Through the loophole darkly: Julie Parker shows that painting is more than holding its own

Can do, will do

Glasgow's home front is looking good. Artists are putting on their own shows and flinging open their front doors. Words: Moira Jeffrey

With Glasgow’s artists currently riding high on a wave of international interest, it’s reassuring to know that on the domestic front, the city is as energetic and diverse as ever. There’s never been a particular stylistic pigeonhole in which to place Scottish art. It is more defined by a can-do attitude and willingness to get on with the business of working and exhibiting rather than waiting to be ‘discovered’. And as evidence of this, this month witnesses two very different shows in the city.

Four graduates of Glasgow School Of Art Victoria Morton, Samantha Murray, Jenny O’Boyle and Julie Parker, painters with diverse approaches to abstraction are showing at Intermedia Gallery, under the title In Glass Loopholes.

‘The title sums up the kind of loopholes you reach in painting,’ says Julie Parker. ‘The kind of impossible places and areas that can be exploited.’ Parker’s canvases are big and open with soft rhythmic marks in oil, acrylic and pencil. They are almost musical. ‘Painting does matter in terms of what goes on in Glasgow,’ believes Victoria Morton, who has shown work internationally. ‘But unless you’re

86 THE U81 11-25 May 2000

Scott Myles

'There's so much good work going on in the city at the

moment, but it's not always easy to get a gallery space.’

considered for a show that’s specifically about painting, it can be quite difficult to get abstract contemporary paintings shown. Here we have made our own space.’

Morton, however, doesn’t work exclusively as a painter, she is also part of the artistic collective, Elizabeth Go. And it is in this capacity that she is taking part in Film Club, the one-night only brainchild of artist Scott Myles whose video work was seen at last year’s Absolut Open in Edinburgh.

Film Club will present the debut screening of three-minute short films commissioned by Myles. Financial assistance has come from Transmission Gallery and the Glasgow Music Collective which includes artists Torsten Lauschmann, the Cocktail Party and Toby Paterson. In many ways, Myles is carrying on a great Glasgow tradition of artists hosting shows in their own homes. Film Club is taking place at Myles’ Dennistoun flat. The evening itself promises to be fun. Myles is providing bean bags to give that true home movie feel. ‘There will be a mix of visual and sound art,’ says Myles. “It will be half preview, half party and a low key pleasant evening.

And the appeal of the Glasgow DIY exhibition ethic? ‘I think the main thing is the speed at which you can do it,’ says Myles. ‘You can have an idea and put it into practice. There’s so much good work going on in the city at the moment, but it’s still not always easy for artists to get a show in a gallery space.’

In Glass Loopholes is at Intermedia Gallery, Glasgow until Sat 27 May. Film Club is at 3IL, 78 Roselea Drive, Dennistoun at 8pm on Sun 28 May.

Artbeat

News and views from the world of art

IT IS THAT time of year again? Nominations are now being invited for this year's Turner Prize. Ever a prize to court controversy, last year the shortlisted Tracey Emin showed her rumpled and somewhat grubby bed to many shock! horror! headlines. So what will it be this year? . . . the choice is yours. Make your nominations by Thursday 25 May for any British artist under 50 for their work in the last twelve months. www.tate.org.uk

CLOSER TO HOME applications are soon to be available from Edinburgh’s Stills Gallery for the annual Archibald Campbell and Harley Photography Prize. Open to Scotland-based artists working in photography and digital imaging (still images only), a shortlist of ten artists will exhibit at Stills in September. The £5,000 award will be announced in October. For details send an A4 sae to Stills (see art listings for address) or download from www.stills.org

THE FIRST artwork commissioned by New Media Scotland opens to the public on Saturday 13 May at Glasgow's Collins Gallery. Called Fishion, it's an installation that mixes art with technology by artist Chris Rowland. A small shallow pool of dark water will be animated by images set in motion by sensors that respond to the movement of people in the space. Look into the pool, Narcissus-like, and who knows what might stare back at you.

FRANKFURT COMES TO Glasgow this month with FrankfurterSchule 2000, a show of work by young artists from the city. Taking place at 34 Albion Street with additional events at the Arches (see art listings), there is also an open forum looking at attitudes to legal and illegal drug use. Marcus Graf, a research artist has created work influenced by Frankfurt's injection rooms, a place where drug-users can obtain clean needles. In the forum, this will be compared to what facilities are on offer in Glasgow where an estimated 12,000 inhabitants have a serious drug problem.

Caps on: Frankfurt's young artists make a splash in Glasgow