Victoria Morton with films by Anne;Marie Copestake - Inverleith House (14 March - 2 May)

Parts of Portrait (2010)
Image courtesy of: The artist, The Modern Institute and Sadie Coles HQ.
Photograph: Ruth Clark, © RBGE 2010.

Walking into the bright sunlit rooms of Inverleith House one is struck by one notion - colour.

This is Victoria Morton's largest exhibition to date and her first solo museum exhibition in Scotland in just under a decade. The vibrancy of the pieces' colours and textures seem to fill the house with a sense of summer spirit. Which is perfect for this time of year, and not at all surprising as Victoria tends to divide her time between her studios in Glasgow and Italy.

Morton describes her work as "explicit abstract realism" and according to Morton the desire to create is born from the physical desire to create and also the "mental exercise involved in the disruption and reform of complex image making." There is a distinct feeling, when looking at the artworks, that if Victoria had created it 5 minutes earlier or later the piece would be completely different. Each work has its own unique energy birthing from the 'when' and 'how' it was formed.

The exhibition also includes sculptures by Morton. The use of domestic objects such as chairs, headboards and photographs reminds one that Inverleith House was at one stage a family home. The works lend the feeling of entering into a personal space, yet remains familiar and engaging. Like walking into the home of a close friend.

In the basement one finds films by Anne-Marie Copestake. Copestake unfolded the concept of Trigger Tonic video archive. The subjects are visiting artists, writers and musicians who travel to present their works to others. Conversations are arranged with them about their work, with local artists conducting the interviews. The films shown at Inverleith House feature Ellen Cantor interviewed by Cathy Wilkes and the group Chicks on Speed interviewed by Victoria Morton. This is the first time the films have been shown in this form. A video projection Touch bump overlap unable to separate, landing on two planes has been developed for this exhibition and is being shown for the first time.

Turner in January: National Gallery Complex 1-31 January 2010

It is that time of year again where we welcome an honoured Scottish tradition which has spanned over a century, the annual display of Turner watercolours.

These watercolours, renowned for their excellent state of preservation were bequeathed by Henry Vaughan (1809-1899). Vaughan was the son of a wealthy hat maker. At the age of 21 he came into a large fortune which helped him create a diverse collection of pictures. These artworks were not only chosen for quality and condition but also scholarly intention of reflecting each stage of Turner's long career.

Vaughan died unmarried in 1899. Under the terms of his will, Vaughan's watercolours were divided between the National Galleries of Ireland and Scotland, The British Museum and the Victorian & Albert Museum.

Vaughan stipulated that measures should be taken to preserve his bequest in its fresh & brilliant condition. In his will he stipulated that the watercolours be 'exhibited to the public at one time free of charge during the month of January.'

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London in 1775 and died there in 1851. A total of 38 watercolours in the Vaughan Bequest embody most periods of Turner's career. Ranging from the blue and green wash of his 'Monro Period' drawings of the 1790s; The works which derive from his early travels in Brittan and the European Continent; His illustration projects in partnership with publishers and engineers; to his views of Germany, Venice and Switzerland dating from the 1830s to the 1840s.

Turner was one of the first to exploit the full potential of watercolour. The awesome magnitude and spontaneous vigour of his finest landscapes are here seen as vividly as both Turner and Vaughan had intended them.

Karla Black -Inverleith House (14 November - 14 February)

Karla Black is a Glasgow based sculptor. She creates site specific sculptures using a range of unusual material such as powder paint, cellophane, dry plaster and Vaseline.

Due to their unusual compound, Black's sculptures seem to posses an organic nature. They change over the duration of the exhibition; the plaster absorbs moisture which in turn alters the sculpture's appearance and texture. Black describes her material as a mess of formless matter and she chooses her material out of a "pure physical desire for them."

Black's work has an interesting interplay between fragility and sculptural form. There is a moment once the sculptures are finished they are perfect, then they slowly begin to disintegrate.

Black's choice of a pastel palette gives the sculptures a feminine quality, along with the use of materials such as eye shadow, concealer and lipstick. Her work also evokes a sense of landscape. One feels that the work is the landscape rather than a mere representation of it.

"The finished work has a looseness and messiness that is allowed to exist within an overall attempt at simplicity, purity, cleanness and smoothness. It is often caught between thoughtless gesture and seriously obsessive attempts at beauty." Karla Black.

Jamie Primrose - Twilight Hues at Dundas Street Gallery

I just love Jamie Primrose! I feel that if one has ever lived in Edinburgh one cannot, not own a Jamie Primrose. He catches the atmospheric beauty of Edinburgh perfectly.

In his latest exhibition Primrose presents timeless city views in ethereal oils and striking monochrome Indian inks.

Primrose's oils are an emotive portrayal of beautiful, vibrant sunsets that cast dramatic lighting over the fairy tale vistas of Edinburgh. Scenes of which include views from Inverleith Park, Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill. His inks take more of an intimate approach and concentrates on street views. He captures the romantic grittiness of the city in his depiction of Old Town architecture and the flowing lines of New Town's Georgian streets.

He says: "I have a fascination for the transient nature of light. My artworks are 'snapshots' form sunset to sundown, when the light changes so quickly. They are my emotional response to the relationship between Edinburgh's unique light, atmosphere ,streets and skyline towards nightfall. The capital represents a strong element of who I am, and I'm continually drawn to paint a timeless view of the city I grew up in."

Paul Sandby Bicentenary

The National Gallery of Scotland is holding a bicentenary for Paul Sanby. The draughtsman turned landcape artist and founding member of the Royal Academy in 1768. This exhibition is in collaboration with Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

I was lucky enough to catch the opening of the exhibition. Something about entering the National Gallery of Scotland after closing hours makes every art work more intriguing. Sandby's unique talent for conveying detail really is something to behold.

Paul Sandby was the Chief Draughtsman of North Britain (Scotland). Born in Nottingham Sandby later went to Edinburgh where he became a mapmaker for the military survey of Scotland, which become central to the country after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.

Whilst in Edinburgh Sandby sketched many viewpoints of the cityscape such as 'View of Edinburgh' 1750 which portrays an Edinburgh panorama looking out to the Firth of Forth from Castle Bank.

Sandby had a fascination of topographical, architectural and genre studies in Edinburgh which stretched to pioneering tours of the Highlands of which led to numerous prints.

Thomas Gainsborough once said that Paul Sandby is "the only man of Genius...[for] real views from Nature." In Sandby's travels he came across lots of traffic which he depicted in his art. In Edinburgh Sandby appears to have rejoiced in the rich promenade of contemporary life. He often depicts the bustling city streets and the unique characters that roam them, from the humble merchants to aristocracy. They are all captured magnificently in the highest detail.

He also depicted many historic architectural subjects. He was fascinated by castles, ruins and variable city centres. The secret to Sandby's accuracy is his mastery of perspective and texture, and how buildings are located in a landscape.

Sandby drew on his interest in Scottish antiquities in later life as captured in 'Views of Roslyn Castle South West of Edinburgh' 1780. It shows aristocratic amateurs sketching the scene in the foreground with a portable camera obscura, a devise Sandby himself often utilized.

Commissioned views of the country side became popular. They displayed a sense of wealth, taste and prudent management. Sandby was interested in depicting a remarkable range within this category. His works consisted of royal and aristocratic parks, domestic gardens, agricultural, industrial and imaginative views. A good example of this period is 'View of Vinster at Boxley, Kent' 1794. Commissioned by James Whatman II, a paper maker.

In later life Sandby turned to portraying rural life. He loved depicting the dramatic such as the melodramatic woodland scene of 'The Rainbow' 1800, arguably one of his greatest works.

What is amazing is that through Sandby's astonishing detail, one is able to recognise a 200 year old view as it stands today. This exhibition gives a great insight to everyday life of the 18th century.