Sea Papers by Elizabeth Ogilvie, 1987 (detail) © the Artist (2017).
A selection of works on paper by 12 contemporary women artists has gone on display at the Art Gallery. Works on paper can include drawings and watercolours, printed material and art photography. There are over 13,000 works on paper in the Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums collection. The new display in Gallery 16 will be refreshed over the coming years to highlight the full range and richness of the collection. One of the priorities for the redevelopment of the Art Gallery, completed in 2019, was for more of the collection to go on display, including works on paper.
Around half of the contemporary artworks in the collection are by women artists. The work of the 12 artists featured in the new exhibition spans 50 years and explores a variety of techniques including printmaking, photography and painting. The artists are Annie Cattrell, Mirian Dokotliver, Amy Gear, Louise Hopkins, Hannah Imlach, Bet Low, Bel McCoig, Nanny Mulder, Elizabeth Ogilvie, Frances Walker, Caroline Walker and Francesca Woodman.
A number of the artists have connections with Aberdeen. Frances Walker (born Kirkcaldy, 1930) has been a major contributor to artistic practice and development in the city, having taught at Gray’s School of Art for many years. In 1974 she was a founding member of Peacock Printmakers. Walker depicts wild and desolate landscapes and terrains in her paintings and prints. Amy Gear (born Shetland, 1989) graduated from Gray’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art. Gear co-founded Gaada, an artist-led project space in Burra, Shetland. Elizabeth Ogilvie (born Aberdeen, 1946) has an interest in the sea which is shaped by her ancestral roots in St Kilda and Aberdeen. As an advocate for the environment, Ogilvie wants to instil in us an appreciation for our natural world. In the concourse of Aberdeen train station you can see Ogilvie’s etched glass artwork which celebrates the station architecture and Aberdeen’s links with the sea.
A set of prints, which is a recent addition to the collection, is on display for the first time. Nocturnes by Scottish artist Caroline Walker (born Dunfermline, 1982) depicts women in a variety of domestic settings at night time.
