What art lover, when travelling through the city hasn’t wondered quietly, or aloud, “What art treasures lurk behind the front doors of those houses?”

Well, wonder no more. Here we have “From Van Gogh to Vettriano – Hidden Gems From Private Collections,” Aberdeen Art Gallery’s newest exhibition, which opened last week, and it is one of the finest I’ve seen in the city.  Its curator, Jennifer Melville and her colleagues are to be congratulated not only on cultivating their relationships with the city’s more prosperous collectors, persuading them to loan their treasures for this prestigious exhibition, but also for their choice of works which they’ve brought together.

Here we have pieces from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from France, Scotland and the rest of the UK, and beyond. The popular and familiar schools are well represented it is true: the  impressionists;  The Glasgow boys; the Scottish Colourists;  but the exhibition is much wider than that -  and it is that breadth of scope, mixing less-well known names with the familiar that gives this real appeal. Nor does not lack depth either: half a dozen Joan Eardleys; two excellent Stanley Spencers; three darkly-humorous  Edward Burras; three Peploes and so on.

We enter to find a  piece by Van Gogh, who lends him name to the exhibition, here represented by a chalk and pencil double portrait of 1882, and close by we see works by Monet, Pisarro amd Matisse. The curators are to be congratulated by their taking advantage of the gallery’s own holdings to show pieces beside items from the collection.

Beside these in the first room of three, we find some striking late 19th century Scottish and UK works: two fine pieces by Sir George Clausen, two striking portraits of young boys by Edward Stott and Walter Langley, a fine portrait in pastels by EA Walton, and two exceptional pictures by artists to whose works I had not been previously much exposed: Alexander Mann (The Gleaners) and  Albert Chevallier Tayler (Quiet Moments), both from 1889. The former retains a vitality which belies its age,  and in its tonality and use of colour somehow exudes a contemporary air.

Hung beside two excellent paintings by EA Hornel, one of which I believe I’ve seen before, there are two others by one of my favourite Scottish Artists – John Quinton  Pringle; one a portrait and one a pastoral scene. These are wonderful examples of his fine craft and his highly individual approach. It would have been nice to place his “Curing Station, Whalsay Shetland” of 1921, from the permanent collection next to these for comparison.

As we move to the second room of the exhibition we find a number of works by the Scottish Colourists: three  still lifes by Peploes – all of high quality – and two by JD Fergusson including a very fine small expressive french townscape, “Boulevard St Michel” (1907)  almost certainly an alla prima piece painted on a panel to fit his pochade (one example of which is to be found in the Fergusson Gallery.  In “Beach at Largo” by George L Hunter we find another small jewel of plein aire painting – with strong colours and a sense of rapidly-applied fluid strokes of paint. Finally, we find a magnificent Iona Landscape by Caddell – as fine as anything in the solo exhibition currently on in Edinburgh (until 18th March 2012).

Here, too you will find two small still life works by Georges Braque – from either end of his working life, and the splendid group portrait by Henri Matisse:” Le Lecon Du Piano” (1923) which is similar to the work “Pianist and Checker Players”  in the National Gallery of Art Washington.  “Le Lecon Du Piano”  has been on loan to Aberdeen Art Gallery for a few months, so regular visitors may already be familiar with it.

However, the four standout pieces, for me, in this room are from perhaps generally less well-known artists.

• Sir Stanley Cursiter’s “Sensation of Crossing The Street” painted in Edinburgh in 1913 in the Vorticist style, full of dynamic movement, 45 degree angles and strong patterns, is an exceptional piece which requires close and prolonged viewing to absorb the energy and dynamism of the painting.
• Mark Gertler’s “Portrait of Natalie Denny” (1928) which  is used for the exhibition’s posters the catalogue cover, is splendid portrait: sensuous, soft and rich in its depiction of the sitter and her surroundings.
• Bernard Meninsky’s “Lovers on a Beach” c.1947 is a simple pen and ink and body colour piece which uses elongated and distorted forms to depict the gentle embrace of the sailor and his lover on the foreshore. The forms are solid and their pose both tender and yet somehow sad.
• Tristram Hillier’s “December Sunset” (1946) is a small jewel  of a painting (only 16 x 25cm) depicting a tranquil landscape rendered flawlessly in oils with all the skill of a miniaturist. It hangs next to a fine tempera painting by Edward Wadsworth who was his mentor and from whom he learned his technique.

The final room of the exhibition opens with skillful drawing of 1944 by Lucien Freud, “Boy on a sofa”. While the painterly technique of later years may be absent, the scrutiny of the subject, the directness of the exchanged gazes and the capturing of the essence of  the sitter are all in evidence.

Nearby there hangs an early abstract piece by Patrick Heron, “Abstract: 1952 – August” when he was just starting out in his approach, and a striking portrait by Frank Auerbach, “Head of Helen Gillespie 1963-4″which with displays his trademark obsessive overpainting, resulting in a piece that is as much sculpture as oil painting.

Also worthy of attention are the portrait of Craigie Aitchison by Michael Andrews (1964-8), to me much more captivating than the work on display by Aitchison himself,  and the pastel portrait “Marynka Smoking”  (1980) by RB Kitaj.

However the room is dominated by the work of three artists:

•  Joan Eardley, is represented by half-dozen works, all of which are of high standard, but none more so than “Andrew With A Comic” (1955) and “Children in a Backstreet Glasgow” (1959) which with its dominant red hues shines out amongst the darker, gloomier representations of Glasgow street life.
• Peter Howson’s “The last Supper” (1999) towers above all other works, by its physical size alone. Like many of Howson’s works it demonstrates both humour and grotesque qualities. Originally painted as a commission for the National Portrait Gallery, it depicts Jeremy Isaacs as the central  ‘Jesus’ figure surrounded by twelve disciples. The work was rejected and bought by an Aberdeen collector. I recall its display in the Carby Art Gallery in Aberdeen shortly after its purchase, amongst a large group of works by Howson.
• Lastly, “The Singing Butler” by Jack Vettriano (1992) concludes the exhibition, and gives the exhibition its title.  Vettriano’s work splits the opinions of art lovers like no other.  That he has enjoyed such commercial success has, I feel, shown how loved his work is by the general public yet has made him an outsider to the art establishment.  While I would not say that I am a fan of his work, I do appreciate the skill in his figurative painting, and his original approach and view of the world he paints.

In conclusion this is an exhibition not to be missed. It offers a unique insight into the private collections of Aberdeen’s collectors which, as far as I know, is unparalleled in recent years. If I could spirit one away to hang on my own walls which would it be? I think it would have to be the Cursiter for its originality, and freshness, or perhaps one of the smallest pictures – the Fergusson “Boulevard St Michel” as a perfect example of both plein aire painting and that artist’s economy of approach in capturing a street scene.

That Aberdeen Art Gallery attracted 6,000 visitors to this in its first week is a great achievement and can only serve to heighten art appreciation (and buying) in the North East.

(c) Ian Watt

Feb 2011

 The exhibition runs to 14th April 2012

Many members have been looking for inspiration.

Here are some suggested books and DVDs to help you with your painting study at home.

Art on the Green

‘Meet On the Green’

A Participatory Public Art Project

Exhibition Event Sunday 3rd April 2011 from 5-7pm

The Green, Aberdeen

‘Meet on the Green’ is a participatory public art project supported by Aberdeen City Council’s Arts Development team. The project focuses on the impact art in all its many forms can have for a community and the city as whole, breaking down barriers for long term engagement, participation and retention of creativity within the city.

Artist Amy Marletta has been working in and around the Green for the last few months attempting to gather stories and meet people who have a connection to the place. The aim has been to create an artwork that is a response to the environment and community, working with local people to build up a picture of the area, both past and present.

By allowing chance encounters to lead the way, the project has been shaped by those who have contributed. The outcome takes the form of a series of portraits and as song lyrics woven together from stories told and overheard.

Sixteen local artists have taken part in the project by creating portraits of local people, who live, work or socialise in the area. The portraits will be exhibited throughout venues on the Green in April, with the opening event taking place on Sunday 3rd April, 5-7pm at Café 52. The exhibition will continue on that evening at other venues in the area including the Carmelite Hotel and E.A.R.L.

These portraits have also been reproduced as a set of postcards that will be distributed around various venues on the Green and can be collected for free. The song, which has been recorded by local singers, will also be available to listen to and will be produced as a CD.

In addition to this, artist Chris Biddlecombe will also launch a limited edition beermat art work on the night, that links items lost and found on The Green over a period of 500 years.

(Details of all participating venues will be provided on the night!)

For more information please email – art.eastgreen@gmail.com

http//:artonthegreen.blogspot.com

There are two art programmes on the BBC tonight.

Firstly, at 5.10pm on BBC1  there is Painted With Words a drama based on Van Gogh’s letters to his are dealer brother Theo.  “Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.”

Secondly, at 9pm on BBC2 Scotland, there is Bellany – Fire In The Blood a documentary about one of the UK’s greates living artists made by his son Paul, who “takes us on a journey through the hurt and pain of a decimated family at the point of implosion, and unearths many unseen masterpieces along the way.”

Essential viewing, both of them!

Friday is the last day to register your views on the disastrous proposal from Ian Wood to level UTG and essentially concrete over it, ripping out all the trees.

If you don’t act now what will you tell the next generation?  They won’t see the trees for the Wood.

Here are some things you can do today.

It’s VITAL that everybody who wants to save Union Terrace Gardens for future generations to enjoy takes part!

You can fill in the survey here: http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/consultation/

Or freephone: 0800 111 4881

Text: Send your thoughts by texting 60777 followed by the word ‘square’

Email: consultation@thecitysquareproject.com

or write to: The City Square Project,

Weber Shandwick PR,

58 Queens Road, Aberdeen,

AB15 4YE

More information on both projects: www.comparethesquare.com

Other ways to get involved:

Please keep signing the petition! This petition WILL be included in the consultation results. We will hand this in at the end of the consultation period on 5th March – please do forward the link to everyone you think would be interested:
http://gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens.html

If you have family or friends who aren’t online they may be missing the opportunity to express their views – please do think if you know of anybody who hasn’t yet taken the opportunity to participate and pass on the phone number and the postal address. Much of this consultation is being run online which may exclude many of Aberdeen’s senior citizens.

Recent news:Annie Lennox has added her voice to the growing campaign to save UTG and the contemporary arts centre – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8504483.stm

Jim Milne, leading Aberdonian businessman and Chariman of The Balmoral Group, speaks out against the “desecration” of UTG – http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/156374-leading-businessman-hits-out-at-aberdeen-garden-plans/

Professor Stuart MacDonald, one of Scotland’s leading authorities on architecture and former head of Gray’s School of Art, urges Aberdeen to scrap the City Square Project and adopt the Peacock Visual Arts scheme so it can benefit from the “Bilbao effect” – http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593417

Peter Ross, in Scotland on Sunday, claims the debate is about more than the “heart” or “lungs” of Aberdeen – it’s about the soul of the city -http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/Peter-Ross-Fight-for-the.6070675.jp

Thank you!

I ♥ UTG ♥ YOU

As the Herald announced today:

“It will be Scotland’s biggest display of the works of its most important painters – but the search goes on to find the lost Glasgow Boys.

“Curators of one of the most important art exhibitions ever staged in Glasgow have confirmed there will be 140 paintings at this year’s landmark exhibition of the group of artists who transformed Scottish art in the late 19th century and laid the ground for the more famous Colourists.

“However, the search to find lost works by the Glasgow Boys has, so far, failed to find most of the missing masterpieces that could have featured in the exhibition, held in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from April 9 until September 27.”

For more info see:-  http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/boys-are-back-in-town-but-hunt-goes-on-for-lost-masters-1.1002525

Also the Kelvingrove’s website: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/showExhibition.cfm?venueid=4&itemid=270

Peacock Printmakers plans for a new arts centre in Union Terrace Gardens were approved by planning committee and had secured funding.

Now Sir Iain Wood’s grandiose scheme to ‘transform’ the Gardens have stalled, and may even scupper those plans.

A new site has been set up allowing Aberdeen residents to compare the two proposals:  www.comparethesquare.com

Have a look at the different proposals then contact your concillor to let them know your views. Either visit the city council website or use the Write To Them site.

My suggestion is that if Sir Iain wishes to develop a city square then he should develop the site of St Nicholas House, opening up the square in front of the council’s new HQ,  Marischal College, and the area around the marvellous Provost Skene’s house which is hidden from view right now.

RU Books (who used to be a book club but now sell openly) have started their Christmas sale of art books. Some are substantially discounted.

There are 34 titles in the sale all at least 50% off the normal price. There are some materials and equipment too. For example grab yourself a rucksack/chair (normally £29.99) for £4.99!

You can find the sale here.

Lidl are selling more inexpensive art materials from Thursday 10th December.

Amongst the items are cheap canvases and a small table-top easel.

See the Lidl website for more details.

The Forecourt Art Group and Tornadee are very happy to present the first Open Exhibition at The Tornadee Community. The group has been displaying work for the pleasure of the residents and their families for a year in the main nursing home.

The Exhibition is open to all and refreshments will be provided. A percentage of all sales is donated to the Tornadee Comfort Fund.

Tornadee Nursing Home
Thursday 3rd December 2009
7-9pm

Map:-

View Tornadee in a larger map