Three Dumfries and Galloway artists have had their work selected to be part of the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) Open Exhibition in Edinburgh.
Spring Fling artists Colin Blanchard, Rory Laycock and Sarah Stewart will all have work on display at the RSA throughout the Summer in an exhibition that represents the best of contemporary artistic practice. Around 400 works are chosen each year from open submission with the exhibition showcasing the works of leading national and international artists. Being represented by such a distinguished institution in a prominent central location on The Mound in Edinburgh’s Princes Street, this is a huge achievement for these three artists.
Colin Blanchard is a printmaker based in Waterbeck, near Lockerbie. He taught in several art schools in the 1970s and 80s before a career change that saw him involved in education and training in countryside and wildlife management. He began to develop his studio and print workshop at Craigshaw Barns Studio, Waterbeck nine years ago and now produces original hand printed limited edition linocuts and screen prints. Colin is represented by several galleries and this year, as well as having two of his prints selected for the RSA for the second time (last year winning the Roy Wood Prize for Printmaking), he has made a major contribution to the book ‘The Artful Hare’. Langholm based visual artist.
Rory Laycock, graduated from The University of Cumbria in 2014 with a First Class BA in Fine Art. He has exhibited nationally and internationally and was a finalist in the Arte Laguna Prize in the Visual and Digital Arts category. His work was also selected for an international discussion on art and technology for the European Commission to influence future policy. Most recently he has been involved with Spring Fling and through their support has collaborated with 44flavours to produce murals in both Glasgow and Berlin. After studying the Digital Arts.
Sarah Stewart went to Edinburgh College of Art to complete a BA(Hons) in Visual Communication (Illustration). Since graduating in 2007 she took a career break before returning to the arts scene in 2013 with a solo exhibition in the outskirts of Edinburgh. She moved to Wigtown two and a half years ago where she owns and manages Craigard Gallery whilst pursuing her career as a printmaker. Specialising in print and surface pattern, Sarah is inspired by the past and thrown away and challenges herself to create something fresh and contemporary from these. She has exhibited in Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow, London and Berlin and her work is held in private collections both in Scotland and overseas.
Sarah, 31, said in reaction to her recent visit to the RSA Exhibition: “The exhibition is a treasure trove of fascinating works from some of the best and most prominent artists. I am absolutely thrilled to have been accepted and included in this exhibition. It is exciting to see what else the future has in store for me.”
The RSA Open Exhibition has been open to the public from 16th July until 30th August. Admission is free. RSA, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
