Issue 17
Throughout the Royal Scottish Academy’s bicentenary year, our articles have returned time and again to Scotland’s national art academy and the work of its Academician members; now, as a special nod to its 200 years, we devote a whole issue to all things RSA.
Our guest Contributing Editor, Duncan Macmillan, has anchored issue 17 with his history of the RSA, while leading the way in commissioning articles on some wide-ranging subjects. Douglas Erskine reports on his meeting with RSA Director Colin Greenslade this summer, gleaning fascinating insights, personal and professional; Isabella Nicoletti considers Elizabeth Blackadder RSA, throwing new light on her work in tapestry; Rosie Shackleton muses on the work of Ilana Halperin RSA, and those powerful natural forces she addresses; and Roger Spence has spent time with Frances Pelly RSA, surveying her life and work.
In issue 17, we also welcome two new writers to our growing community: Chantal de Prez digs deep into Frances Walker RSA’s work, while Joe Boyd talks to John Mackechnie RSA in Glasgow about prints and places.
Isabella Nicoletti has visited a new exhibition at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios to consider a new and vital angle on the work of Elizabeth Blackadder: a talent in tapestry.
Colin Greenslade, RSA Director, has been part of the furniture since 2003. Douglas Erskine talks to him about his personal journey, his work at the RSA, the people and places that have inspired him, and this year’s big birthday
John Mackechnie retired as Director of Glasgow Print Studio in 2023, after over forty years of extraordinary work at the organisation. He’s a printmaker with an interesting career and a very distinctive approach. Joe Boyd investigates.
Duncan Macmillan reflects anew on the Royal Scottish Academy’s history and its relationship with the Scottish art world at large over 200 years of change and growth.
Rosie Shackleton reflects on Ilana Halperin’s recent exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, her personal relationship with an Icelandic volcano, the artist-earth interface, past and present.
Roger Spence has been to Frances Pelly’s smallholding in mainland Orkney to talk to her about her life and work. From life-size figures to suspended twigs, it’s a fascinating story.
Frances Walker is the RSA’s senior Academician in this bicentenary year. Over seven decades she has made a huge contribution to Scottish art, soon to be honoured by Aberdeen City Council. Chantal de Prez surveys the artist’s work.