The Directors of The Scottish Gallery are delighted to present Brecht’s Journal, an exhibition of new work by Derrick Guild. Guild is a conceptual artist who chooses paint and photography as his primary vehicle, undaunted by the mantra: painting is dead (or only allowed if done ironically), undaunted also by the weight of art history which must be supported by each mark made on canvas in his chosen medium. All art has to be made with conviction and courage but where an artist deploys a realist technique and the choice of what he paints becomes key and his triumphs hard won. There is no iconographical key to unlock meaning, each work has a rich, layered, visual presence which can be taken ‘at face value’; floating just beyond full comprehension.
