A new free exhibition, opening this Saturday at the City Art Centre, looks at the art of drawing. A Parliament of Lines (5 May - 8 July 2012) will exhibit the work of fifteen contemporary artists, most working at an international level, all of whom use drawing as an important element in their practice.
"Drawing has remained at the heart of Scottish art education since Edinburgh College of Art was formed initially as the first drawing school in Britain, over 250 years ago," said artist and curator Euan Gray, who has partnered with the City Art Centre on the exhibition.
"In the 21st Century, drawing has a renewed importance in the art world. A Parliament of Lines aims to explore how drawing is being used in current contemporary art practice. The exhibition seeks to question what constitutes a drawing, at times exploring its boundary with painting, animation and photography."
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The exhibition is built around five broad themes, each used to link the work of a number of the artists involved: Figuration, Architecture/Landscape, Minimal Abstraction, Reproduction/Photography, and Sculptural Investigation.
All of the artists (see below) have either been born in Scotland or attended Art College here, and can boast a host of accolades and international exhibitions between them.
The work on display in A Parliament of Lines, many of which have been created specially for the show, ranges from Marie Hanrett's enigmatic portrait Irene (top), Charles Avery's street scene scene Untitled (The Bar of The One Armed Snake), Moyna Flannigan's irreverent First People, an installation by Nathalie de Briey, and a one-minute animation by David Shrigley.
Biographies of artists in A Parliament of Lines
Charles Avery: He has shown in many high profile exhibitions including, The British Art Show 7 (touring); Altermodern, Tate Triennial, Tate Britain, London and recent solo shows include Onomatopoeia, Part 1, EX3 – Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea, Florence and The Islanders: An Introduction, National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh. www.doggerfisher.com
Paul Chiappe: He has had recent Solo Shows at the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art, Edinburgh and Madder 139, London and an upcoming exhibition in 2012 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Centre, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA. Recent group shows include Volta6, Basel, Switzerland. Tate BrItain are showing his work in the forthcoming 'Slow Looking' survey of Contemporary Drawing, opening in May 2012.
www.paulchiappe.co.uk
Layla Curtis: Since 2006, she has exhibited in many important group exhibitions including State of Flux, Trinity Contemporary, New York, NY, USA; Actions: What You Can Do With the City, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, USA; Living History, Tate Modern, London, British Art 1500–2006, Tate Britain, London; Art Futures, Bloomberg Space, London and Destination, Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry.
www.laylacurtis.com
Nathalie De Briey: Recent projects include a research residency in Hiroshima funded by the Scottish Arts Council, Ground Temperature: 3000°c; Emerged, Berlin; New Scots, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh; The Fleeting, and Taigh Chearsabhagh, North Uist
www.nathaliedebriey.com
Moyna Flannigan: Recent shows include Playboy Redux: Contemporary Artists Interpret the Iconic Playboy Bunny, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA; VANHUIT HIER – OUT OF HERE: The Collectors Show, Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, Netherlands; Moyna Flannigan/Julie Roberts Galerie Akinci, Amsterdam, Netherlands and What you see is where you're at: Part 3, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
www.moynaflannigan.com
Luca Frei: Important solo exhibitions throughout Europe include, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn; The end of summer, Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Lugano; Statements, Balice Hertling, Paris; Swiss Cultural Institute, Milan; Watch Out, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano and Studies/Play, Lunds Konsthalle, Sweden; They stared back at him with an expression of vicious, acrid boredom that trembled on the edge of violence, Balice Hertling, Paris
www.lucafrei.info
Euan Gray: He has won the Alastair Salvesen Scholarship, Edinburgh and been nominated for the Nat West Prize for Art, London twice. In the past two years he has won First Prize, 2010 and Second Prize, 2011 in the Aberdeen Artists Annual Exhibition, won a Creative Scotland Quality Production Award, he has been a finalist in the European Sovereign Art Prize, Istanbul and shortlisted for the Celeste Art Prize, New York. Recent curation projects include the Secret Confession exhibition at Edinburgh College of Art (including Katie Paterson, Janice McNab, Keith Farqhuar and William Daniels). He is an invited artist at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London in 2012.
Sam Griffin: Recent shows include Sam Griffin, Galerie Schirman and De Beauce, Paris and the Jerwood Drawing Prize, London. He is featured in the publication '100 New Artists' collated by Francesca Gavin which was published in 2011.
www.galleryvela.com
Marie Harnett: Youngest artist on list. Recent shows include Marie Harnett Drawings, Alan Cristea Gallery, London and the Jerwood Drawing Prize, London
www.marieharnett.com
www.alancristea.com
Callum Innes: He has been nominated for the Turner Prize, won the Jerwood Painting Prize and recent solo exhibitions include, From Memory, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; New Paintings and Watercolours, Frith Street, London, UK; New Paintings, Jensen Gallery, Sydney, Australia; Callum Innes | colm tóibín water | colour, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA; One Remove, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA; Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid, Spain; Callum Innes - I look to you, Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh
www.inglebygallery.com
www.frithstreetgallery.com
Alan Johnston: Has exhibited widely in Europe, USA and Japan and undertaken drawing projects including Haus Wittgenstein, Vienna; Colnagi Haus, Riehen, Basel; The Pier Art Centre, Stromness; AIAV, Akiyoshidai, Shimada, Yamaguchi and Tokyo; The Whitney Museum, NYC; Tate, London; Inverleith House Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and Safn, Reykjavik.
www.drawingashadow.com
www.eca.academia.edu/alanjohnston
www.northernmiror.com
Andrew MacKenzie: Recent exhibitions include Still Surfacing, Sarah Myerscough, London; Cross Section of a Cascade, Sarah Myerscough, London; Delicate Ground, Amber Room Contemporary Art, Edinburgh and Sunrise on Grey Painted Steel, Watching Water Rise, Talbot Rice Gallery, London.
www.a-mackenzie.co.uk
David Shrigley: Solo exhibtions include, Insects, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark; Animate, Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland 2010-11; M Museum, Leuven,Belgium 2010; Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, Glasgow, Scotland; Anton Kern Gallery, New York 2009; David Shrigley New Works, Gallleri Nicolai Wallner; New Powers, Kunsthalle Mainz; David Shrigley, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen; Fumetto, Kunstmuseum Luzern; David Shrigley, Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich, Switzerland; David Shrigley, Monotypien, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK
www.davidshrigley.com
Graeme Todd: Has exhibited extensively throughout the Europe, Japan and the USA including exhibitions at Gallerie Brigitte Weiss, Zurich, Galerie, Galerie S65, Cologne, Galleria Alessandra Bonomo, Rome, Osaka Contemporary Art Centre, Osaka and the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh.
www.mummeryschnelle.com
Ainslie Yule: Included in the British Art Show (Touring) and has exhibited at Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh; Ulster Museum Belfast and the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh and recently was included in the RSA exhibition 10 Dialogues: Richard Demarco , Scotland & The European Avant Garde Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh.
www.ainslieyule.com