Author: Alan Rae

Land & Sea

Kirstie Behrens, Andy Heald & John McClenaghen

27 January to 3 March 2024

Our first exhibition of 2024 features the work of three landscape artists.

John and Andy’s work is very expressive and largely worked en plein air, responding to the changes in the environment around them. Their work focusses on the landscape around the coast of East Lothian so it will be interesting to see how they approach a similar subject in a similar way.

Kirstie’s work is a real contrast to the expressive painting of John & Andy. Kirstie’s collection of etchings evolve from drawings and paintings on location and then worked on back in the studio before committing the drawing to the plate and the subsequent alchemy of the printing process. Her etchings in this exhibition feature the rugged Highland landscape as well as some of the woodland near her home in Fife.

The exhibition will open on Saturday 27 January at 11am and refreshments and a chance to chat to the artists from 2-5pm.

Hope you can make it.

Winter Exhibition

11 November 2023 to 21 January 2024

Reinhard Behrens, George Birrell, Georgina Bown, Chris Brook, Colin Brown, Davy Brown, Dominique Cameron, Thomas Cameron, Alan Connell, Joseph Davie, Fee Dickson-Reid, Matthew Draper, Michael Durning, Ronnie Fulton, Jennifer Irvine, Simon Laurie, Sarah Lawson, Neil Macdonald, Sam MacDonald, Linda MacKinnon, Donald Manson, Rachel Marshall, Alison McWhirter, Paul Reid, Pascale Rentsch, Kelly Stewart, Jayne Stokes, Astrid Trügg, Jane Walker, Chris Watkins & Christopher Wood.

Please note our Winter opening hours for the duration of the Winter Exhibition – Open Wednesday to Saturday 11-4, Sunday 12-4, closed Monday and open by appointment only on Tuesday.

 

Henry H. Fraser, Komachi Goto, Simon Laurie RSW RGI, Stephanie Mills, Angela Repping, Peter Thomson & Graeme Wilcox with sculpture by Alejandro Lopez

23 September to 5 November

Our next exhibition returns to the small group format, this time, focusing on the Portrait.

One of the oldest art forms, portraiture recorded the appearance of individuals and was used to portray social standing, integrity, wealth and religious or political convictions.

With the advent of photography, and today’s ubiquitous mobile phone, everyone can, to some degree, produce good portraits. Being able to get beyond a likeness, however, and instilling an emotion or prompting a reaction with the viewer, really exploring the essence of the human condition, takes portraiture to an entirely different level.

We have invited 8 artists who have very different approaches to portraiture and figurative art. The group have produced a varied, interesting, and thoughtful collection which I am sure you will enjoy.

The exhibition opens at 11am on Saturday 23 September with refreshments served between 2 and 5pm when several of the artists will be around to discuss their work.

Summer Exhibition

24 June – 17 September

Our summer show features varied collection of work from a number of familiar gallery artists as well as a couple of new faces. Recently elected to the RSW and the RGI, I have long admired Saul Robertson’s intriguing narrative style, so I’m delighted that he is showing a couple of pieces with us this summer. Also showing with us for the first time is East Lothian artist Kenneth Blues Wilson who will be showing two local landscapes. For all those wild swimmers out there, we have two beautiful bronze “Sea Swimmer” sculptures by Jane Smith and an outstanding monochrome “Bather” portrait by Graeme Wilcox. With around 50 pieces to hang there should be something for everyone in this exhibition.

Featuring:

George Birrell, Georgina Bown, Davy Brown, John Brown, Alan Connell, Ann Cowan, Amy Dennis, Fee Dickson Reid, Matthew Draper, Alison Dunlop, Ronnie Fulton, Neal Greig, Andy Heald, Kate Henderson, Phill Jupitus, Alex Knubley, Simon Laurie, Sarah Lawson, Rachel Marshall, John McClenaghen, Ian Neill, Ann Oram, Allan Robertson, Saul Robertson, Arran Ross, Michel Rulliere, Jane Smith, Jayne Stokes, Astrid Trügg, Graeme Wilcox, Kenneth Blues Wilson & Adrian Wiszniewski.

Up with the Larks

Dominique Cameron

6 May to 18 June

“This is a landscape exhibition of process, from figuration toward abstraction. The works include a series of drawings from a traditional, single point of view and move toward a more painterly abstraction that owes more to storytelling, becoming a narrative journey through the landscape. The title – ‘Up with the Larks’ references my own curiosity in exploring  Scotland and the encounters in meeting and making new stories of our landscape.”

Dominique Cameron

Opening on Saturday 18 March, we have brought together a great selection of artists for our Spring Exhibition including:

Rosemary Beaton, George Birrell, Georgina Bown SSA, Davy Brown, Nicola Carberry, June Carey RSW RGI PAI ASWA, Carol Dewart PAI RSW, Matthew Draper SSA VAS PS, Alison Dunlop RSW, Michael Durning PPAI PAI RSW, Andy Heald, John Johnstone, Sarah Lawson, Ged Lerpiniere, Neil Macdonald RSW RGI PAI, Stephen Mangan, Alice McMurrough RSW RGI PAI, Heather Nevay RGI, Paul Reid, Naoko Shibuya, Alastair Strachan, Jayne Stokes SSA, Peter Thomson & Helen Wilson RSW RGI PAI.

We will open as usual at 11am on Saturday 18 March but refreshments will be served between 2 & 5pm.

Land and Sea

28 January – 12 March 2023

Opening 28 January, refreshments from 2-5pm

Featuring the work of 9 landscape artists illustrating the variety of styles that can be enjoyed when contemplating the world around us. Artists are trained to study the world around us and those skills are honed over years of practice. Their work draws attention to features we might otherwise overlook and invite us to pause and ponder the natural wonder that surrounds us.

Paul Klee once said, “Art does not reproduce what we see, rather, it makes us see.” John Houston’s expressive landscapes looked, to me, at first quite abstracted but I have since noticed those ‘leopard skies’ over the Forth and was instantly reminded of his work.

It is a truly remarkably talented group of artists with a variety of styles, geographically covering the length and breadth…and depths of Scotland. There’s even a bit of Mediterranean sunshine to remind us of the summer months!

The exhibition runs from 28 January to 12 March 2023 with an opening on Saturday 28 January with refreshments from 2-5pm.

Dominique Cameron, Matthew Draper VAS SSA PS, Alison Dunlop RSW, Sam MacDonald, Robert MacMillan, John McClenaghen, Pascale Rentsch RSW, Ronald F Smith RSW RGI PAI & Christopher Wood RSW.

With ceramics from Sarah Lawson, Ronnie Fulton, Arran Ross and Jane B Walker.

Winter Exhibition

5 November – 22 January 2023

Opening Night with refreshments, Friday 4 November 6-8pm

George Birrell, Georgina Bown, Davy Brown, Alfons Bytautas, Sunshine Callender, Dominique Cameron, June Carey, Alan Connell, Ian Cook, Carol Dewart, Fee Dickson-Reid, Matthew Draper, Andy Heald, Simon Laurie, Kevin Low, Sam MacDonald, Linda MacKinnon, Rachel Marshall, Ian Neill, Sheena Phillips, Allan J Robertson, Naoko Shibuya, Jayne Stokes, Astrid Trügg, Jane Walker, Graeme Wilcox, Adrian Wiszniewski and more.

Please note, revised opening hours for duration of the Winter Exhibition; Wednesday – Saturday 11-4pm, 12-4pm Sunday, closed Mondays and open by appointment only on Tuesdays.

All Summer Long

2 July to 4 September

Featuring: Jilly Ballantyne, George Birrell, John Boak, Georgina Bown, Chris Brook, Colin Brown, Alison Burt, Dominique Cameron, Alan Connell, Ann Cowan, Joseph Davie,  Amy Dennis, Matthew Draper, Ronnie Fulton, Neal Greig, Hetty Haxworth, Phill Jupitus, Suzanne Kirk, Simon Laurie, Sarah Lawson, Alejandro Lopez, Neil Macdonald, Robert Macmillan, Rachel Marshall, Alice McMurrough, Alison McWhirter, Ian Neill, Arran Ross, David Schofield, Astrid Trügg, Jane Walker, Patti Yuill and many more.