Our Art Critic, Clare Henry, welcomes a new Glasgow gallery
IT TAKES courage to open a new gallery right now. Rena Hunter started
the Burnside Gallery in Rutherglen, Glasgow, at Christmas, selling a
mixture of pictures of
contrasting styles. ''Something for
everyone,'' she explained. ''People seem to like the formula, so we
are sticking with it for our second show.'' Hunter is new to the gallery
game, but with a husband who paints and two Glasgow Art School graduate
daughters, she is well placed to understand the pluses and problems.
Burnside Gallery is small, friendly and sits in a row of local shops
where it's easy to park. And it has already got a scoop. Rhonda Smith,
ex-GSA, exhibited with the Burnside as an unknown at Christmas. Last
week she won the 1993 Hunting/Ob- server Art Prize of #2000 for her
picture, Sea Mist. At Burnside she shows an even better picture of sandy
shore, scattered kids, swimmers and playing dog, its terrific sense of
space captured in strong, punchy oils.
As with many galleries, landscapes predominate. Some are fresh and
stylish, such as James Orr's Corfu and Boats or Robert Kelsey's Troon
Harbour, White Sands Harris, plus Arran -- in this case looking more
like a tropical island. Others are more conventional, like the
traditional realist oils from Ed Hunter, Richard Forsyth and Joe
Henderson. There are also lively abstracts from James Wylie and Lin
Cunningham and wiry ink drawings of Glasgow's Suspension Bridge and
Finnieston Crane by Leslie Anderson. Good to see experimental prints by
recent GSA graduates John McDonald, Lynn Hunter and Joanne Crawford,
plus a bold Head of Gaia by Annette Edgar.
Several artists here are better known elsewhere. The Herald's James
Turnbull exhibits a trio of splendid watercolours of Eaglesham Church,
Greenbank House and delightful Carmunnock Village captured in broad,
sure washes. Glasgow Print Studio people showing at Burnside include
Stuart Duffin, (also exhibiting at Paisley Art Gallery), Ruth Greer and
Elspeth Roberts. Burnside also shows some ceramics, currently by Geoff
and Christine Cox of Penrith.
We take sight so much for granted that its appreciation by those
deprived of 20-20 vision seems unlikely. Wrong again, as Sue Blagden,
curator of Look, an exhibition by young people with little or no sight,
explained to me. She and John Everett have long experience of teaching
art to the visually impaired.
Lubna Qureshi had not been allowed to paint but when it was suggested
to her, she jumped at the opportunity. Her bright, high key patterned
pictures sizzle with energy and delight. Painting has given her
confidence and encouragement. Jeanette Constant's Windowsill, Lindsey
Cox's lovely ceremic relief, Steve Bryant's decorative stripes and
flowers against the sun are worth studying. ''I can see yellow when it's
next to blue, but I'm not sure what blue is.'' Look is at Glasgow School
of Art until February 27.
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