Tag Archives: contemporary art

Artists at Work 2

26 January 2023

We start the new year with a visit to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery for the second iteration of their colleague exhibition, Artists at Work 2. The exhibition was co-curated by artists Aitor Moncho Tudanca, Darren Duddy, Silvia Barlaam and Victoria Gazeley. 

Artists at Work 2 is an exhibition of art created by staff who work at the National Galleries of Scotland. Many talented artists work across the organisation and this exhibition celebrates their creativity. Following the popularity of the first Artists at Work exhibition in 2018, the exhibition highlights a wide range of artistic disciplines, from painting, drawing, illustration and photography to sculpture and jewellery making. The artists introduce their own work and share insights into their creative process through varied perspectives. 

Qiu Zhijie| Lara Favaretto|Nira Pereg

24 November 2022

This month we will be returning to the Talbot Rice Gallery for their new show Qiu Zhijie| Lara Favaretto| Nira Pereg, where we will be joined by curator James Clegg. 

In the historic Georgian Gallery, Qiu Zhijie presents his first major UK exhibition, including a body of map-paintings informed by remote sensing technology. In the White Gallery, Lara Favaretto’s Momentary Monument takes the form of a monolithic library that will disperse over the course of the exhibition, and upstairs, Nira Pereg’s film installations document a site shared by both Jewish and Muslim worshippers in the city of Al-Khalil/Hebron, Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

 The works of these three artists reflect on the idea of the monument. Fictional, momentary and paradoxical, their distinct approaches to the concept of ‘”something that reminds” act against the heavy material monuments that proliferate around the world, to describe a more momentary, imaginary or contested space. Sometimes contradictory, sometimes policed, and always characterised by disappearance, these distinct exhibitions reflect upon the fragility of our communion with the past. 

Conversations with the Collection

27 October 2022

This month we will be joined by NGS curators Emma Gillespie and Leila Riszko who will introduce us to Conversations with the Collection – a changing programme of displays which offers a new way to experience the national collection.  

Each room bring to light rarely displayed yet fascinating artworks and stories. Works have been selected to create bold juxtapositions and visual similarities between artworks, styles and movements to offer a fresh take on how works of art can be presented and share the stories they tell. The aim is to unearth evocative stories and unexpected connections between artists and encourage a sense of openness and discovery. 

Talking points are encouraged and explored by covering a wide mix of techniques, processes and approaches, ranging across sculpture, painting, photography and more. Iconic works by famous artists such as Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas, Jackson Pollock, Tracey Emin and Cindy Sherman are on display alongside those by brilliant but lesser-known figures including Carole Gibbons and Catherine Yarrow.  

Each display explores a unique theme or topic with the thematic displays placing conversation at their heart in a bid to inspire conversations with the collection. 

New Arrivals

31 March 2022

This month we are visiting New Arrivals: from Salvador Dalí to Jenny Saville at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Joining us for the evening will be Emma Gillespie. Emma has worked in a number of roles at the National Galleries of Scotland since 2014 and was appointed Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art in 2019.  

New Arrivals presents a fascinating showcase of the most recent acquisitions at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Featuring over 100 works of art, many of which are being shown here for the first time since they entered the collection, and spanning 110 years of art-making, the show offers a stunning range of modern and contemporary work including painting, sculptures, films and more.  

Exhibition highlights include pieces by many historical and contemporary greats: Marc Chagall (the first painting by him to join a public collection in Scotland), Damien Hirst, Wangechi Mutu, Pablo Picasso, Bridget Riley, Jenny Saville, and Alberta Whittle, amongst many others. The show also spotlights a number of significant additions to National Galleries of Scotland’s world-renowned Surrealist collection, notably several works by female Surrealists, including Leonora Carrington and Dorothea Tanning.

Angelica Mesiti: In the Round

24 February 2022

We’re back! Finally for in-person visits to galleries in Edinburgh. This month, we are heading along to the Talbot Rice Gallery for their current exhibition In the Round, where we will be joined by curator James Clegg. This visit will hopefully mark the return of physical visits for 2022. 

In the Round is the first major exhibition in the UK of Angelica Mesiti, one of the leading Australian artists of her generation. Building upon her practice, it takes a dynamic journey that extends through historical painting, ancient musical notation, geological specimens and musical instruments. Mesiti consistently returns to communication and translation in her sound, performance and video installations, reflecting the struggle of communities to co-exist. Taking this unique opportunity to combine present concerns with historical research, Mesiti allows her artworks to echo through ancient objects and to materialise in new works made for this expansive exhibition.  

 

Collective

30 May 2019

This month, we have a special behind-the-scenes visit to the new Collective gallery on the historic Calton Hill, the birthplace of astronomy and timekeeping in Edinburgh. Collective opened the doors of its new home in November 2018 in a project which saw the restoration of the City Observatory and City Dome and a new purpose-built exhibition space.

Collective see their new space as a ‘new kind of observatory where visitors are invited to look at, think about, and produce contemporary art.’ Their programme includes exhibitions, walks and events. We will be joined by Siobhan Carroll, Head of Programme at Collective who will talk about the project, show us the new spaces including the telescope which is not normally accessible by the public and will introduce the current exhibitions.

Workers! is a new film by Swedish artist and filmmaker Petra Bauer and SCOT-PEP, a sex-workers led organisation in Scotland. Filmed in the Scottish Trade Union Congress, the film documents and gives a voice to sex workers who demand to be seen as experts in their own labour and lives.

Also on show is a new work by Glasgow-based artist Kimberley O’Neill which explores the connection between energy, technology and the body. Enigma Bodytech follows a female protagonist’s road trip through the California desert and Silicon Valley.

 

British Art Show 8

31 March 2016

This month, we will discuss highlights from the British Art Show 8 exhibition where we will be joined by Mairi Lafferty, Daskalopoulos Curator of Engagement at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

The British Art Show is a touring exhibition taking place every five years that provides a vital overview of the most significant contemporary art produced in the UK. British Art Show 8 has been curated by Anna Colin and Lydia Yee is hosted across three galleries in Edinburgh: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One); Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh. This year, it tours the work of over 40 artists to four cities across the UK.

We look forward to seeing you there.

A New Approach to Collecting Contemporary Art

19 June 2013, 6-8pm.

Spin and Outset Scotland would like to invite you to a special evening event at the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Tim Eastop and Robert Lee will be speaking about an inspired shared art buying initiative that they began in London ten years ago. When seven households set about acquiring work collectively, and sharing it between their homes, it was the start of a fascinating journey – not only for them but also for the groups that followed their example, thanks to the toolkit they created and made freely available.

This is the first opportunity for Scottish audiences to hear about this intriguing approach to collecting, and the compelling collection that has resulted, which has been further shared through loans to museums and other art acquiring groups.

It’s an adaptable and appealing model: finding your way in the contemporary art world is more rewarding with friends; you can be more ambitious in your collecting when you pool resources; even experienced collectors can enjoy sharing in such an enterprise alongside their individual collecting pursuits, as the necessary discussions and debates provide a wholly new lens through which to view acquisitions. 

Outset Scotland will also outline its plans to establish a buying group for museums along the same lines, which will acquire art works in consultation with curators with a view to gifting them to public collections after having lived with them for number of years.

The co-hosts, Spin and Outset Scotland, are experts at providing opportunities for meaningful engagement with contemporary art. Spin is celebrating ten years as the National Galleries of Scotland’s contemporary art discussion group. Set up in 2003, members enjoy monthly, informal discussions with curators, critics and artists across Edinburgh as well as yearly visits to major events in the art calendar including art biennials in Venice, Berlin and Liverpool. Outset Scotland is part of an international network of philanthropic organisations that work with individual patrons and corporate partners to fund contemporary art activity. Both organisations are keen to support individuals who may wish to set up their own shared buying group in Scotland, as will be explained on the night.

We would be delighted if you would join us for presentations and questions, followed by informal discussion over drinks and canapés.

Please RSVP to: spin@nationalgalleries.org

Spin-Off Trip to the Venice Biennale 2013

17-21 October 2013 or 24-28 October 2013

We are proposing a weekend trip in October to the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale following on from our successful visits in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011.

The Venice Biennale is the oldest and most prestigious contemporary art festival in the world and was established in 1895. Held every two years, the Biennale is an excellent opportunity to see works by leading, international and up-and-coming artists. Over 70 countries are taking part including first-time participations from the Bahamas, Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Kosovo, Kuwait, Maldives, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Paraguay.

There are two main strands to the Venice Biennale: the Giardini which houses 30 permanent national pavilions and a curated exhibition by the Biennale’s appointed director. This time it’s the turn of critic and contemporary art curator, Massimiliano Gioni. He previously curated the 8th Art Biennale of Gwangju, South Korea, and since December 2006, he has been on the curatorial team of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.

The title for Gioni’s curated exhibition is Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace and will be presented in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in the Giardini and the Arsenale – the buildings of the adjacent formal naval dockyard.

Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace evokes the self-taught Italian-American artist Marino Auriti who on 16 November 1955 filed a design with the US Patent office depicting his ‘Palazzo Enciclopedico’. This imaginary museum was meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries in a 136-story building that would stand 700 meters tall and take up over 16 blocks in Washington, D.C.

 As Massimiliano Gioni explains:

‘Auriti’s plan was never carried out, of course, but the dream of universal, all-embracing knowledge crops up throughout history, as one that eccentrics like Auriti share with many other artists, writers, scientists, and prophets who have tried – often in vain – to fashion an image of the world that will capture its infinite variety and richness.’

‘Today, as we grapple with a flood of information, such attempts to structure knowledge into all-inclusive systems seem even more necessary and even more desperate. The 55th International Exhibition of Art will explore these flights of the imagination in a show that – like Auriti’s Encyclopedic Palace – will combine works of contemporary art with historical artefacts and found objects.’

Artist Jeremy Deller has been chosen to represent Great Britain in the Giardini. Deller often works in collaboration with others (including artists, makers, musicians, members of the public), to create films, installation, performances and events which are often humorous. If you attended Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art (Gi) last year, you may remember Deller’s Sacrilege – his interactive public artwork situated on Glasgow Green which took the form of a life-size blow up model of Stonehenge which doubled up as a giant bouncy castle!

Other confirmed artists include Simryn Gill who will be representing Australia, Alfredo Jaar for Chile and France and Germany are swopping pavilions with France showing the work of Anri Sala and Germany’s selection including Ai WeiWei.

Collateral exhibitions take place in venues across the city of Venice. Scotland will be presenting the work of three artists – Corin Sworn, Hayley Tompkins and Duncan Campbell – in an exhibition curated by Glasgow’s Common Guild. It will be housed in the Palazzo Pisani. Duncan Campbell is known for his film works that blend archive, documentary material with fictional, imaginary elements. Corin Sworn creates atmospheric installations that weave fiction and history through film and objects. And finally, Hayley Tompkins makes delicate paintings and painted objects.

In a labyrinthine city like Venice and given the sheer number of artworks to see, it is impossible to visit everything. So that’s where we come in. We will be going on a research trip during the opening week in June to come up with an itinerary which will select and showcase the very best of this year’s Biennale.

 We very much hope you will be tempted to come along. 

For more details email spin@nationalgalleries.org