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.
29 November 2018
This month we invite you to see Tremble Tremble by Jessie Jones, the Irish representation at the 2017 Venice Biennale, installed in the Talbot Rice Gallery. We will be joined by assistant curator James Clegg who will introduce the exhibition.
Approaching modern gender politics through a dramatic aesthetic, Jesse Jones’ piece evokes a multitude of associations, cultural links and triggers. For the making of this work, Jones drew from recognisable political references, such as the very title. Tremble Tremble references the 1970s Italian women’s protest of the same name, which called for wages for housework. Referring to the medieval prosecution of witches and also to the historic Repeal the 8th movement in Ireland this summer, she has created a layered and dense visual narrative which sits somewhere between theatre, film and sculpture.
The group exhibition At the Gates is shown alongside Jones’ work and consists of work by fellow women artists exploring feminism, self-empowerment and current social and political events. Often brushing up against the law, or institutions of power, these artists and their projects demonstrate the impact art can have when it becomes part of a public discussion.
26 April 2018
For the last 15 years, Scotland + Venice has been providing artists based in Scotland with a valuable platform to showcase their work on the international stage at one of the world’s most prestigious visual arts festivals, the Venice Biennale. Previous artists have included Graham Fagen, Karla Black and Martin Boyce.
For the 57th edition of the Venice Biennale in 2017, the selected artist was Rachel Maclean. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, Maclean makes films using green screen technology to create outlandish characters and fantasy worlds in which she explores politics, society and identity. Spite Your Face was written when Donald Trump had just won the Presidential election and in the aftermath of the EU Referendum and explores, amongst other things, notions of truth. The basis of the narrative in which Maclean plays all the parts, is the classic Italian folktale, The Adventures of Pinocchio.
This is the UK premiere the work which was originally commissioned by Talbot Rice Gallery ad Alchemy Film and Arts for Scotland + Venice. We will be joined by Stuart Fallon, Assistant Curator at the Gallery who worked closely on the project.
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.
27 September 2012 at 6.30pm
The work and concept of the art collective set up Tim Rollins and the K.O.S (Kids of Survival) will be under discussion this month.
In 1981, American artist and educator Tim Rollins was recruited by the Principal of Intermediate School 52 in South Bronx, New York, to develop a curriculum that combined art-making with lessons in reading and writing for students considered ‘at risk’. On the first day of the school, Rollins told his students: ‘Today we are going to make art, but we are also going to make history.’
Rollins, who was taught by Joseph Kosuth and John Cage, developed with his students, a way of working that combined art-making with reading literature and writing personal narratives. Rollins or a student would read aloud from classic literary texts while the rest of the class drew or wrote on the pages being read, connecting the stories with their own experiences. This method of working became their signature style and since 1982, the group have produced allegorical paintings, sculpture and drawings mining the vast wealth of printed matter.
The collective has gone on to exhibit in major art galleries worldwide, including participation in two Whitney Biennales, Documenta, Venice Biennale and in 2009, a retrospective of the group’s 20-year career opened at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in 2009, travelling to the Frye Museum in Seattle and the ICA Philadelphia.
This is the first UK showing of their work and features new works created as part of Art and Knowledge workshops led by Tim Rollins and K.O.S with young people aged 13-18 from across the Lothian Region.
Joining us to discuss this fascinating exhibition will be James Clegg, Exhibition Assistant at Talbot Gallery and Visual Culture Lecturer at eca and the University’s Office of Lifelong Learning.
29 September 2011 at 6pm
This month, we will be visiting the Talbot Rice Gallery to see the first solo exhibition in Scotland of German artist, Anton Henning who has created Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art).
Henning’s bold, individual style, fluent in art historical references, challenges notions of ‘good’ taste. His work pays homage to revered modern artists like Matisse and Picabia, while including subject matter such as ‘chocolate box’ images of birds, sunsets and naked female figures that are often subject to censure. Henning’s approach also draws from the movement of ‘bad painting’ of the late 1970s and 1980s, a movement of artists disregarding restrictive conventions in order to explore alternative possibilities in painting.
Henning’s work for the Talbot Rice Gallery, Interieur No.493, fills the entire space, inviting the audience to not just view it, but at points, walk over it. Even the carpet is part of the art work. Henning uses several different art forms including, furniture, lighting, easel painting, sculpture, window painting, film and drawing.
25 November 2010 at 6pm
This month we will be visiting the Talbot Rice Gallery to discuss the work of Alasdair Gray who describes himself as ‘a self-employed, verbal and pictorial artist.’
Alasdair Gray was born in Glasgow in 1934 and studied Design and Mural Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1952-57. Since then he has exhibited widely across Scotland, particularly in his home city of Glasgow, where he has also undertaken several mural commissions for many of the city’s churches. He is also a prolific writer, with 18 published books to his name, and a winner of the Whitbread and Guardian book prizes.
Throughout his career, Gray’s work in art and literature has overlapped in form and content. He has worked as a teacher, painter, illustrator, playwright, scene painter, essayist, poet, novelist and muralist among other roles. In his books, word and image are juxtaposed and combined to form epic narratives that have been compared to the work of fellow artist-writers, such as William Blake.
Gray Stuff: Designs for Books and Posters, 1952 – 2010 is an exhibition of original graphic works revealing the development of illustrations used in Gray’s critically acclaimed novels, such as Lanark (1981), Poor Things (1992) and Old Men In Love (2007), and providing a rare opportunity to see the vibrant sketches and motifs which surround and animate the texts.
This is an insightful range of work touching many areas of Gray’s extensive practice, which can be traced back throughout his life. Joining us to explore the relationships between his work as a writer and a visual artist will be Pat Fisher, Director of Talbot Rice Gallery.
29 April 2010 at 6pm
In collaboration with ARTIST ROOMS on Tour, Talbot Rice Gallery presents the first solo show in Scotland of the American artist Jenny Holzer.
Jenny Holzer has been at the forefront of American art since the early 1980s, gaining widespread recognition when texts from her Truism series appeared on vast electronic advertising board overlooking Times Square in New York. Throughout her career, Holzer has intrigued audiences by placing her provocative messages in unexpected contexts including posters, metal plaques, stone benches and electronic signs as well as transforming gallery spaces into places for serious political thought. Since 2001, Holzer has incorporated poetry and writing by others into her practice and since 2004, has made the inclusion of government documents central to her work.
For the Talbot Rice exhibition, Holzer’s characteristically provocative text-based works are shown, including a selection of Inflammatory Essays which present a range of challenging statements inspired by the texts of political theorists and religious fanatics; a series of screen prints made from declassified American military documents released under the Freedom of Information Act; an installation of text pasted directly onto the gallery walls of Truisms (1977-1979) – arguably Holzer’s best-known work; and a signature LED display Blue Purple Tilt, 2007 which completely transforms the Georgian gallery.
Joining us to question the use of text and language in contemporary art and to contemplate Holzer’s responsibility to her audience, will be Pat Fisher, Principle Curator of Talbot Rice and Zoe Fothergill, Curator and Educational Development Manager for Talbot Rice.
29 October 2009 at 6pm
An Entangled Bank is the partner exhibition to Darwin’s Edinburgh. It will present a series of diverse but interrelated works by five contemporary artists, who have drawn inspiration from one of Darwin’s most famous visual metaphors the term ‘an entangled bank’ which appears in On the Origin of Species, and encapsulates both Darwin’s vivid literary style as well as the density, difference and dependence he observed in the natural world.
The exhibition will include work by Christine Borland, Ilana Halperin, Brian Hewitt, Kenny Hunter and Ben Rivers who all have national and international reputations and work in various media including film, photography, digital projection, sculpture, installation and film.
Joining us to discuss his work, will be Glasgow-based artist Kenny Hunter. Kenny was the very first artist invited to join Spin in discussions back in 2003, so it will be a pleasure to have him with us again.
Kenny Hunter was born in Edinburgh in 1962 and studied Fine Art and Sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art during the mid 80s. He has exhibited extensively in the UK and abroad. He has also a number of high profile, commissions for Scotland including Cherub/Skull for the Tron Theatre, and Citizen Firefighter outside Glasgows Central Station.
This will be an opportunity for us to discuss how Darwin’s ideas about evolution have influenced the artists involved and how their work incorporates and presents these.
27 August 2009 at 6pm
Spin is taking part in the Edinburgh Art Festivals Art Late on Thursday 27 August from 6-9pm – a city-wide end of Festival party with gallery openings, tours, music, artists performances and live readings. We will be giving a tour of the highlights of this years festival and is one of three tours taking place on the night.
Art Late begins at 6pm at the Ingleby Gallery with a collaborative performance from musician Wounded Knee and dancer Ianthe Wright. Later, two contrasting tours will set out from the gallery leading people round the Festival offering different experiences of the exhibitions: The Giving Tour and the Blank Canvas Bike Tour.
Our Spin tour, led by Rosie Lesso, will set out from Talbot Rice Gallery at 6pm and is an introduction to exhibitions including Jane and Louise Wilson and Joseph Kosuth (Talbot Rice Gallery); Eva Hesse (Fruitmarket); Rough Cut Nation (Scottish National Portrait Gallery) and Lucy Skaer and Rosalind Nashashibi (doggerfisher).
To sign up for Art Late or to join one of the three tours (please note there are limited places), click on the link below to get your invite:
http://www.edinburghartfestival.com/09-festival-programme/events/art-late/
