ART & TRAVEL

Published by Instant Publications Ltd., 0131 661 0765

Publisher Christie Dessy, publisher@artmag.co.uk

Editor Ian Sclater, editor@artmag.co.uk

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Special Features Susan Mansfield

Performing Arts Coordinator Heather Simmonds

Contributing writers Julie Boyne, Sofia Cotrona, Vivien Devlin, Danele Evans, Malcolm McGonigle, Amy Miles, Gordon Reid, Eilidh Tuckett, Joanna Zuchowska

Design & Production www.uprightcreative.com

Webmaster David Marek, david.marek@artmag.co.uk

© 2023 Instant Publications Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without the written permission of the Publisher. Instant Publications does not accept responsibility for unsolicited material. ADVISORY Readers are advised to check all listed information before attending an exhibition or event.

Edge Textile Artists Scotland: Edging West

Lillie Art Gallery, Milngavie

May 20-Jun 29

This new exhibition celebrates the fabric of the West Highland Way, which stretches for 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William via Rannoch Moor and the Devil’s Staircase, through contemporary embroidery and sculptural textile work with varied individual interpretations and recollections of this iconic walk in stitch and fabric. You won’t find any rain or wind in the gallery, but you will come across some alternative walking boots, a fanciful rain hat, richly imagined landscapes, flora, fauna, pebbles and perhaps even a midge or two.

Edge Textile Artists edlc.co.uk/heritagearts/lillie-art-gallery edge-textileartistsscotland.com

Scotland is a group of contemporary textile artists whose work values the traditional skills of embroidery while dispelling the myths around its image. Their work ranges from historical hand-stitched techniques to creative textile sculpture and machine embroidery worked in a variety of media.

On The Cover

Philip Braham RSA: A Whispering Wind City Contemporary Art, Perth

Jun 3-Jul 5

Presented in The Room, the gallery’s dedicated solo show space, this group of new oil paintings reflects the northern European tradition in which landscapes act as a metaphor for the human condition.

Braham says: “Painting enables me to make sense of the world. Not just of the natural world around me, but also my psychological response to experiences that influence my perception of the world. My paintings are crafted with care to accurately depict a particular place at a particular moment, while simultaneously carrying an emotional charge. They are realistic, but not merely rational or mechanical representations. Rather, their fidelity is to the range of sensory impressions stirred by the scene and realised through the slippery material of oil paint on canvas.” ccart.co.uk

Nichol Wheatley: Stravaigin’

Glasgow Gallery

Jun 3-Jul 1

Inspired by his meanderings in Scottish landscapes (the exhibition title is borrowed from an old Scots word for rambling), Nichol Wheatley’s latest paintings capture scenes focusing on his ongoing fascination with light, specifically during the period from dusk into early night. Stravaigin’ is his first solo exhibition at the Glasgow Gallery since joining the roster earlier this year.

Best known for his large cycle of murals of the Tam o’Shanter story hanging in Glasgow’s Oran Mor and his work with his artistic hero, the late Alasdair Gray, Wheatley has also acted as arts consultant for infrastructure projects and worked for Oscar-winning film designers. His next project will be a 120 metre-long sculpture made of concrete and mosaics at Stockingfield Bridge in northwest Glasgow. glasgowgallery.co.uk

Nichol Wheatley, hill walk as the seasons change

Glasgow School Of Art Degree Show

Garnethill Campus

Jun 2-11

Launching a new generation of talent, Glasgow’s largest public exhibition of graduate work by over 600 students from the GSA’s five schools addresses many of the contemporary challenges they will face as they start their creative careers - from community and collaboration to gender identity, from climate emergency to adaptation and reinvention, from landscape to health and well-being.

The physical show will run alongside an expansive digital showcase, which launches on June 1, enabling graduates to add to their digital portfolios for up to 12 months and present their developing professional practice post-graduation. gsashowcase.net

Summer Exhibition

Velvet Easel Gallery, Portobello

Jun 3-Oct 1

New work by gallery regulars such as Sophie McKay Knight, Ian Neill, Jackie Henderson, Lynn Hanley and Garry Harper is joined by work by a number of artists who are exhibiting with the gallery for the first time, making up a wide-ranging selection of paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewellery and gifts. velveteasel.co.uk

Debbie Lee: Time Well Spent Resipole Studios, Acharacle, Argyll

May 28-Jul 7

This solo show of textile and collage works is the result of time Debbie spent walking along the west coast of Scotland over two separate days, months apart. Working from her studio in Caithness, she creates multi-layered artworks inspired by the Scottish scenery, particularly the Highlands, where she has spent most of her life. resipolestudios.co.uk

Gaston Welisch: A New World The Alchemy Experiment, Glasgow

Jun 2-12

Gaston Welisch’s work captures everyday people in moments of joy and sorrow. He uses cinema-style framing to suggest a larger narrative beyond the captured moment, creating empathy and contemplation at the intersection between viewers’ own lives and the experience of this “new world”. alchemyexperiment.com

Ffiona Lewis: Harris Machair

Sheila McInnes: Simple Pleasures

Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh

Jun 2-24

Ffiona Lewis’s body of oil paintings and works on paper in her debut solo exhibition with the gallery are the culmination of four years of repeated wanderings in the Outer Hebrides observing the intricacies of machair, rock pools, bird life and weaving workshops and mills.

Sheila McInnes’s new paintings celebrate finding beauty in everyday life: walking the dog, the Scottish coastline, the sea, the company of loved ones and our connection with the natural world. openeyegallery.co.uk

William Gillies RSA, PRSW, RA (1898-1973): The Visionary Painter

Oliver Cook: Momentary Flow

Donnie Munro: On The Bay

Various artists: White/Gold/Pearl

Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

Jun 1-24

A special anniversary exhibition on the life and practice of Sir William Gillies (125 years since his birth and 50 since his death) features over 50 works by the artist and art educator who was one of the key figures of the Edinburgh School.

In his latest body of work Oliver Cook continues to explore the translucent properties of carved alabaster and introduces Carrara and Egyptian marble.

In his first solo exhibition with the gallery, former Runrig front man Donnie Munro’s body of work combines still life and landscape.

The richness of gold, the timelessness of pearl and the colour white found in the natural world are brought together in a selection which includes glass, ceramics and jewellery. scottish-gallery.co.uk

Potfest

Scone Palace, Perth

Jun 9-11

At Scotland’s largest ceramic art event you can buy direct from over 90 makers, among the best in the UK and beyond, showing the wondrous objects, both practical and decorative, that they can create from a lump of clay. Visitors can spend the day browsing the show, speaking to the artists about their work and watching a demonstration. Exhibitors are invited to enter a piece into competition, this year based on the theme of nursery rhymes, and visitors can vote for their favourite.

Entry to Potfest includes access to the beautiful Scone Palace grounds and gardens, including the pinetum (pine grove) and the famous star maze. potfest.co.uk

The Scottish Gallery

NT Art Month

Various Edinburgh galleries

Jun 8-30

This inaugural event celebrates the art quarter in Edinburgh’s New Town as ten galleries join forces to highlight the importance of supporting local commercial spaces as platforms for nurturing new artistic talent and mounting world class exhibitions. The programme also includes discussions with artists and gallery directors and live painting sessions.

Pick up a map from one of the participating galleries, which are: &Gallery, Birch Tree Gallery, Harvey & Woodd, Heriot Gallery, the Fine Art Society and the Scottish Gallery (Dundas Street); Open Eye Gallery (Abercromby Place), the Atelier Gallery (Howard Street); Watson Gallery (Queen Street); and Powderhall Bronze Editions (Summer Place). nyart.org

Mountains & Coast Artisanand, Aberfeldy

Until Jun 9

This mixed themed exhibition features work by new artist Lisa Houston, who paints coastal landscapes, and returning artist Claire Wills with a collection depicting lighthouses. They are joined by gallery favourites including Terry Howson, Lynsay Hay and John Robert Smith (landscapes), Lorna C. Radbourne and Carol Russell (stained glass), Daniel Giza (photography) and Matthew Radbourne (3D-printed bioplastic mountains). artisanand.co.uk

Artist Rooms: Diane Arbus

Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries

Until Jul 29

Diane Arbus (1923-71) was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Widely considered to be a pioneer of the social documentary method of photography which blurred the line between art and reportage, she captured moments which personified the variety of attitudes, cultures, lifestyles and appearances across society. Her images emphasise the importance of trust and respect between photographer and subject.

On loan from the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, this selection of work is part of a touring collection which makes exceptional works of international post-war and contemporary art available to institutions across the UK for use in high profile monographic exhibitions. Since its launch in 2008, some 40 million people have visited Artist Rooms exhibitions.

Also showing is Galloway to Gracefield: A Landscape Meets Artworks (until Jun 24), a multimedia exhibition showcasing some of the art projects supported by the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. dgculture.co.uk

RSA 197th Annual Exhibition Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Until Jun 11

The highlight of the RSA’s year-round exhibition programme, the Annual Exhibition is the largest and longest running exhibition of contemporary art in Scotland, providing a platform for painting, sculpture, film, printmaking, photography and installation alongside work by some of the country’s leading architects.

This year the exhibition encompasses both the physical and digital, combining the exhibition of artworks on display in the galleries with those shown online, some exclusively designed as such and others as companions to work in the galleries.

The RSA participates in the Own Art scheme, which enables collectors to purchase artwork in 10 monthly, interest-free instalments. royalscottishacademy.org

Molly Marshalsey & Naoimh O’ Shea

Maisie & Mac, Cupar

Until Jul 10

A graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee, Molly Marshalsey specialises in surface design inspired by urban architectural structures and building elements, interpreting their lines, angles, reflections, silhouettes and shapes through the use of fine ink mark-making, collage and paint.

Naoimh O’ Shea is inspired by wildlife on the Isle of May and around the East of Scotland. Her recent landscapes range from fiery sunsets to rolling hills to stormy skies and spectacular beaches in the Outer Hebrides. Maisie & Mac also has a wide range of prints, ceramics, textiles, paintings, metalwork, woodwork, glass and jewellery. maisieandmac.com

Scottish Paintings & Sculpture

Tea Green Marketplace Bowhouse, St Monans Jun 10 & 11

This pop-up platform showcases the wealth of independent artists and designers in Scotland. Over the years Tea Green Events have hosted hundreds of eclectic fairs showing high quality, hand-crafted products in beautiful locations around the country, giving visitors the opportunity to browse and buy work direct from a wide range of craftmakers. teagreen.co.uk

Alan Richmond Flat Cat Gallery, Lauder Jun 3-Jul 30

Featured artist Alan Richmond’s abstract paintings are inspired by his love of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. He works in acrylic, spreading, scraping, layering up paint and experimenting with colour. The gallery is now part of the Own Art scheme which enables collectors to make ten interest-free monthly payments on original artwork from £100 to £2,500. flatcatgallery.co.uk

Jonathan Sainsbury:

A Classic Series Retold

Frames Gallery, Perth

Until Jun 17

In 1959 Ladybird Books published four volumes in the children’s series What To Look For In – namely, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. These books nurtured in the young Jonathan Sainsbury a love of nature which has inspired him throughout his life. In tribute to them he has embarked on a project to reinterpret the illustrations in his own style and with an understanding that country life has changed. The exhibition includes 70 sepia watercolours alongside some of the original illustrations. framesgallery.co.uk

134th Paisley Art Institute Open Annual Exhibition

Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr

May 20-Jun 25

The PAI show always covers a huge range of styles and media and this year is no exception with some 400 works on display. There are also 20 prizes to be won, chosen by either award sponsors or a panel of invited judges, including hotel owner, artist and collector Bill Costley, convenor at Glasgow Art Club Mike Leonard and Chair of the Maclaurin Trust John Walker. The exhibition’s spiritual home, Paisley Museum, is currently undergoing a £42 million revamp as part of the town’s regeneration. themaclaurin.org.uk paisleyartinstitute.org

Ashley Cook, Claire Paterson & Karen Strang: Renewal

Kilbirnie Studio and Gallery

Jun 3-27 studioandgallery.co.uk

In their first group show together, three Glasgow School of Art graduates explore processes of psychological transformation with works populated by mysterious figures who embody mythological and archetypal energies. The unique location of the exhibition has also served as inspiration. The Kilbirnie Studio and Gallery is run by writer, publisher and artist Adam McLean, one of the world’s foremost authorities on alchemical texts and symbolism. In keeping with the spirit of the gallery, the artists aim to harness the creative process in an attempt to transform – or alchemise – some of the dark, bleak energy of recent years into a sense of hope, rejuvenation and renewal.

High St. Gallery, Kirkcudbright

The High St. Gallery has a large collection of Georgian to mid-century retro art glass, pottery from the Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and mid-century periods and new paintings by James Macaulay, Davy Brown and Hazel Campbell.

The gallery, which doubled as May Morrison’s Sweetie Shop in the cult film The Wickerman, has seen an increase of visitors in the movie’s 50th anniversary year. highstgallery.co.uk

Barbara

CBE RA: East and West Callendar House, Falkirk May 20-Sep 10

The renowned, Falkirk-born artist returns to her home town with a new exhibition of paintings inspired by Leith Docks and the Atlantic coastline.

Barbara Rae is one of Britain’s outstanding contemporary painters and is one of three Royal Academicians from the Falkirk area along with Alan Davie (1920-2014) and Elizabeth Blackadder (1931-2021). She holds a number of honorary doctorates from various Scottish universities and a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Edinburgh and is an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy. falkirkleisureandculture.org/venues/ callendar-house

Helen Glassford: Every Waking Moment

Strathearn Gallery, Crieff

May 27-Jun 25

Having shown Helen Glassford’s Scottish landscapes for some years as part of group exhibitions and watched her work evolve and gain increasing interest among collectors, the Strathearn Gallery is now hosting its first solo exhibition with her featuring almost 40 new, atmospheric oil paintings.

Says art reviewer Jan Patience: “Glassford is a genius at recreating the timeless quality of landscape. You might not be able to pin down the place, but with a few swift lines and a wash of paint, she puts you right in the heart of it.” strathearn-gallery.com

Glen Scouller RSW RGI: From Studio and Garden

Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow

May 19-Jun 10

Roger Billcliffe has been showing Glen Scouller’s work since the early 1980s and welcomes him back for his eleventh show after a gap of five years.

Scouller is known for capturing the light and colour of France, Italy, Portugal and India, although this exhibition is drawn from much closer climes, namely his house and studio and the surrounding Loudoun hills in Ayrshire. Native big skies and the strong colours of spring and autumn belie the perennial needs of Scottish artists’ search for the light of the ‘midi’. billcliffegallery.com

Canvas & Clay II Whitehouse Gallery, Kirkcudbright Until Jun 24

Following on from last year’s exhibition of the same name, this second offering of Canvas & Clay focuses solely on paintings and pottery, finding harmony between the two media.

Newcomers include: painter and ceramicist Ian McWhinnie, whose work features anonymous figures; Angelo Murphy, whose still lifes are a nod to the Baroque painters of the 17th century, but with a more contemporary twist; and Jan Munro, who combines colours, shapes and mark-making to create semi-representational works which look beyond reality. Returning artists include: Ben Brotherton and June Bell with striking new figurative paintings; Suzanne Stuart Davies, whose abstract paintings are interpretations of her surrounding landscapes; award-winning children’s illustrator Catherine Rayner; and Ann Armstrong with a collection of Scottish landscapes. There are also new collections of ceramics by a range of potters. whitehousegallery.co.uk

Falu Studios, Dumfries

Ongoing

Artist and craftmaker respectively create original artworks, including acrylic landscapes and still lifes, mixed media art, unique ink and perspex designs, and wood and resin furniture, lamps and other works. They also offer a range of affordable prints and smaller, original pieces to bring a burst of colour to a small room or adorn limited wall space. falustudios.com

Chippendale International School of Furniture 2023 Graduate Exhibition and Fine Furniture Sale Myreside Grange, Gifford

Jun

14-17

Following nine intensive months on the flagship Professional Course, graduating students unveil their fine furniture designs to the public. The nine-month course attracts aspiring furniture-makers from around the world and has an international reputation as a training ground for exceptional woodworkers, providing students with the essential skills and knowledge to successfully establish and run their own business. chippendaleschool.com

Nomads Tent, Edinburgh

This year celebrating its 40th anniversary, Nomads Tent is a veritable warehouse of tribal and village crafts sourced direct from Asia and North Africa. nomadstent.co.uk

Stephen Redpath: An Inner Place Clashnettie Arts Centre, Strathdon Jun 9-16

Stephen Redpath explains: “These watercolour paintings have grown out of my relationship with Scottish landscapes. Over the last year I have sketched, observed and walked in landscapes from Aberdeenshire to Orkney to Mull. I have absorbed these places deep inside me and then let them emerge onto paper as and when they want. These paintings are therefore as much about me and my emotional response to place as they are about this amazing country.” clashnettie.co.uk

When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65 – A Retrospective City Art Centre, Edinburgh May 27-Oct 1

Spanning four floors, this first major retrospective of Howson’s work brings together over 100 paintings from public and private collections tracing his career from his student days to the present. Many of the works have never been seen in public, having been privately commissioned from the artist. The exhibition includes Howson’s early work, which is dominated by depictions of working class Glasgow men –dossers, boxers, body-builders – with the huge Heroic Dosser from the National Galleries of Scotland, a key painting from this period, hanging alongside images of army life and nightclubs. In 1993 Howson was appointed Official War Artist in Bosnia by the Imperial War Museum and a section of the exhibition is devoted to this traumatic and harrowing experience.

The exhibition also explores Howson’s more recent work. While in the depths of despair and his life at a very low ebb, he turned to religion, and many of the works are inspired by his ongoing faith journey. edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venue/city-art-centre

Elaine Allison & Chris Sleath: Construct

Upright Gallery, Edinburgh May 20-Jun 9

Sculptor Elaine Allison and printmaker Chris Sleath come together to show works influenced by their mutual interest in architecture.

Elaine Allison’s work is diverse in terms of process, materials and subject matter. She has cast, carved, constructed, folded, sewn and embroidered, using bronze, stone, wood, found objects, fabric, thread and paper. Here she explores the delights of embossing paper, folding the sheets, with their repeated, raised motifs, into 3D structures.

Chris Sleath’s prints are largely abstracted representations of landscapes and buildings. His processes are intuitive and instantaneous and are inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of ‘shibui’ (an aesthetic of simple, subtle and unobtrusive beauty), including Yunomi and Chawan pottery and patchwork Boro textiles. uprightgallery.com

Hazel McAllister Larks Gallery, Ballater Throughout June

Featured artist Hazel McAllister draws her inspiration from nature and her surroundings, and living on the Aberdeenshire coast offers ample access to dramatic seascapes and landscapes. She works in a variety of media and across a wide range of subject matter, from flowers, trees and still life to landscapes and seascapes. She also produces boldly colourful abstract and semi-abstract pieces. larksgallery.com