To celebrate the annual celebration of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns (Burns Night) on Monday 25th January 2016, we are delighted to showcase the finest artworks by established contemporary Scottish artists Barbara Rae CBE RA and Bruce McLean, as well as Donald Hamilton Fraser RA whose Scottish descent can be read throughout his work. Scottish artists are renowned for their ability as colourists; a gift that these three artists personify. Fed by the vast skies, stormy seas, wild terrain and unique light of the Scottish landscape, their work- though hugely diverse in style and subject- holds in common the mastery of colour and form. Perhaps the grey glowering skies that run in their blood drives them to seek the use of rich colour, unexpected contrasts and drama of form.
Donald Hamilton Fraser (1929-2009) hailed at his first solo show in Paris in 1957 as the ‘colouristic heir to Turner’ studied painting at St. Martin's School of Art and in Paris with a French Government Scholarship. He was visiting tutor at the Royal College of Art for twenty-five years and an Honorary Fellow of the RCA. He was a Royal Academician and exhibited there from 1975 until his death. Donald Hamilton Fraser RA is famed for his abstract landscape paintings – here he combined his Scottish descent and his affinity with French painting from his study there in the 1950s. This is greatly reflected in his style and execution; he layered thick bright paint with a palette knife to produce an almost collage effect. The landscapes remain close to their origins whilst forming abstract almost dream-like fields of colour.
Barbara Rae CBE RA takes her inspiration from the atmospheric and mysterious colours of Scotland. Rae's paintings combine the influence of landscape and travel with painterly abstraction. When Rae was awarded a travel scholarship in 1966, it unleashed a love of travel that remains with her. Although she does not like the term landscape painter, the importance of place is very apparent in her works; in particular, the human traces and patterns of history that are left on a landscape. Barbara Rae studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1961 to 1965. She was awarded a travel scholarship, enabling her to work in France and Spain in 1966. She went on to have a teaching career in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.
Bruce McLean is one of the major figures of contemporary British Art. Born in 1944 he studied at Glasgow school of art and at St. Martin's in London, under, amongst others, Anthony Caro, Phillip King and Bill Tucker. McLean led the development of conceptual art in Britain and has gained international recognition for his paintings, ceramics, prints, work with film, theatre and books. He was Head of Graduate Painting at The Slade School of Fine Art London from 2002 until 2009. McLean has had numerous one-man exhibitions, including the Tate Gallery in London, The Modern Art Gallery in Vienna, Kunsthalle, Basel, and Museum of Modern Art, Oxford as well as in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and the USA. He has also been included in many ground-breaking international shows over the last forty years including the Biennale, Venice (1980), Museum of Modern Art, New York (1984), and British Art in the 20th Century, Royal Academy of Arts, London (1987). In 1985, he was awarded the John Moores first prize for painting. 2014 saw two major solo retrospective shows at Leeds Art Gallery and FirstSite in Colchester, as well as exhibiting at CCA International.
Managing Director of CCA Galleries International, Gillian Duke;
“We are delighted to present original works and limited edition silkscreen prints by such renowned artists – from Hamilton Fraser’s abstract landscapes to Rae’s vivacious use of colour and McLean’s striking collages. This show will highlight how their work complements each other as they draw inspiration from nature, colour and light.”
Gallery opening times: 10am to 5pm (Monday – Friday),
By appointment 10am to 2pm on Saturday.
CCA Galleries International, Royal Court Chambers,
10 Hill Street, St Helier JE2 4UA