Four former graduates in residence at Gray’s School of Art are hosting a new exhibition which opens this weekend.
Work by Daniel Massie, Caitlin Hynes, Ben Martin and Laura McGlinchey will go on show at the Deemouth Business Centre in Aberdeen today as part of group show ‘Funcy’ which runs until Wednesday, May 18 and is sponsored by ENGIE.
All the artists have come though the contemporary art practice (CAP) graduate in residence (GiR) scheme at Gray’s, apart from Laura who was part of the painting GiR programme.
Daniel said: “It is a coming together here of different creative platforms and space in Aberdeen, outside of Gray's but undeniably connected to it.
“My work is mainly about cinema, but for this show it is about the transition from art school to academia as I'm doing my Masters in film studies right now.
“It explores the process of writing and editing, the difference in communicating your ideas from art to writing, between the abstract and the literal. It pushes the limits of how we can view and understand film, and as a result, its relationship to art.”
He added: “I'm very excited for the show, as a place to show where my practice is developing. Once I finish my Masters I will be starting PhD study at Stirling and Glasgow, which would not be possible without the platform the graduate in residence scheme provided me.”
Talking about her work, Laura said: “My works are heavily process and material based interdisciplinary pieces which further consider, and blur, the boundaries between painting, sculpture and collage and showcase various possibilities of home-made water based mediums, focusing strongly on texture, surface and colour.
“The works are made instinctively – ripping, tearing, gluing, collage, decollage, surfaces torn with electric sanders and paint striped away with a saw – this allows and forces me, in equal measures, to make quick decisions - painting from the gut. I know the pieces go together as my hand and eye put them together.
“The final pieces are floating slabs which demand attention and create illusionary installation - like sculptural paintings - that can both live comfortably and evolve within an environment and completely dominate and transform a space.”
Caitlin added: “I am making work based on the trials and tribulations of trying to find my place in the world/society that I inhabit - trying to carve out this little place for me to exist, fleeting between almost different worlds, opinions and scenarios.”
The graduate in residence scheme at Gray’s provides support to a recent graduate in the early stages of their career by providing them with a studio space and access to other resources such as workshops and IT facilities while assisting with a range of undergraduate activities.
Contemporary Art Practice course leader at the art school, Michael Agnew, said: “A major aspect of the GiR programme is that we actively retain the expertise of these gifted young artists within in the city and region, and that we enable them to experience a valuable incubation period to experiment with ideas in familiar, but challenging, surroundings.
“The barometer of their excellence will be judged through their future outputs and professions but I am positive that all GiRs will go on to be essential contributors to artistic and academic communities in the future, here and elsewhere.”
‘Funcy’ will run at Unit 1B, Deemouth Business Centre,South Esplanade East, Aberdeen and is sponsored by ENGIE. The opening night on May 13 will run from 6pm to 8pm; then opening hours are 11am to 6pm on May 14 and 15; and 12pm to 7pm on May 16 to 18.