Journeys into the Unknown | Alan Macdonald | September 2019 | Kilmorack Gallery

Alan Macdonald

Journeys into the Unknown

Alan Macdonald Journeys into the Unknown

28th September - 26th October 2019

Wolf Haul | oil on board | 50cm x 60cm

Foreward

It is common to see a huddle of admirers in front of an Alan Macdonald painting; the on-lookers savouring the painting’s almost theatrical performance. Our huddle tries, and ultimately fails, to de-riddle Macdonald’s painterly fable of the absurd. They are also mesmerised

by Macdonald’s mastery of Dutch and Renaissance painting, which he interweaves with the ephemera and lyrics of modern life.

Comparison with other artists is obvious. Caravaggio, Goya, Rembrandt and maybe even the endlessly-looping Escher all spring to mind, but so do musicians: Puccini, Verdi and Bowie. It is no surprise that Macdonald has gained such a deep and internationally wide reputation.

It is a great honour to show these latest works by such an important Scottish artist in Kilmorack Gallery once again, and to celebrate it with this catalogue.

Tony Davidson, August 2019

Fly Me to the Moon The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, The howling dog by the door of the house, The bat that lies in bed at noon, All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way; And flowers and children close their eyes Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Fly Me to the Moon | oil on board | 30cm x 25cm

Buffalo Pearls

Come with me and you’ll be In a world of pure imagination Take a look and you’ll see Into your imagination We’ll begin with a spin Traveling in the world of my creation What we’ll see will defy explanation Roald Dahl

Buffalo Pearls | oil on linen | 114cm x 92cm

Mr Improbable

Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.

Henry David Thoreau

Mr Improbable | oil on board | 76cm x 60cm

The Secret Garden

Don’t you tell it to the breeze ‘cause she will tell the birds and bees And ev’ryone will know because you told the blabbering trees Yes, you told them once before; It’s no secret any more.

Why tell them all the old things?

They’re buried under the snow.

Whispering Grass, don’t tell the trees ‘Cause the trees don’t need to know.

Doris Fisher/Fred Fisher

The Secret Garden | oil on board | 60cm x 50cm

Trap to Catch a Sinner Don’t, don’t you want me?

You know I can’t believe it when I hear that you won’t see me Don’t, don’t you want me?

You know I don’t believe you when you say that you don’t need me It’s much too late to find You think you’ve changed your mind You’d better change it back or we will both be sorry John William Callis / Philip Oakey / Adrian Philip Wright

Trap to Catch a Sinner | oil on board | 43cm x 30cm

Blessed are the Bleak

God is dead, but considering the state the species man is in, there will perhaps be caves, for ages yet, in which his shadow will be shown.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Blessed are the Bleak | oil on linen | 168cm x 152cm

Pearl Fisher

Those who attain any excellence, commonly spend life in some single pursuit; for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.

Samuel Johnson

Pearl Fisher | oil on board | 36cm x 30cm

Beast from the East

A true friend stabs you in the front.

Oscar Wilde

Beast from the East | oil on canvas | 60cm x 50cm

Queen Bean

Gunpowder, gelatine Dynamite with a laser beam Guaranteed to blow your mind Anytime Recommended at the price Insatiable an appetite Wanna try?

Freddie Mercury

Queen Bean | oil on board | 43cm x 40cm

Ship of Fools

I have pondered how a ship Of fools I’d suitably equip – A galley, brig, bark, skiff, or float, A carack, scow, dredge, racing boat, A sled, cart, barrow, carryall – One vessel would be far too small To carry all the fools I know…

Sebastian Brant

Ship of Fools | oil on board | 30cm x 25cm

Ship of Ghouls | oil on board | 30cm x 25cm

+44 (0) 1463 783 230 art@kilmorackgallery.co.uk by beauly, inverness-shire iv4 7al