Acclaimed Scottish artist Jock McFadyen to be celebrated in new Edinburgh exhibition

EDINBURGH'S City Art Centre is to mark the 70th year of acclaimed Scottish artist Jock McFadyen in a new exhibition on two floors.

Whose afraid of red, yellow and blue? (2017) by Jock McFadyen

Jock McFadyen Goes to the Pictures will showcase new and existing paintings by McFadyen paired alongside artworks specifically selected by the artist from the City Art Centre’s collection.

Born in Paisley in 1950, McFadyen who attended Glasgow School of Art and then Chelsea School of Art in London from 1973 to 1977, was mostly associated with figurative painting, often featuring marginalised members of society in cities, including Edinburgh, in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, however, his paintings have largely focused on man-made landscapes such as dilapidated industrial sites, abandoned buildings and deserted streets.

Opening on 14 November, Jock McFadyen Goes to the Pictures will feature his urban and rural landscapes, as well as some of his figurative paintings, next to works from the City Art Centre’s collection of historic and contemporary Scottish art - .over the last year, McFadyen has regularly visited the picture stores to carefully select works for the show.

Through a series of fascinating pairings, the exhibition encourages viewers to take a closer look. Works that might initially seem unrelated reveal unexpected connections.

McFadyen says, “The City Art Centre has always been one of my favourite places, not just for the breadth of its collection, invaluable though it is for an English artist who happens to be Scottish, but also the place is relaxed, intimate and old school.

"For this exhibition I am presenting a selection of my own work from the last 42 years in all its randomness and my aim was to seek out visual connections between my own pictures and those we have selected from the City’s collection.

"Most of my work included in this show was made with scant awareness of Scottish art and I hope a virtue might be stolen from this shortcoming. Many of the artists are familiar names but I have also learned much about the other artists whose work we have included.”

City Art Centre Curator Maeve Toal adds, “It has been a real pleasure to collaborate with Jock on the selection of works for the exhibition. It was a difficult task as there were so many great combinations of artworks to choose from. However, by displaying them side-by-side it has provided us with an opportunity to showcase Jock’s paintings and the City Art Centre’s collection in a fresh and exciting context.”

Jock McFadyen Goes to the Pictures opens on Saturday 14 November 2020, and runs until 7 March 2021. Admission is free, pre-booking online essential via edinburghmuseums.org.uk

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