This Week in Scottish Art: 11-17 Apr

Tue 11 Apr: I SEE art festival

Head to the CCA today for the I SEE International Video Art Festival hosted by Queens Park Railway Club from 7-10pm. I SEE was founded by Berlin artists Constantin Hartenstein and Clemens Wilhelm in 2013 to present groundbreaking international video art.

This evening is split into two programmes: “The Digital Body” and “Death, Old Friend”. The first theme explores the existence of the digital self stemming from an online presence, the loss of individuality resulting from self-optimisation and the dire need for a rethinking of contemporary society. The second theme considers death as the inevitable fate of all things living and aims to circumvent the taboo of discussing death by presenting a more complete image of death as a definer of life. Films by twelve artists will be screened, including one by Clemens Wilhelm whose A Horse with Wheels is currently screening at Queens Park Railway Club. This event is free, unticketed and recommended for an 18+ audience.  

Wed 12 Apr: Arusha Gallery and CCA

Arusha Gallery in Edinburgh has a private view for their new show Departs De Biscottes by Blair McLaughlin. McLaughlin presents a series of paintings from his combined interests in life, war, reality, politics, speed and violence. The paintings offer up McLaughlin’s perspective on a current shared reality; these are energetic and colourful, but hold violent undertones upon closer inspection. Departs De Biscottes, a French expression referring to a difficult start, will remain on display till 1 May. Arusha Gallery is open everyday from 10am to 5pm, and from 1-5pm on Sundays.

CinemaAttic presents Novo Cinema Galego at the CCA Cinema from 8pm (doors open at 7.30pm). Novo Cinema Galego is an exciting film movement, which originated out of Galicia, Spain in 2010. Galicia has since been placed on the world film stage following the success of filmmakers from Galicia at every festival and competition they have been present at. The programme will feature Spanish and Latin American contemporary short films. Tickets cost £5 (£4 concession rate) plus a £1 booking fee, book here on the CCA’s website. This event is recommended for a 15+ audience

Thu 13 Apr: Hunterian, Mary Mary, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and SWG3

Rachel Duckhouse’s Shell Meets Bone opens at the Hunterian Museum today. This exhibition showcases new work by Artist in Residence Duckhouse alongside biominerals from The Hunterian collection. The artist worked in conjunction with Professor Maggie Cusack, a biominerals expert, to examine mother of pearl shell’s nano-patterns and their role in the University of Glasgow’s human bone growth research.

Glasgow-based artist Neil Clements’ show of new paintings and sculptures Electric Eye opened last weekend at The Hunterian's Art Gallery. The exhibition features an installation referencing the Cold War’s cultural climate and 1960s gallery interiors. Clements alludes to modernist art’s abstract forms inserting them in new cultural contexts to further our understanding of these formal qualities and strategies. Shell Meets Bone is open until 13 Aug, and Electric Eye until 8 Oct; both exhibitions are free to visit and open from 10am to 5pm today.

London-based specialist art, fashion and photography bookstore Claire de Rouen is in Residency at Mary Mary for A Fortnight of Books. This two-week collaboration sees the inception of a pop-up bookstore in the gallery space (open everyday until 23 Apr, 11am to 6pm). On display is a specially curated selection of artist books by Claire de Rouen alongside publications selected by several artists for their importance and influence on their work. A small selection of artworks by Sara Barker, Lorna Macintyre, Jesse Wine and many others is also presented. Today, their collaboration hosts a book launch for Alan Reid’s monograph Warm Equations from 6 to 8pm. The book features Reid’s paintings, but places emphasis on written and poetry contributions by other artists.

Jemma Egan and Sarah Rose, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop's current Micro Residents, give free artist talks at ESW from 6-8pm this evening. Egan’s work observes the everyday in great detail, selecting things that represent the present or current moment, and unnecessary or over-styled, but unspectacular objects. Rose’s practice considers observational and witness procedures and their documentation in stable forms, but her focus lies with extra-informational qualities resulting in cumulative error, corrupt translations, transformations or abstraction. There is no requirement to book spaces for this event.

Accidental Collective presents 19:00 – 2:00, a night of art and music at SWG3 from 7pm to 2am. The exhibition features work by no less than thirteen artists. The Poetry Club will host live music and poetry from by 9.30pm to 2am following the exhibition.

Fri 14 Apr: Many Studios

The Routes We Thread, an exhibition by Paria Goodarzi and Arpita Shah, previews at Many Studios from 6-8pm. Iranian textile artist Goodarzi and Indian photographer Shah have collaborated with Scotland-based women from various cultural backgrounds during their residency at The Gallow Gate, which began in February. Their project considers Scotland’s contemporary and historical links to India and Iran, and celebrates new cultures in Scotland. This exhibition runs till 14 May; visit Thursdays to Sunday from noon till 5pm.

Sat 15 Apr: Ingleby Gallery and Talbot Rice Gallery

and per se and part III – Albrecht Durer and Katie Paterson closes at Ingleby Gallery today. The third pairing in Ingleby Gallery’s year-long rolling programme of exhibitions, and per se and, features The Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seals, a spread in Albrecht Dürer’s fifteen-woodcut volume The Apocalypse made in 1490 and published in 1511, and Katie Paterson’s All the Dead Stars (2009), a laser etched aluminium map charting 27,000 dead stars produced in collaboration with University College London’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Don’t miss your chance to see two seminal works alongside one another, visit Ingleby Gallery from 11am to 5pm.    

Head to Talbot Rice Gallery to catch a free Curators’ Talk from 11am to 12pm; all exhibitions are open from noon till 5pm today. Stuart Fallon and Neil Lebeter are present to discuss their rationale behind their exhibition Between Poles and Tides. Book a free ticket here via Eventbrite.

Sun 16 Apr: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, EMBASSY and Many Studios

Bridget Riley’s Paintings, 1963-2015 closes in Room 20 at the National Gallery of Modern Art’s Modern One today. Visit between 10am and 5pm for your last chance to see stunning colour and monochrome paintings spanning Riley’s fifty-year career – moving work, both optically and emotionally.

Maybe It’s Just Me closes at Embassy Gallery today, visit from noon till 6pm today. Maybe It’s Just Me is the result of an open invitation from Embassy gallery to Caspar Heinemann, Jake Kent and Daisy Lafarge.

Many Studios presents Bulawayo to Glasgow (Public Performances) from 7 to 9pm. Tonight’s performances are the culmination of a series of workshops and performances organised by Art Moves, a collaboration between MANY and Mema Arts in Zimbabawe seeking to discuss globalization and Western influence in Southern Africa as well as on a global scale.

Bulawayo to Glasgow was programmed in two phases. The first took place in Bulawayo from January to February 2017 during which participants developed skills in mbira making and playing. For the second phase three musical workshops were held in Glasgow, Arbroath and Helmsdale to teach participants traditional songs on the instruments built in Bulawayo. Local musicians also joined to create fusion traditional musical performances. This event is free for all to attend, no booking required, and kid-friendly.

Mon 17 Apr: The Lighthouse

There are two new exhibitions at The Lighthouse open today from 10.30am to 5pm today. Origins, Narratives and Architecture in the Review Gallery features visuals and physical models for UK-based and international projects by emerging architectural studio Graeme Nicholls Architects. A Glasgow-based critic, educator and award-winning architect, Nicholls’ work created individual narratives for each design maintain interests in proportion, material innovation and cultural references.

Contemporary “Double Villa” Competition Entries in the Long Gallery celebrates the Bicentenary of Glasgow’s famed nineteenth-century architect Alexander Thomson. The exhibition features entries by architects and architecture students for an international design competition inspired by Thomson’s “Double Villa” 1856-57 and organised by The Alexander Thomson Society last year.