Adrian Wiszniewski: In Full Colour

Glasgow Print Studio presents In Full Colour, an exhibition marking 40 years of collaboration with the Scottish artist Adrian Wiszniewski RSA (b.1958).

 

Wiszniewski's love for printmaking found its footing in 1985 when he was invited by former director of GPS, John Mackechnie MBE, to work in silkscreen and etching with printmakers Johnny Taylor and Stuart Duffin respectively. The resulting works, Po-et and The Sculptors Nightmare, proved to be critical works in Wiszniewski's early development and are presented here as cornerstone works in his edition catalogue. Sculptors is one of several works to have undergone extensive hand-colouring for this exhibition, transforming them into unique variations that exemplify Wisniewski's facility in both colour and line.

 

Over the decades of co-publishing with the studio, Wiszniewski has covered a gamut of printmaking technique, developing works in linocuts, lithography, woodcut and most recently laser-woodcuts, using scale, colour and content as experimental dimensions. Colour has always been an important carrier of meaning and expression for Wiszniewski, and this exhibition takes it to its highest level.

 

Wiszniewski's polymathic output has meant that previous studio exhibitions of his work typically explored dialogues with his work in other media. In Full Colour is the first exhibition of his at GPS to look at his work in print exclusively. In showcasing the art and craft of collaborative publishing practice between artist and studio, the exhibition provides a window into an historic relationship that has produced in excess of 140 editions.

 

Adrian Wiszniewski was born in Glasgow and attended the Mackintosh School at Architecture and later Glasgow School of Art from 1979 to 1983. He is one of the members of the New Glasgow Boys, a group of artists who emerged from Glasgow School of Art in the mid-80's and led the resurgence of Scottish figurative painting in the late 20th century. His work is rich with symbolic, political and philosophical depth, and lies within the poetic, romantic tradition of British art. His work is held in many international collections such as the MOMA New York, Metropolitan Museum, New York, Setagaya Museum, Tokyo, Japan, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Tate Britain, London and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He has had solo exhibitions in London, Sydney, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ghent and Tokyo.