The works of award-winning Dalveen artist Ed Slater will be on show over the month of June at A’ the Airts community arts centre in Sanquhar.
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Ed’s mixed media landscapes and abstract expressions have hung from galleries from Russia and the USA to Spain and London.
Entitled Introducing Contemporary Cave, this exhibition showcases an attempt by Ed to define art in its simplest forms.
He explained: “Prehistoric cavemen were the first to use mixed media as a method of communicating their natural surroundings to others.
“The images that are left on cave walls thousands of years after they were made, tell us how closely connected primeval man was to the cosmos and nature.
“They worked with mixed media – roots, stones and twigs – to leave a message.
“To me, this is art in its purest form: creating an image from the natural world through the imagination. I’m trying to bring true art back into my work.”
Ed’s exhibition coincides with the opening of the Crawick Multiverse, a landart project on a former open cast coal mine site near Sanquhar.
The new landscape was created by celebrated land artist Charles Jencks and will be unveiled to the general public on June 21.
Ed said: “Charles Jencks and I have a very like-minded approach to our art.
“I am also interested in cosmology and nature and am inspired by the countryside around my studio.”
So inspired by his surroundings, Ed has planted 3,000 trees outside his Road End studio and plans to create a wildlife garden there in the near future.
For the exhibition, Ed has created a special work for A’ the Airts that he wishes to donate to the people of Upper Nithsdale. Called “From a Black Hole to Green Space”, the work was made using acrylic, glass paint and natural materials from the Crawick site.
He said: “I read that part of the criteria for creating the Crawick Multiverse was to get artists involved and to inspire art enthusiasts.
“I would like to be the first artist to get involved and, hopefully, many more will follow. I hope that this painting will let people know who I am and the kind of work I create.”
On Friday, June 5, Ed will give a presentation at A’ the Airts when he will talk about himself, his painting techniques and the inspiration behind his exhibition.
The talk takes place at 7pm and tickets are £4.50 which include refreshments.
To book a place, contact A’ the Airts, 8-12 High Street, Sanquhar, tel: 01659 50514.
