Final year painting students at Gray’s School of Art are preparing to unveil their work in Edinburgh.
The exhibition, which will take place in Gallery 1, The Edinburgh Palette, St. Margaret’s House, is organised and curated entirely by the students themselves and will run from Saturday, March 5 to Saturday, March 19.
It is the sixth consecutive year that the event has been held in the venue, offering the public the chance to view the work of the 16 students before their Degree Show in June.
Head of painting at Gray’s, Keith Grant, said: “Taking ownership of the exhibition and seeing their work in a different context is instrumental in the students being able to establish a true picture of their progress to date. It is an exciting time for them at an important stage of the year.”
Student Eve Montgomerie said: “It is an exciting prospect to have the opportunity to show our work in Edinburgh and one which we are all relishing.
“It introduces a level of professional practice that will not only help consolidate our learning in preparation for the final degree show in June but equally as important gives us an insight to a career beyond Gray’s.”
She added: “There will be a diverse range of work on show exploring the relevance of painting in a contemporary art context. Works examining conflict and human destruction; exploring science; and celebrating of colour are just some of the diverse subjects being painted.
“Personally I feel that the show is notably exciting for the vast array of subjects being portrayed giving rise to the continued importance of painting.”
Fellow course mate, Charlotte Johnston, said: “We have produced a body of work that showcases both the breadth and depth of painting practice at Gray’s and we're excited to show as a large group for the first time.
“Many individuals in our class have shown at places such as Newave Gallery and Bottlecap Brewery, as well as two people at the RSA Open just before Christmas so there is a bit of experience amongst us with preparing work for public display.”
She added: “The organising process of a pre-degree show is eye-opening in terms of being very aware of professional practice and paying attention to small details such as label presentation and catering - this is to make it as enjoyable and accessible to our audience as possible.
“Removing ourselves and our work from the comfort of our studios for a couple of weeks is daunting but exciting and I think it's going to give everyone a fresh perspective on how to move forward with our practice.”