The Height of Sophistication

Hello everyone,

In my last blog I promised we would take a closer look at something fishy in our Autumn exhibition.
Here it is:

'See no Fish, Hear no Fish, Catch no Fish', acrylic on canvas by James Newton Adams.

OK, so the fishermen might look a little comical with their big yellow gloves and rubbery red overalls, but James Newton Adams is making reference to the very serious issue of the declining fishing industry in Scotland. I love the glum expressions of their faces.

And there's more:

'Mallaig Fishermen' acrylic on canvas by James Newton Adams.

Now this is a painting I really wanted to take a closer look at!
I have often heard people refer to James as a 'niave' or 'primitive' painter. Yes there is a deliberate stylising of the figures, which in themselves appear childlike, and that of course is part of the appeal of James' work, but there's so much more to his work and this is a brilliant example of it.
There is nothing primitive about James' techniques as an artist: indeed every mark on his paintings is premeditated, skillfully rendered.

Just look at that fisherman's head!
In what seems to be an awkward and anatomically impossible face, the gruelling and relentless conditions which he has endured for many years are etched on his chiseled features.
It's so authentic you can practically smell him!
I also really enjoy the movement in this painting. The composition is clever, chopping up the canvas to mimic the choppy seas on which it's all 'niavely' balanced.
It is a buoyant and brilliant painting.

Come back soon to catch more marvels of the Autumn Exhibition :)

It's In your DNA

Hello everyone

We are particularly excited to have new work by Sophie McKay Knight on exhibition just now.
You can see why:

'DNA', acrylic and screenprint on canvas, by Sophie McKay Knight.

And my personal favourite:

'The Equation', mixed media on canvas, by Sophie McKay Knight.

A closer look reveals these paintings are not just pretty faces: just under the skin you can see the figures' DNA, their very make up, as Sophie McKay Knight says:

My work has always been based on the human figure. I am inspired by the things that make up a whole person, and what/where their sense of self comes from. This means I incorporate many things into my paintings - I 'collect' images of people from everywhere; often remembering a scene I have witnessed, sometimes responding to a fictional or historical character. I am interested in storytelling, everyday magic, memory and reflections.

As well as depicting the outside of the body, I have also become very interested in what happens inside the body & mind - the idea that genes and DNA partly make up who we are and where we have come from. I recently secured funding from Fife Contemporary Art & Craft to pursue a project called 'Human Self' and to create a new body of work surrounding these issues. I will essentially be exploring the nature/nurture debate through my work, focusing on local children and their families' thoughts on the concept of 'inheritance'.

SMK September 2013.

Looking at these figures I can't help but thinking the girls look a little lost, possible in need of some love and comfort.  All the more reason, then, for us to be thrilled that young 'Maya' here will be going to a loving home all the way over in Dubai:

'Maya', acrylic on canvas, by Sophie McKay Knight.

Have a great weekend all and hurry back to take a closer look at something a bit fishy in the exhibition.

Little Nipper

The first spring-loaded mouse trap was invented by William C. Hooker of Abingdon, Illinois, who received US patent 528671 for his design in 1894. James Henry Atkinson, a British inventor who in 1897 invented a prototype called the "Little Nipper", probably had seen the Hooker trap in the shops or in advertisements and used it as the basis of his model. It is a simple device with a heavily spring-loaded bar and a trip to release it. The design is such that the mouse's neck or spinal cord will be broken, or its ribs or skull crushed, by the force of the bar. 

Simple, brutal, but effective.

'Three Blind Mice' oil on panel by Dylan Lisle.

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life
As three blind mice?

Here Comes Autumn!

Hello everyone,

It might be a bit more Indian Summer than a typical Autumn, but hey, who's complaining?

All the more reason to get out and about and enjoy the fine weather!

Join us for a glass of something lovely and enjoy some cracking artworks:

and.......

Meet Joyce Gunn Cairns' 'Hello Dolly' painting. It's just a bit special :)

See you soon.....

A Moving Experience

Hello everyone,

There are many aspects to our current solo exhibition, Kevin Low: the Pleasures of Nature, that I would consider to be a great success, not least the fact that visitors to the gallery have embraced and actually celebrated Kevin's use of technology to create his stunning images.  Of course, to many people digital painting is easy to understand and appreciate.  For me, however, and for many others it would seem, the whole concept has taken some getting used to, and I am sure that it is the success of Kevin's imagery that has helped me embrace it along with our more enlightened viewers.

For in terms of the art itself, this is Kevin Low's  genius.  He is a natural and consummate story-teller, and most of his paintings do have a story behind them, yet so many people find that his works draw them into comparisons with their own experience, and so give the paintings a personal, even intimate, character.  Very, very clever.

I know I'm not alone in this: one of the lucky buyers of this:

'Her Father's Things', digital painting, by Kevin Low.
had their interest sparked initially by their fanatical collecting of blue & white china.  And, although Kevin's story behind this is to do with three of his cousins:

'Three Sisters', digital painting, by Kevin Low.
we had a visitor who was adamant that it was about their family, and wondered how Kevin knew about them.

For me, there are many paintings in this exhibition that I love, and I know that the Dawkins household is going to have wait just a wee bit longer for its new boiler as a few find their way to our walls.  However, there is one that has had a particular resonance with me:

'Making Plans', digital painting, by Kevin Low.
This painting immediately brought to mind my time at boarding school in the middle of Dartmoor.  If that sounds bleak, then you've got the right impression: cold, windswept, isolated and, this being the 1970's and early '80's, very little by way of protection or rule of law apart from when you got caught smoking - which I regularly did!  Something about the boy with a bag on his head, sitting on his bed, made me think of school and touched me.  His vunerability is quite moving, but the fact that he is 'Making Plans' implies that he is no victim.  School wasn't all bad as long as you managed to put a metaphorical bag over your head and, of course, made your plans for escape

Speak soon.

Happy Birthday

Hello everyone,

We at Union Gallery would like to wish a happy birthday to the youngest visitor to the preview of Kevin Low's amazing exhibition, 'The Pleasures of Nature':

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FINN STORMONTH!!!

There's a little something waiting for you in the gallery:

 

Lights, camera and ACTION!

Hello everyone

I hope you are going to see some shows at the Edinburgh Festival. If so I do hope you will pop in and see the fabulous Kevin Low exhibition here at UG.
In the meantime here's a short and sweet video by artist Stewart Bremner of the Kevin Low exhibition opening night. Just paste it into your browser.
If you were there maybe you can spot yourself!

https://vimeo.com/71750061


If you're in Edinburgh this weekend the Kevin will be in the gallery on Saturday between 2-4.00pm to show a few of his tricks and talks about his inspirations behind the work.

I can't wait! x