallery hosts a triple-bill of previews tonight from 6-8pm. Rob Kennedy presents acts of dis play, (unti 17 Dec), which takes the form of an immersive installation in Gallery 1 including video work, texts, found objects, detritus, historical and contemporary artworks, and weekly performances. The artist aims to explore the gallery environment and the visitor’s place in such a setting.

Parc Du Souvenir by Stephen Brandes (also 'til 17 Dec) comprises a wide display of work in a variety of media concerning an incongruous, yet interrelated selection of interests presented in an alternative aesthetic challenging traditional notions of beauty. The Torrie Collection (until 6th of May) is Talbot Rice’s founding collection donated to the University of Edinburgh in 1836 by Sir James Erskine, 3rd Baronet of Torrie. The collection of Dutch paintings and Renaissance sculptures are back on display for the first time in over 10 years.

Over in Glasgow, LUX Scotland and SQIFF present Dani Leventhal at Transmission from 7-9pm. Levanthal's videos are concerned with human development based on childhood experiences (and undoing it). Levanthal will present a series of her shorts alongside some of her recent collaborations. This event is free and unticketed. Elsewhere, John Taylor’s retrospective 55 Years at The Briggait concludes today; visit between 10am and 5pm.

If you are in Dundee, do not miss the preview for Of Other Spaces: Where does gesture become event? at Cooper Gallery in Dundee (5.30-7.30pm). Of Other Spaces is the first of a two-chapter contemporary art programme at Cooper Gallery and off-site venues in Dundee. On display is the work of 18 artists, writers and thinkers including archival material, screenings, readings, performances and a collaborative dance piece.

The show references feminist art works, artist collaborations and activism from the 1970s onwards revealing the importance of alternative politics and self-organisation in culture, society and everyday life. The show is open until 16 Dec, Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm, 10.30am to 4.30pm Sat.

Sat 29 Oct: Good Press, Modern Institute and Talbot Rice Gallery

In Glasgow, Good Press launch The Burning Sand Volume VI, the latest edition of a prose, poetry, and art magazine published twice a year. Head over for an afternoon of refreshments and readings provided by Carrie Skinner and Nick Lynch from 3-6pm. A trio of exhibitions in Glasgow close today: Matt Conors’ The Flat Voice and Nicholas Party’s Three Cats both conclude at Modern Institute, as does Milano Chow’s aforementioned show at Mary Mary gallery.

If you are in Edinburgh, head to Talbot Rice Gallery for another artist talk by Rob Kennedy from 11am today. Kennedy will discuss his Talbot Rice show – acts of dis play – with curator James Clegg by drawing on their immediate surrounding to speak about the project’s development. This event is free, but ticketed; book here via Eventbrite. 

Sun 30 Oct: Mount Stuart house and Tramway

Kate Davis’s show That Which Remains closes today at Mount Stuart on Bute. The stunning 19th-century mansion on the island of Bute is open from 10am to 6pm. Why not book a tour to visit the house and gain access to its lavish interiors while there; more information here.   

If a trek to Bute is out of the question, visit Tramway from 2-4pm for an afternoon of quick portraits during which attendees will draw portraits of each other using oil pastels inspired by Ella Kruglyanskaya’s paintings on display. This event is part of their regular drop-in TRYOUT sessions, it is free and open to all ages, but arrive early to avoid disappointment: spaces are limited and admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mon 31 Oct: Tall Tales at GWL

If you haven’t yet, visit Glasgow Women’s Library to see Tall Tales, a national touring exhibition including the work of seventeen international women artists looking at the narrative and the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction. GWL is free for all to visit, open from 9.30am to 5pm.