18 May 2011

'Call of the Sea' Exhibition at Lamb Gallery

The sea, and its depiction in Scottish art, is the focus of a new exhibition being held at the University of Dundee.

Scotland’s geographical position has meant the sea has always played a critical role in the lives of its people, and artists have been endlessly fascinated by the sea and Scots’ connection to it.

The ways in which this relationship is interpreted, from early-19th century landscape painting to contemporary mixed-media works, feature in ‘Call of the Sea’, the new exhibition being held in the Tower Building’s Lamb Gallery.

The exhibition is being jointly curated by Museum Services at the University and WestFest, the annual community-led festival which aims to celebrate the city by harnessing the talents, skills and enthusiasm of the local community through a varied and exciting programme of events in the West End of Dundee.

Famous names such as William McTaggart and Ian Hamilton Finlay feature alongside student works from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. There will be a special focus on the work of Will Maclean, Emeritus Professor of Fine Art at DJCAD, in celebration of his 70th birthday this year.

Matthew Jarron, Curator of Museum Services at Dundee, explained, 'Will Maclean’s work has always drawn on the Scottish seafaring culture, and often takes the form of construction pieces making use of found objects acting as reliquaries, invoking the spirits of fishermen, emigrants and other voyagers in times past.

'We’re delighted to be showing earlier works by Will on loan from the McManus and more recent ones lent by the artist himself.'

West Fest organiser Paola McClure, whose idea the exhibition was, said, 'When I heard that Will was celebrating a big birthday this year I thought we should do something to mark it. I am delighted that the University have put this exhibition on for WestFest to herald the festival.'

The exhibition also features rarely seen works from the University’s own collections and loans from the Royal Bank of Scotland. It runs in the Lamb Gallery, Tower Building until Saturday, 25th June. Admission is free.

For further information, email museum@dundee.ac.uk, call 01382 384310 or visit www.dundee.ac.uk/museum.

Details of other events during WestFest week can be found at www.dundeewestfest.co.uk.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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