ART & EXHIBITIONS LIST

Mercury Gallery, Edinburgh

Rob McLaurin‘s figures are barely portraits. Identities are only hinted at— a navy Ilat cap, a big coat or a llute. Staring out oi the picture space they have the look 01 anotherworld—a viewpoint similarto that olJohn Bellany. But here the comparison ends. The outlines of McLaurin's perpsective are less sharp —they have a lighter sense of mystery.

Trouser legs and T-shirts almost blend into the spacious backgrounds, painted bright but as it behind a veil or mist. Turkish minarets stand pink in the heat and two green shapes of a loosely made monotype grow as matching hillsides. The heat is pleasant and the cliits welcoming.

Trained at Edinburgh College of Art, McLaurin has just recently returned from a trip to Turkey where he collected inspiration for most oi the work in this exhibition. His emerging style is an individual one with a confidence in his chosen medium. But when too much detail creeps in as in the Aberdeen portraits of Carolyn and Jenny, the painting falls apart.

The smallerworks, less sell-conscious, some painted on the spot in Turkey, are lull of spontaneous colourwhich istranslated to the best of the large paintings, particularly Sam and the Marmara Sea. On one small board, the oils take on the shallow green of the Mediterranean and two

9.30am—5.30pm. Sat 10am—1pm. Scottish Paintings 1800—1920 General exhibition throughout March.

0 FLYING COLOURS 35 William Street. 225 6776. Tue—Fri 11am—6pm. Sat 10am—1pm. Contemporary Scottish paintings.

O FORREST MCKAY 38 Howe Street. 226 2589. Mon—Fri 10am—6pm. Sat 10am—1pm.

General exhibition Scottish painting from 1800 onwards.

O FRENCH INSTITUTE 13 Randolph Crescent. 225 5366. Mon—Fri 9.30am— 1 pm. 2—5.30pm. Communication Tomorrow Until Sat 4 April. Poster exhibition about the French telecommunications industry.

Claude Leveque Mon 23 March—

1 May.

Gallery closed 6— 19 April.

0 FRUITMARKET GALLERY 29 Market Street. 225 2383. Tue—Sat 10am—5.30pm. Closed Sun & Mon. Licensed cafe.

Gwen Hardie - Paintings and Drawings Until Wed 25 April. Hardie is a Scottish artist living in Berlin. She uses the female body to convey large. impressive images. In the past year her work has changed considerably and she now paints more linear. symbolic figures. with her fingers.

A. R. Penck—The Northern Darkness Until Wed 25 April. Penck has been neatly programmed with Hardie. He is a German artist living and working in Britain. Originally from Dresden in East Berlin. he left East Germany in 1980 and since been turning his interests to sculpture. This

blobs ol colourtranslate the warmth of

TURKISH TRIP

two men greeting on the beach. Colour

is a predominant force in McLaurin's work and one he uses with some skill,

' exhibition brings together a large group of Penck's bronze sculptures

and two series of drawings. This exhibition will not be a static one

however. Penck has made a large

scale painting in the gallery itself. for all to see and observe in its creation. It's a bold move which will be worth keeping an eye on.

Talk Fri 27 March at 6.30pm. John Willett. historian and author will talk

on ‘Berlin as a Modern Metropolis'.

TalkFri 3 April at 6.30pm. Richard

Calvocoressi. the new Keeper of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. will talk on ‘From East To West

German Art Since The Sixties‘. Guided Tours Sat 21 March and Sat 18

April at 2.30pm. Short introductory

tour to the exhibitions lasting approx

30mins.

O GALLERY OF MODERN ART Belford

lea

' Road. 5568921. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm. Sun 2—5pm. Rest. [D] Guided Tours On the first Wednesday ofevery month. at 2.30pm (free) a member ofthe curatorial staff will

(I a tour of the gallery (approx

A

but he does tend to go heavy on the pinks which have an uncomfortable sweetness. (Alice Bain)

three quarters ofan hour). Questions and discussions will be invited.

The next exhibition to open at the

GMA will be the Scottish Arts Council‘s touring show ‘The Unpainted Landscape’. currently on at the Pier Arts Centre. Stromness. Orkney.

0 GATEWAY EXCHANGE 2-4 Abbeymount.6610982. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm.

Perception I Think Until Sat 21 March. Paintings by Andrew McClintock. This is McClintock's first one-man show. A civil servant and an untrained artist. painting has become something more than a hobby.

Blood tor Breaktast— An Installation by Jeremy Noond Mon 30 Mar—Fri 17 Apr. 0 HANOVER FINE ART 104 Hanover Street. 225 2450. Mon—Fri 10am—5.30pm; Sat 10am—1pm. Mixed Exhibition Until Tue 31 March. Flowers. Wildlife and Landscape by

Penck at work on Northern Darkness IIl. Gwen Nardie's show will be reviewed nextissue.

a number ofartists including Kenneth Annand. Brian Clarkson, Bernie O‘Donnell. Ceramics by Ken and Helen Southall.

0 HM GENERAL REGISTER HOUSE Princes Street. 556 6585. Mon—Fri 10am—4pm.

Scotland and the Netherlands Until end March.

0 MERCURY GALLERY 28 North Bank Street. 225 3200. Mon—Fri 10am—5.30pm. Sat 10am—1.00pm. Rob Maclaurin Until Sat 11 April. An Edinburgh College ofArt graduate of 1984. Maclaurin has his first one-man show at the Mercury which will feature work done on a year‘s visit to Turkey. See panel.

0 NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND The Mound. 556 8921. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm. Sun 2—5pm.

Alexander Carse Until Sun 29 March. Football matches. ale-house punch-ups and wedding dances are amongst the repertoire ofthis little known artist who delighted in depicting the genre scenes ofthe late 18th and 19th century Lothians. Robert Nanteuil: Engraverto Louis XIV Until Mon 27 April. A selection of about 30 prints from the collection of John Pinkerton OC.

0 NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND George [V Bridge. 226 4531. Mon—Fri 9.30am—5pm; Sat 9.30am—lpm.

The Art oi Illustration: Banks Florilegium Until Wed 6 May. Joseph Banks headed a small group of naturalists on board Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour between 1768 and 1771. At every stop on their world trips. plants and flowers were collected and drawn by the young Scottish artist Parkinson. Though the watercolours and sketches were finished by a group of artists back in England (Parkinson died on the trip home) the 743 copper plates prepared for publication never hit the press. Using original techniques. the British Museum and Alecto Historical Editions are continuing the grand project and a complete edition of the work is underway. The exhibition shows the progress so far. Callum Macdonald Until Wed 6 May. An exhibition to celebrate the life and work ofpublisher Callum Macdonald who founded Lines Review. The 100th issue of that literary magazine will appear in 1987.

O NETHERBOW 43 High Street. 556 9579.

Undefined Borders Until Sat 28 March. Paintings. mixed media and stained glass by Christine Haliburton andlane Hardie.

0 NEW TOWN CONSERVATION CENTRE 13a Dundas Street. Mon—Fri 9am—1pm, 2—5pm‘ Sat l0am—4pm. The New Town in the ’80s Tue 10 March-Sat 4 April. A Pentland Art Club held to commemorate the Tercentenary of Lord Provost George Drummond.

0 OPEN EYE GALLERY 57 Cumberland Street. 557 1020. Mon—Fri l0am—6pm. Sat 10am-4pm. [D]

Pat Semple Paintings and Baajie Pickard— Baku, Ritual Vessels Until Thurs 12 March. Fiona Robertson Paintings and Jane Butler-Cole— Ceramics Until Thurs 2 Apr.

34 The List 20 March 2 April