THE INNER SOUND

Published to accompany the exhibition The Inner Sound, Gairloch Heritage Museum 2016

Copyright for all works are by kind permission of the artist, Alison Dunlop 2016 and may not be reproduced or transmitted in anyform or by any means electronic, mechanical or otherwise imitated, without the artist's permission.

Cover: Inner Sound: Drift 19, 2015

Photography: Ross Hood Design: Tartan Terra Ltd.

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Gairloch Heritage Museum is operated by Gairloch & District Heritage Company Ltd which is a Registered Charity no. SC010249Gairloch Heritage Museum Achtercairn Gairloch Ross-shire IV21 2BP UK

THE INNER SOUNDAN EXHIBITION OF WORK BY

ALISON DUNLOP RSW

In association with Sabhal Mr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language, Culture and the Arts,Isle of Skye, on the occasion of the Jon Schueler Centenary Symposium and Exhibitions 2016

Gairloch Heritage Museum 16th May - 25th June 2016The Artist's Studio 21st May - 4th June 2016

Introduction

The occasion for mounting this exhibition is, in part, to help celebrate the life and work of Jon Schueler, whose work and writing have greatly inspiredme. Jon was an American Abstract Expressionist artist who lived and painted on the West Coast of Scotland for many years and whose centenary isnow being marked with a Symposium and Exhibitions being held at the Gaelic College, Sabhal Mr Ostaig on Skye. It seemed a great opportunity tocelebrate the formal cultural links between Sabal Mr Ostaig and the Gairloch Heritage Museum, where one part of this Inner Sound Exhibition is beingheld.Like Jon Schueler, I came to Scotland as a North American whose childhood was spent on the shores of the Great Lakes. As a Canadian, I also yearnedto go further into the North, always searching for that, perhaps, mythical place where I might find it; I was certain that there, I would also discover afreedomandanauthentic visual language to explore andexpressmyowndeep identificationwith nature,which seems tobeeveryCanadians birthright.

Like Schueler, I was drawn to this part of the North-West of Scotland and here I found it. My childhood in Canada was certainly formative, but comingto live in the North West of Scotland has been nothing short of transformative.

I had been aware of Schuelers work since coming to live in Scotland in the 1980s, but was introduced to his memoir The Sound of Sleat: A PaintersLife, by a friend after restoring my studio near Gairloch a few years ago. I was riveted, captivated by how eloquently and accurately he described whatI was seeing through my studio windows every day, and also trying to capture in a new, fresh way, in paint. He was moved by what he saw in the verysame way that I was and he, too, struggled to find expression in paint for his deepest yearnings through translating the Northern spirit and energy hesensed here in this place.

In Canada, nature is daunting, overwhelming; the essence of its landscape is boundless space, an untamed vastnesswhich can be terrifying and almostdefies expression in paint. Over the years, my identification with nature had led me to explore its forms and symbolism while naturally drawing upon thecultural identity of being a Canadian. This is where my roots lie and those roots still run deep and help to inform my work.

This place, also, is vast, wild, open and has a powerful, underlying spirit and energy - in so many ways like Canada. Painting here in the North West hasbroadenedmy vision and loosened the formality of my work. From the very first watercolour done in the new studio, a fresh, freer language of expressionhasemerged frommybrushes. Theexpanseof nature towhich I respondhere is the sea - thedramawhichconstantly unfoldsbeyondmystudiowindows,toward the horizon over the Inner Sound. Here, I've found the freedom to not only explore my perception of a northern shore, but also to create a newvisual vocabulary for this idea.

I dont find myself painting from nature, from a specific view or moment, but am trying, through the marks my brush can coax from water and pigmentand with line, colour, movement and form, to tune into the energy of the constant change within this environment. I'm also trying to grasp the meaningof what I see, to impose my own order on its chaos, in the hope of understanding, of gaining some insight into the essence of what it is that resonatesso loudly for me in this place.

My intention has always been to exhibit this body of work as an ensemble, in the context of the place that has inspired it. It seemed the right time andoccasion to do this now and, in a small way, to thank Jon for his words and his vision, which have resonated for me and for so many other artists.

Alison Dunlop RSW

Foreword

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to display the work of such an accomplished artistasAlisonDunlop,particularly since thisbodyofwork is inspiredbyour local area, itsbeautyand its sense of place. We are also delighted at the opportunity this exhibition gives us tostrengthen our partnership links with our colleagues at Sabhal Mr Ostaig. We believe theexhibition will not only put Gairloch Heritage Museum on the map within the Scottish artcommunity, but will also offer an opportunity for our own local community to view a

prestigious body of work in the surroundings in which it was created.

Gairloch Heritage Museum Curator, Dr Karen Thompson

Inner Sound 60, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 33 x 43 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 30, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 27 x 48 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 31, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 36.5 x 47 cm

1

Inner Sound: Drift 24, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 72 x 97 cm

2

Inner Sound - Ebb and Flow, 2013oil on canvas 61 x 91 cm

3

Drift 19, 2015oil on canvas 61 x 91 cm

4

Inner Sound 49, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 47 x 70 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 23, 2015watercolour on aquabord 12.7 x 17.8 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 19, 2015 (opposite)watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 37 x 46 cm

5

6

Inner Sound 13, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 32 x 42 cm

Inner Sound 15, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 30 x 51 cm

Inner Sound 17, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 32 x 42 cm

Inner Sound 51, 2009 (opposite)watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 61 x 95 cm

7

8

Inner Sound 34, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 28 x 43 cm

Inner Sound 82, 2010watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 36 x 43 cm

9

Inner Sound 8, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 32 x 42 cm

10

Inner Sound 52, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 29 x 54 cm

Inner Sound 45, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 33 x 43 cm

11

Flux, 2013watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 64 x 97 cm

12

Inner Sound: Drift 10, 2010oil on canvas 61 x 61 cm

13

Inner Sound: Drift 12, 2010oil on canvas 100 x 110 cm

14

Inner Sound 33, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 28 x 43 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 11, 2010oil on canvas 61 x 61 cm

15

Inner Sound 81, 2010watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 35 x 41 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 8, 2010oil on canvas, 61 x 61 cm

16

Inner Sound: Drift 29, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 47 x 70 cm

Inner Sound 35, 2009 (opposite)watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 31 x 43 cm

17

18

Inner Sound 53, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 33 x 43 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 21, 2015 (opposite)watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford

13.5 x 21.5 cm

19

20

21

Inner Sound: Harris 2, 2015watercolour on aquabord 12.7 x 17.8 cm

22

Inner Sound: Harris 1, 2015watercolour on aquabord 12.7 x 17.8 cm

Inner Sound: Drift 32, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 15 x 20 cm

Inner Sound 84, 2010 (opposite)watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 36 x 42.5 cm

23

24

25

Inner Sound Headland 2, 2015watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 40 x 50 cm

26

Inner Sound 70, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 15 x 20 cm

27

Inner Sound 41, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford26 x 29 cm

28

Inner Sound 54, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford

33 x 40 cm

Inner Sound 83, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 36 x 43 cm

29

Inner Sound 46, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 21 x 36 cm

Inner Sound 61, 2009watercolour on TH Saunders Waterford 43 x 45 cm

30

31

32

Inner Sound: Skye Bound, 2010-15oil on canvas 120 x 200 cm(opposite)

Inner Sound Drift 17, 2013oil on canvas 40 x 40 cm

Inner Sound Drift 14, 2013oil on canvas 45 x 61 cm

Born in Canada in 1958, Alison began her studies there, before continuing in France and Britain. In1982, she came to Scotland to undertake postgraduate studies at Edinburgh College of Art and has

made Scotland her home.

In 1989, Alison was elected a member of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour andis a past Vice-President of the Society. She also served as President of Visual Arts Scotland for three

years in the late 1990s and has been made an Honorary Life Member.

She was a founding Director of The Exhibiting Societies of Scottish Artists (ESSA) and a foundingmember of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni Association. She was Honorary Arts Convenor of the

Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh from 2001-2004.

Twice the recipient of the Elizabeth T Greenshields Foundation Scholarship, she was short-listedseveral times for theNobleGrossart PaintingPrize and received theAlexanderGrahamMunroAward

from the RSW in 1997 and the John Gray Prize in 2007.

Her oils andwatercolours are widely held in both public and private collections throughout the UK andCanada and have been featured in exhibitions at the following commercial galleries:

LONDON: Panter and Hall, Mayfair; Tracey McNee Fine Art; Thompson's Gallery; The PiccadillyGallery; TheThackerayGallery andalso at TheRedRagGallery andTheBrutonGallery, both inBath.

SCOTTISH GALLERIES: The Gullane Gallery, Gullane; Gallery Heinzel, Aberdeen; An Talla Solais,Ullapool; TheWadeGallery,Elie,Fife;FraserGallery,St.Andrews;RandolphGallery,Edinburgh;TheOpen EyeGallery, Edinburgh; The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh; The Stenton Gallery, Stenton; Roger

Bilcliffe Gallery, Glasgow; Tracey McNee Fine Art, Glasgow.

CANADA: Galerie Rochon, Toronto.

Open exhibitions include:The Royal Scottish Academy; The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour; The Royal

Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts; Visual Arts Scotland.

Detailed Biography

Graduated with Honours B.A. (Fine Art), University of Guelph in 1980, with oneundergraduate year of study at LEcole des Beaux-Arts and LUniversit de Franche-

Comt, Besanon, France.Attended Edinburgh College of Art in 1982-83 for Post-Graduate studies.

In 1989, elected Professional Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters inWatercolour (RSW)

In 1995, elected Professional Member of the Society of Scottish Artists and ArtistsCraftsmen (SAAC)

1997-99 President of SAAC (now Visual Arts Scotland)2002-03 Vice-President of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour

(RSW)Founding Director of the Exhibiting Societies of Scottish Artists (ESSA)Founder Member of the Alumni Association, Edinburgh College of Art

Honorary Art Convenor, The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh, 2001 2004Conferred Honorary Membership, Visual Arts Scotland, 2003

Solo ExhibitionsMcLaughlin Gallery, University of Guelph, Canada

Galerie Rochon, TorontoEdinburgh Gallery (the former)Scottish Arts Club, EdinburghTolquhon Gallery, AberdeenRandolph Gallery, Edinburgh

Two Person ExhibitionsKingfisher Gallery, Edinburgh

Bruton Gallery, Bath

Selected Group ExhibitionsBruton Gallery, Bath

Compass Gallery, GlasgowCourtyard Gallery, CrailFrames Gallery, Perth

Fraser Gallery, St. Andrews

Gullane Art Gallery, GullaneGallery Heinzel, Aberdeen

Morrison Scottish Portrait ExhibitionNoble Grossart Painting Prize Exhibition

Open Eye Gallery, EdinburghPiccadilly Gallery, LondonPanter and Hall, London

Roger Bilcliffe Gallery, GlasgowRoyal Glasgow Institute of the Fine ArtsRoyal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh

Royal Scottish Society of Painters in WatercolourScottish Arts Club, Edinburgh

The Scottish GallerySociety of Scottish Artists

Stenton Gallery, East LothianThackeray Gallery, London

Thompsons Gallery, London and AldeburghTolquhon Gallery, Aberdeen

Tracey McNee Fine Art, London and GlasgowVisual Arts Scotland (formerly S.A.A.C.)

Wade Gallery, Elie

AwardsPrintmaking Award, University of Guelph

Ontario Arts Council Grant (x 2)Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation (Montreal) Scholarship (x 2)

Alexander Graham Munro Award (RSW)John Gray Award (RSW)

Derek Robertson Residency and Kelty Art Centre Award (RSW)

CollectionsRoyal Bank of Scotland plc

Prudential plcDickson Minto (London and Edinburgh)

Davidson Chalmers, EdinburghBetty Davies Collection

David E. Bassett Collection (Canada)Gallery St. Thomas-Elgin (Canada)

supported by Museums Galleries Scotland

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