Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh

"It was another dimension to being up there. [Alpes-Maritimes] It was exciting to be using shapes and forms derived from the rock formations...it was looser and freer...it freed me up. The process of painting became more open-ended, and I felt able to change quite a lot without diverging from the subject-matter...I felt I was adding to it and able to interpret my preparatory drawings rather than copy them."- Leon Morrocco, 2024

Please note that the gallery will be closed on Tuesday 30th between 2-3:30pm for Leon Morrocco's guided tour. This is now fully booked.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

On a visit to a family home in Roquefort-les-Pins near Nice in 2019, Leon Morocco was taken on a trip into the nearby mountains. "I remember the day vividly.....the sheer drama and monumentality of the mountains bowled me over. Their characteristic form... long horizontal, rocky escarpments of warm light grey stone immediately appealed to me and the urge to do something with it, certainly to draw it, was strong from the outset. That first day led to a three year period where I immersed myself in the forms and structures of the of the Alpes-Maritimes and which led to some 30 very large paintings."- Leon Morrocco, 2024

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

LEON MORROCCO RSA RGI
Alpine Village, Alpes-Maritimes
Oil on canvas
182 x 182 cm

Please note that the gallery will be closed on Tuesday afternoon between 2-3:30pm for Leon Morrocco's guided tour, a ticketed event which is now sold out.

Leon Morrocco RSA RGI
Terre et Mer
🌟NOW OPEN🌟

After a wonderful evening hosting Leon Morrocco's family and friends, we are delighted to be opening the doors to Terre et Mer, a month long exhibition that captures the warmth of the southern European lifestyle, with its bright and calming beauty of its sea and mountainscapes.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

Press call at the gallery today as we gear up for the highly anticipated opening of Leon Morrocco's exhibition 'Terre et Mer'. 📸

Join us tomorrow from 10am!

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

💥OPENING FRIDAY💥

On Friday 26th we open our doors to welcome you all to 'Terre et Mer', a new body of work from Leon Morrocco RSA RGI that will immerse you in the captivating sights of the South of France, from the charming streets and beautiful coastline, to the stunning views of the Alpes Maritimes.

Please note that we remain closed until Friday as we prepare the gallery for Terre et Mer's installation. In the meantime, you can browse the exhibition from our website.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

Image featured:
Sunny Day from the Studio, Nice
Oil on canvas
127 x 102 cm

August is set to be an exciting month here in the gallery! Alongside work by Leon Morrocco RSA RGI, we will also be showcasing beautiful works from talented sculptor Jennifer Watt and bold jewellery pieces from Cristina Zani.🌟

Head to our website to find out more...
https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/

Join Leon Morrocco RSA RGI in the gallery at 2pm on Tuesday 30th July for a guided tour of his upcoming exhibition 'Terre et Mer'.🎨

Places are limited so please do contact the gallery on 0131 557 1020 to secure a place!🌟

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

Lynn Chadwick CBE RA (1914-2003) initially trained as an architectural draughtsman but began producing metal mobile sculpture during the 1940s.

Although best known as a sculptor Chadwick was also an accomplished printmaker. He produced his first lithograph in 1952 and in the mid-1960s produced a number of abstract lithographs. He continued developing his lithographs, introducing waves and stripes of colour in the early 1970s. Chadwick is exhibited extensively around the world and his work is represented in most major public collections including the Tate and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The gallery currently has number of original prints available to buy directly from our website. Visit the link below to view our store section.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/store/artworks/

LYNN RUSSELL CHADWICK CBE, RA (1914 – 2003)
Ladies – Homage to Picasso 1971
Original lithograph printed in colours; signed and dated “Chadwick 71” and numbered “17/80” in pencil.
Edition of 80 impressions.

Take a glimpse into Brendan Burns' studio as he immerses himself in the physicality of painting. His process involves a rhythmic process of adding and wiping away, a delicate balance between creation and destruction, mirroring the ebb and flow of the tide. His work often captures the essence of tidal rhythms and the beauty of nature's cycles.

Burns' exhibition 'Into the Light' will continue until Saturday 20th July, and can be viewed in full on our website if you can't make it to the gallery next week.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/72-brendan-stuart-burns-into-the-light/

The well-known group of artists associated with the Grosvenor School predominantly explored themes of war, sports, urban life, industry and the natural world, and saw London as the epicenter of an accelerating world of machines and modern living.

Cyril Power (1872-1951), tutor of Architecture and Ornament at the Grosvenor School, was prolific in linocut, etching and monotype. Irony and humour run through much of his work, which often mocked the amenities of modern life. Power's produced several sinister images in which people are reduced to automatons, silently following the direction of the machines which transport them, using curvilinear forms and abstract lines to indicate movement and force.

CYRIL POWER (1872-1951)
Lifts, c.1930
Linocut
36.6 x 23.2 cm

We are thrilled to announce our exhibiting artist for this year's Festival Show, Leon Morrocco RSA RGI.🌟

This year, Morrocco presents 'Terre et Mer', a new body of work from his studio in the South of France, which takes us from the heights of the Alpes-Maritimes to the streets and beachfronts of Nice.

Exploring Morrocco's recent fascination with the natural landscape, Terre et Mer contrasts the architectural rigidity of the city with his newly discovered affinity with the mountainous terrain that lies behind it.

LEON MORROCCO RSA RGI
Terre et Mer
26th July - 24th August, 2024

The full exhibition can now be previewed online!
https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/76-leon-morrocco-rsa-rgi-terre-et-mer/

Here in the gallery, we are all enthralled by the intricate detail and stunning textural quality of this impressive 200 x 330 cm triptych currently on display as part of Brendan Burns' exhibition 'Into the Light'.

The Pembrokeshire coast has been Burns' central inspiration and influence for the last fifteen years. It's where light, reflection, refraction, colour, journey, surface texture and ambiguity of space, coupled with a personal correspondence with belief, identity and upbringing have created a personal visual language for Burns.

His current exhibition runs until Saturday 20th July, and it's not one to miss.
https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/72-brendan-stuart-burns-into-the-light/

Summer Squint, 2022
Oil and wax on linen
200 x 330 cm

Sybil Andrews (1898-1992) found inspiration from working men, but she became distinguished for the great attention she paid to light and shadows. In the mid-1930’s Andrew's farmer figures started to become less intertwined with their tools. It is debated whether this is related to her religious faith and that perhaps she started to view humans as creatures of God, acting my his hand rather than by modern machinery.

View the full 'Modernist British Prints' exhibition on our website now:
https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/73-modernist-british-prints-in-association-with-osborne-samuel/


SYBIL ANDREWS (1898-1992)
Grader, 1959
Linocut, edition of 60
30.2 x 30 cm

SYBIL ANDREWS (1898-1992)
Haysel, 1936
Linocut, edition of 60
25 x 28 cm

As a Futurist, C.R.W Nevinson (1889-1946) ideologically supported war as a necessary tool to bring about change. However, in 1914 he served 3 months as part of an ambulance unit where he witnessed the violent brutality and suffering of warfare. This changed his view on war, which is apparent in his bleak and somber depictions of the mechanised war.

The images of London that Nevinson created before the war were in a clear Futurist style with repeated shapes and a sense of speed. The images of London he made thereafter reflect his disillusionment with radical modernism as his style grew more natural, with less abstraction.

Keep swiping for close-ups .

C.R.W NEVINSON (1889-1946)
Blackfriars, 1928-29
Signed and annotated 'Trial Proof' in pencil
37.7 x 49.8 cm

C.R.W NEVINSON (1889-1946)
Southwark, Limehouse, 1918
Mezzotint
22.5 x 15 cm

The Gallery Directors were privileged to be invited to Edinburgh Castle on Wednesday to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the beautiful city of Edinburgh.

As we celebrate the 900th year of Edinburgh, we are excited to be a part of the city's rich tapestry of culture and creativity, and to continue to develop and nourish the Edinburgh art scene, showcasing the incredible talent that this city has to offer. Here's to the next 900 years of art in Edinburgh!

"Returning to Pembrokeshire regularly presents the dilemma, ‘Which beach to visit?’ It is the catalyst to continue asking questions through paint. It is, ‘the breath’ that my work references again and again. ‘To feel breath, the wind and space. To be human in the primeval wind, to taste the wind, to shiver. To breathe in memory, thought, serenity, time and contemplation."- Brendan Burns

Keep swiping for a closeup of the textural quality of 'Flare'.

FLARE , 2019
Oil and wax on linen
100 x 120 cm

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/72-brendan-stuart-burns-into-the-light/

At almost poster-size, Wet Evening, Oxford Street (1919) is the largest of Nevinson's lithographs. Its composition is thus all the more arresting: heads and umbrellas stretching back into the distance, cheek by jowl, ever more indistinguishable as they recede. Striking too, is the fragmentation of faces- screened, averted, anonymised. The woman nearest to the lower edge is reduced to one eye beneath a stylish hat; the gentleman on her left, to a half-visible moustache. The newspaper seller above is surmised only by his half opened mouth and fanned merchandise, held by unseen hands.

'Modernist British Prints' in association with Osborne Samuel, is running until July 20th, and the full show can be browsed online.
https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/73-modernist-british-prints-in-association-with-osborne-samuel/

C.R.W NEVINSON (1889-1946)
Wet Evening on Oxford Street , 1919
Lithograph
73.5 x 48.3 cm

"I am grappling with the concept of hæcceity, inscape, thing-ness, essence and the ontological in the way I see a stone, rock-pool or lichen growth. The challenge is then using paint and charcoal to communicate this experience to the viewer as well as incorporating my own refractions of self, identity and awareness of mortality and the spiritual." - Brendan Stuart Burns

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/72-brendan-stuart-burns-into-the-light/

'Modernist British Prints: In association with Osborne Samuel' now open!

In the pre-war years, artists were responding to the rapid modernisation of time and in anticipation of what would be the first fully mechanised war. The Grosvenor School predominantly explored themes of sports, urban life and industry. It saw London as the epicentre of an accelerating world of machines and modern living. Due to the accessibility of the dynamic and vibrant work the artists produced, it became a leading force in the production and promotion of modern printmaking.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/73-modernist-british-prints-in-association-with-osborne-samuel/

CLAUDE FLIGHT (1881-1955)
BOYS BATHING , C. 1935
Linocut, edition of 50
28 x 19.3 cm

LILL TSCHUDI (1911-2004)
PEOPLE COMING OUT OF CHURCH, 1938
Linocut, edition of 50
37 x 27 cm

Brendan Burns' beautifully textured canvases will be available to view in the gallery from 12pm this Thursday!🌟

Burns' work, both past and present, is underpinned by the central themes of absence, isolation, mortality and the spiritual. It is the balance between paint, process and subject matter that has maintained his visual language and its development through what on the surface may seem to have been differing themes.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/72-brendan-stuart-burns-into-the-light/

We are thrilled to be opening two exhibitions this Thursday in association with the Osborne Samuel Gallery.✨

Brendan Stuart Burns' close relationship with the Pembrokeshire coast has inspired a large and ongoing series of spiritual and contemplative paintings, a selection of which is on display as part of his second solo exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery.

'Modernist British Prints' will be a wide-ranging exhibition featuring examples from some of the most prominent printmakers working in Britain during the 20th century. Paying particular attention to the vibrant and dynamic works created by the acclaimed Grosvenor School artists of the 1930s, this exhibition will include a selection of works from alumni such as Cyril Power, Sybil Andrews and Lill Tschudi alongside work by Futurist artist C.R.W. Nevinson.

Follow the link to explore both exhibitions on our website:
https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/

BRENDAN STUART BURNS
Blush
Oil and wax on linen
140 x 170 cm

SYBIL ANDREWS (1898-1992)
Grader, 1959
Linocut, edition of 60
30.2 x 30 cm

John Bellany CBE HRSA RA LLD (1942-2013) was the most prolific and acclaimed Scottish artist of his generation. His paintings are characterised by their bold, expressive brushwork and vibrant colors.

Bellany's 'Wild Flowers' is currently adding a welcome burst of colour to the gallery walls. Keep swiping to get an close-up of his dynamic brush strokes.

JOHN BELLANY (1942-2013)
Wild Flowers
Oil on canvas
173 x 153 cm

Kirsty Wither thinks of a painting in terms of colour first, then texture, then the subject matter becomes more defined. It's important to Wither to provide an uplifting experience through her painting, this doesn't mean that the paintings are easy or simplistic, but rather that they are built up in strong layers that convey a lot of joy.

Tender Slopes
Oil on canvas
20 x 20 cm

Studio Roses
Oil on canvas
30 x 30 cm

Melt the Senses
Oil on canvas
20 x 20 cm

Head to our website to check out a fantastic selection of bronze sculptures from Cobus van der Walt and Christopher Marvell, which are part of an online exhibition this month.

Follow the link below to browse the full selection of works!

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/74-sculpture-exhibition-online-exclusive/

"The act of painting these remarkable landscapes is for me a life-enhancing experience and I would hope that in some small way the paintings can elicit a similar response in the viewer."

Today, exhibiting artist Chris Bushe RSW will be in the gallery between 12-12pm for his 'Meet the Artist' event. It's a perfect opportunity to find out the how Bushe works, ask questions and absorb the beautiful coastlines and the powerful brushwork in his current exhibition 'Wind, Wave, Rock and Sand: New Paintings of Islay, Mull and Iona'.

In Kirsty Wither's new body of work 'A Layered View', there are new and unexpected colour combinations where bold punchy colours are held in check by swathes of neutral areas. Her paintings are as much about the surface quality as the subject matter, applying vibrant layers of oil paint to achieve the desired outcome.

KIRSTY WITHER
All A-Flutter
Oil on canvas
30 x 30 cm

Janette Kerr worked alongside Norwegian oceanographers at the Meteorological Institute in Bergen in 2015, studying the unpredictability of waves and wind, which had a profound influence on her work.

The title of this pieces 'Kwikn' translates to the 'increase of the tide' in the local Shetland dialect.

JANETTE KERR
Kwikn - Sea State 7 (October Storms)
Oil on canvas
95 x 150cm

In conjunction with New Town Art Month, the gallery will be hosting a 'Meet the Artist' event with Chris Bushe RSW this Saturday 15th June. 🌟

Chris will be in the gallery from 12-2pm to discuss and answer questions on his new series of recent paintings, which continues an abiding fascination and passion he has for the islands of the Hebrides and especially of Islay, Mull and Iona.

Please note this event is running as part of New Town Art Month, but this is not a ticketed event and does not require booking. 🎨

"I have a need to engage with things that are uplifting and energising."

Kirsty Wither will be in the gallery today for a 'Meet the Artist' event in conjunction with New Town Art Month. Pop by between 12-2pm to ask Kirsty all your questions about her current body of work 'A Layered View'.

https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/63-kirsty-wither-a-layered-view/