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20th November 2008
Scotland's largest ever public exhibition & auction of
Contemporary Scottish paintings is being staged at
McTear's Auction Galleries in Glasgow 13th -22nd November.
The Scottish ContemporaryArt Sale – 2008 is a brand new event with
a stunning collection of work by many of Scotland's most popular
professional artists. With nearly 450 individual paintings, it's the
biggest known event dedicated exclusively to the work Scottish
professional painters.
McTear's director Brian Clements comments “This event is an
innovative hybrid - part free public exhibition and part auction.
Hopefully, it takes the best aspects of both and blends them into a
brand new format which satisfies the interests of enthusiast, buyer
and artist. Roughly ninety percent of the paintings have been consigned directly from
the artist and many have been created specifically for this event. The
requirement of each invited artist was to produce their very best work and
to set their reserve figures no higher than they would normally receive NET
from a gallery sale of the same size. In practice, this means that the collective
reserve figures for all the paintings in this event amount to well under 50%
of the total of usual gallery prices.”
Clements continues “The catalogue estimates range from a couple of
hundred pounds to over thirty thousand. There's nearly £1.5 million of
paintings at gallery prices and the total reserves are less than £600,000. “
The public exhibition which is entirely free starts at 11.00am on Thursday
13th November and finishes at 10.00am on Saturday 22nd November
when all the paintings will “go
under the hammer”.
The event features the paintings of
nearly a hundred artists with names like Muriel Barclay, Gerard Burns, Peter
Howson, Philip Braham, John Bellany, Liz Knox, James D Robertson,
Rosemary Beaton, Judith Bridgland, Pam Carter, Ken Currie, Denise Findlay,
Cherylene Dyer, Jack Morrocco, Robert Kelsey, Christopher Wood, Paul
Martin, Graham McKean, Lin Pattullo, Charles Anderson, Jamie Primrose,
Alan Herriot, Sue Biazotti, Fred Pollock, Alan King, Joe Hargan and
Alexander Millar.
In what will be seen as a major coup for the organisers, Gwen Hardie will be
showing her new work in her native land for the first time since her highly
acclaimed 1990 solo at The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art which
launched her career and took her first to London and then to New York.
Gwen comments “The last few years in New York have been fantastic for
me but it's hard work to keep up with the demand for my paintings from the galleries. I've never been a painter
who can churn out work. For me it's all about quality and if I'm not completely happy with a piece – it will never
leave my studio. I care a lot about Scotland and I want to maintain my connections there so when the organiser
contacted me all those months ago and told me of his plans for this event, I was interested. His ideas are bold and
challenging and that struck something of a chord with me because they are qualities I hope come across in my
paintings”.
Gwen Hardie's work is included in the collections of The British Council,
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art,The Contemporary Art Society,
The Scottish Arts Council, The Gulbenkian Collection, The Metropolitan
Museum of Modern Art (New York) and numerous corporate and private
collections worldwide.
Brian Clements claims “Most art events have a “theme” these days but
we have chosen to avoid this.All we wanted was the best work of the most
popular Scottish artists and if anything is our theme it's “variety”.We want
there to be something to suit every taste and most budgets and we think
that's a pretty worthwhile attitude”. For the collectors who usually buy from galleries, it's an opportunity to
experience the excitement of an auction and possibly pay a lot less than
they would do normally. For the artists it's been quite a leap of faith but
they know that the format of this event offers them great possibilities too”.
As Clements says “By design, this event has set out to bring together both
buyer and artist within a more cost efficient format for both. In theory, the
buyer pays less and the artist receives more. The advantages for both are
plainly obvious.
The Scottish Contemporary Art Sale throws down a challenge to the status
quo of the elite private gallery network. It will cause eyebrows to be raised
and probably a few voices aswell. The organisers and one assumes, the
artists themselves realise that the nature of this event will be controversial.
Damien Hirst's epic Sotheby's Sale which hit the world headlines in
September was the first real example of a living artist opting for auction
rather than gallery. This Scottish event has been in the planning for many
months and has less financial expectations but it is in many respects even
more radical than Hirst's highly successful adventure.
If it succeeds in it's objectives it will cause ructions not just in Scotland and
the UK but throughout the art world and the eyes of those who currently
control the contemporary art market will be certain to be focussed on it.
For any Scottish event to attract so much attention is rare and welcome –
even for that reason alone.
When you look closely at the “nuts and bolts” of this event, it does appear
to have the ingredients for success. It could be great news for the buyers,
the artists and the organisers – but it is unlikely to be early Christmas cheer
for the gallery owners. The SCAS 2008 opens to the public on Thursday 13th November.
Opening times are 11.00am – 7.00pm weekdays and 11.00am to
5.00pm Saturday and Sunday. The event concludes with the auction
on Saturday 22nd November. Venue : McTear's Auction Galleries,
Meiklewood Gate, 31 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow G51 4EU. Fully
illustrated catalogues £7.00 inc postage by phoning 0141 810 2880
and further details at www.mctears.co.uk .
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