Finn Robinson - Frontiers: Painting in Scotland Now

RSA Lower Galleries | Royal Scottish Academy

The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

3rd August – 8th September 2024

Co-curated by Robbie Bushe RSA and Flora La Thangue, Frontiers: Painting in Scotland Now will explore the ways in which artists are pushing the boundaries of the medium of painting and reveal it to be a vital connection between the traditions of the past and ambitions for the future of the visual arts in Scotland.

In the early 1980s many UK arts schools and art departments at universities had combined specialist departments in painting, sculpture and printmaking. This reflected both the changing language of contemporary art practices and the need to rationalise resources and develop a more quantifiable research culture within the arts. In Scotland, this took a little longer as the distinct identities and legacies of the four historic art schools in Scotland endured. Given this, and the rise of digital media in the visual arts, it is perhaps surprising that painting remains enduringly popular today and emerging artists continue to be drawn to the medium. Frontiers will explore why, in a world saturated with digital imagery, painting continues to flourish. The exhibition will place works by Royal Scottish Academicians alongside other established practitioners and emerging artists, posing the question: what place remains for painting? Are there new frontiers for painting in Scotland?