Ceramics Capture Imagination at VAS Show

The Visual Arts Scotland exhibition is reviewed by Tina Rose.

One of the pleasures of visiting the Visual Arts Scotland Open Exhibition, currently on at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh, is the opportunity to see a selection of new exhibition work by Scottish makers from across the country.

Even though the space is shared with painting and sculpture, there is still enough to engage and capture the imagination, and I was not alone in these thoughts, as a small child rushed past dragging his father to go and see ‘the rocket’.  Expecting to come across an appropriately shaped sculpture further on in the exhibition, it was a surprise to discover the piece he had envisaged flying into space was in fact ‘Hothouse’ by Craig Mitchell, evidence indeed that ceramics excite people of all ages.

Although ceramic teaching in Scotland is quickly disappearing, it is one of the most prominent disciplines in the exhibition, perhaps due to the Society’s administrator ceramicist Rebecca Wilson.  She has two of her own works in the show, ‘This Frolicking Deer…’, and ‘Eat Me: Keep Me (Cherry Liquors Series)’, a clever and subtle development of Eat Me, Keep Me, which won an award last year.

There is also a chance to see ‘A Little Bit of Light Relief’, a marquette for a collaborative piece by Julia Douglas, Clare Waddle and Rebecca Wilson, for a three artist exhibition being held at The Lighthouse in Glasgow next year.  The hanging piece groups a selection of equipment used in gardening, decorating, baking and household tasks, perhaps an echo of the tasks we do for ‘relaxation’ when not at work.  The finished piece will hang in the entrance to the exhibition gallery, spanning about one metre across.

‘Breathing Bottles’ by Jenny Pope, one of the last graduates to have trained in ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art, explore the idea of the volume of our lungs, and are part of Breathing, a series of works created last year for a hospital environment.

There are now no boundaries between art and craft, and this can clearly be seen by the awarding of the £500 Richard Coley Award for Sculpture to ceramicist Simon Ward, for his work Family Vehicle. Created for his exhibition ‘Something Out of the Ordinary’ which was held at the Dick last year, this life size wheel barrow made from peg-board contains bundles of crimson cast porcelain, an idea which came from his childhood memories of tying together quantities of kindling for making a fire.

There is a small selection of textiles in the exhibition, a highlight of which is ‘Tha Mise Fo Ghruaimean – I am Melancholy’, a small, delicate and evocative new work by Mhairi Killin, clearly influenced by her home on Iona and her interest in bringing the archaeology of the past into the present.  This is part of a new series of works enabled by Scottish Arts Council professional development funding. 

‘Observe the Ebb and Flow’, a small tapestry by Fiona Hutchison is a fascinating contrast to ‘Fastnet ‘79’, a work from her degree show at Edinburgh College of Art in 1984.  The older work can be seen in the ground floor gallery of the City Art Centre in a small exhibition ‘A Creative Voice’. Running alongside the VAS exhibition it shows 25 works by Society members through from 1924 to present day taken from the City of Edinburgh Art Collection.

Not surprisingly there is a strong display of jewellery, with new work by Amy Chan and intriguing mixed media brooches by Sarah Kettley.  Kaz Robertson, who trained at Edinburgh College of Art, won the £200 SSWA Special Award for a collection of her brightly coloured resin and magnet jewellery.

This is the Society’s 85th Annual Open Exhibition, and the new venue feels more sympathetic to craft.  As one of the three Scottish art organisations in ESSA, the Society is fighting to continue to find spaces to exhibit work by its members, and we can only hope it continues to succeed to do so, and that craft maintains a strong presence.

The Visual Arts Scotland Annual Exhibition is on at the City Art Centre, Market Street, Edinburgh from 31 January to 19 March 2009.  Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm.  Admission free.