Ian Hamilton Finlay
of conceits and collaborators

Exhibition viewing and Collaborators? Forum, Tuesday 26 July;
exhibition, Wednesday 27 July to Thursday 1 September 2005.

Photo by Robin Gillanders

An exhibition celebrating of the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, one of Scotland?s leading figures in the visual arts, philosophy, poetry and landscape gardening, who celebrates his eightieth birthday this year.

Finlay?s printed works are often technically demanding and rely heavily upon the expertise of others. This exhibition features the collaborations of the artist with practitioners from the fields of typography, lettering, stone-cutting, illustration, photography and printing. Over the years there have been many exhibitions of Finlay?s work but few of them have dealt with his smaller paper works or, more importantly, his practice of working with a number of collaborators, many of whom are artists in their own right. Of conceits and collaborators aims to address this by viewing Finlay through five of his artistic partners, giving an insight into the relationships which are such a key part of his work. This exhibition, first shown at the National Library of Scotland, aims to expose the ?anatomy of engagement? between Finlay and other artists and craftspeople. This in turn may help to challenge our own understanding of how artists ?make? their own artwork.

Viewing begins at 5.30pm in the Exhibition Room with wine before we move upstairs to the Bridewell Hall at 7.00pm for the Collaborators? Forum. The forum will feature several artists/practitioners who have worked with Finlay across a range of materials and provides a platform for them to share insights and reflections upon their different experiences: John Andrew (carver and letter cutter), Tom Bee (typographer and curator of this exhibition), Ron Costley (typographer), Michael Harvey (lettering designer) and Caroline Webb (letter carver and lettering designer).

Entry to Exhibition viewing is free.
Tickets for the Collaborators? Forum (sold on the door) are £5 (£3 concessions).