EDINBURGH.- The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art announced the acquisition of works by five artists from the landmark exhibition GENERATION: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland, which will draw to a close on 25 January 2015. Works by Claire Barclay, Henry Coombes, Alex Dordoy, Torsten Lauschmann and David Shrigley will enter the Gallery’s collection as part of its on-going commitment to developing a world-class collection of contemporary Scottish art.
Claire Barclay’s major installation Trappings (2014) will be the first substantial work by the Glasgow-based artist to enter the SNGMA collection, and will be one of the most important and significant works by Barclay to be held in a public collection in the UK. Similarly, Alex Dordoy’s installation Sleepwalker (2014) will be the first major work by the artist in the collection. Henry Coombes’s film The Bedfords (2009) and Torsten Lauschmann’s Growing Zeros (Digital Clock) (2010) are the first works by these artists in the SNGMA collection. Two print portfolios by David Shrigley, which were shown in the UK for the first time in GENERATION, will be the first woodcuts by the artist to be acquired by a UK public collection.
The acquisitions build on the success of the nation-wide GENERATION programme, showcasing some of the best and most significant artists to have emerged from Scotland over the last 25 years, and have been made possible thanks to the generosity of several key supporters. Among these are Outset Scotland, who have kindly gifted Torsten Lauschmann’s Growing Zeros (Digital Clock), and Walter Scott & Partners Limited who have made possible the acquisition of Alex Dordoy’s Sleepwalker.
Simon Groom, director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to acquire some of the great works that were highlights of GENERATION: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland. This was the largest exhibition that NGS has ever staged, and has been enormously popular with audiences across the whole of Scotland. To secure works of this quality for the national collection is of huge importance in terms of the legacy of GENERATION, and in the ambition to continue to capture the imagination and interest of as wide a public as possible, and to inspire generations to come. We are extremely grateful to those partners who have helped us in our commitment to developing a world-class collection of contemporary Scottish art.”
Kirstie Skinner, director of Outset Scotland, said: “Outset Scotland is delighted to present Digital Clock (Growing Zeroes) by Torsten Lauschmann to the National Galleries of Scotland. Outset Scotland is committed to supporting Scotland’s public collections by making gifts of significant works of contemporary art. This is a mesmeric work, which invites repeated encounters, and it will undoubtedly become a vital part of the national collection. Outset Scotland is proud to be instrumental in ensuring that the GENERATION project will continue to resonate, and find new audiences in the future.”
The works
Claire Barclay creates prints and sculptures, and typically produces works in response to a specific space. Trappings was commissioned for GENERATION by the SNGMA, and made especially for the room in which it was shown, in the Gallery’s Modern One building. The work comprises three wooden structures, which act as a frame for objects and materials that have been manipulated in different ways: wool pulled taught to create tension; leather straps hanging loosely; and bulbous ceramic and brass objects placed alongside printed fabric. Trappings derives from Barclay’s interest in the physical and psychological properties of materials, and the ways in which we experience the objects and matter that surround us.
Henry Coombes’s work includes painting, collage, drawing and sculpture, but he is also known for his short films – character portraits for which he creates intricate sets that allow him to explore historical themes. The Bedfords is a brooding film which reimagines the relationship between the celebrated Victorian painter Edwin Landseer (1802–73) and the Duke and Duchess of Bedford who was a great patroness of the arts. Landseer, known for his landscapes and animal portraits, had a long-standing love affair with the Scottish Highlands. It is in this landscape that Coombes has set a romantic encounter between Landseer and the Duchess of Bedford – a tryst which leads to his subsequent psychological breakdown.
Alex Dordoy’s Sleepwalker, which comprises three acrylic paintings and a number of painted sculptural objects made from oyster shells, was also commissioned for GENERATION by the SNGMA. The paintings depict a catamaran at different times of the day – night-time, dusk and dawn – and, as the viewer passes along the corridor in which they are hung, the changing lighting effects in each canvas acts as a reminder of the passage of time. Dordoy sourced the image of the boat from the internet before manipulating it using Photoshop and then meticulously rendering it as a large-scale painting.
Torsten Lauschmann’s Growing Zeros (Digital Clock) is both a 24-hour-long film and a functioning clock. In this signature work by the artist a series of wooden blocks, which mimic the seven-segment displays widely used in digital clocks and calculators, are animated by the artist’s hands, furiously moving the seconds, minutes and hours in order to keep up with the progression of time. Exhibited within the foyer of Modern One for the duration of the GENERATION exhibition, Growing Zeros has proved to be a huge hit with audiences.
As with many of his works, the subject matter in David Shrigley’s two portfolios of woodcuts is diverse. Darkly humorous images that point to profound questions of life and death are balanced by prints that present absurd problems and scenarios. Shrigley’s work is popular with a wide audience thanks to his sharp observations and ability to highlight the absurdity of our everyday fears and aspirations.
