The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sense of Place and Out of the Frame
The McManus Galleries, Dundee
Forget the Tate Britain or the National Gallery – Dundee’s McManus is home to a nationally significant Scottish fine art with many pieces currently on display for visitors of all ages to enjoy.
The two free exhibitions are testament to the enormous talent and diversity to come out of Scotland over the decades.
Sense of Place, which is at the McManus until autumn 2017, focuses on landscapes by Scottish artists, starting with the pioneering work of the Glasgow Boys. Inspired by French practice, “The Boys” moved out of the studio to paint outside, en plein air.
With this new spirit of naturalism, artists were able to capture the effects of light and the weather, breathing new life into Scottish art.
Throughout the 20th Century the strong tradition of landscape painting continued with the vibrant and colourful paintings of the Scottish Colourists.
The inter-war years are represented by the intellectual and progressive work of William McCance and William Johnstone. Alongside are highly detailed, panoramic landscapes by McIntosh Patrick. Contemporary artist, Graeme Todd, rounds off the display with a work that borders on abstraction.
Meanwhile, Out of the Frame, which is on until April 23, examines how Scottish artists have experimented and engaged with abstract art.
Turning their backs on realistic representation, they focus instead on colour, shape, form and gestural marks. Whilst some use these to express thoughts and emotions, others let them standalone, creating art based purely on visual effect. From early protagonist William Gear, to contemporary painter Callum Innes, Scots continue to find new ways to engage with the seemingly endless possibilities of abstraction.
The exhibition includes the city’s latest fine art acquisition in the shape of three abstract works by Glasgow School of Art graduate Victoria Morton.
Victoria, who is influenced and inspired by medieval fresco painting, Dutch 17th Century painting, Mondrian and Edvard Munch, describes her paintings “as a situation to put yourself in rather than a fixed image to perceive.”
“They propose spaces to inhabit and explore by slowing down the act of looking,” she adds. They are sometimes based on the idea of mental movement, physical sensation, ongoing composition, chance and uncertainty.”
Kirsty MacNab, curatorial assistant at the galleries, adds: “We are sure that visitors to the exhibition will find joy in the colour, form, shape and gestural marks of the works on display.
“We hope that in walking round the gallery, visitors will find that abstract art is an accessible art form. There is no right or wrong answer – it is something that anyone can enjoy.”