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Alasdair Gray 'Spheres of Influence' exhibition to open at Gallery of Modern Art

December 2014

The Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow is hosting the fourth exhibition of the Alasdair Gray Season.

Spheres of Influence I takes the renowned Scottish artist's practice, influences and work as inspiration to explore Glasgow Museums Collection and discover connections between them. Works by artists that inspired Gray, including William Blake, Aubrey Beardsley and Paul Gauguin, feature alongside drawings, prints and paintings by his peers and younger artists, who have in turn been influenced by Gray's art.

This show is a central element of the Alasdair Gray Season 2014 – 2015, staged in his home city in celebration of his 80th birthday in December. The Season, focusing on the artist's visual work, includes a sister exhibition Spheres of Influence II at the Glasgow School of Art, together with a programme of talks and events.

Born in Glasgow in 1934, Alasdair Gray is one of Scotland's most multitalented artists. Renowned as one of the country's greatest living novelists, he is also a distinguished painter, poet and playwright. As well as illustrating his own works, he is a remarkable portrait and mural painter.

Lanark: a Life in Four Books, Set of Six Prints, 1981, which was reproduced as the cover, title page and introductory pages of his most famous novel, is on display. The influences of Beardsley, Blake, Durer and Gauguin can be seen in these designs. For the first time, work by these artists, whom Gray often credits as key influences, can be viewed together in the same exhibition, enabling the visitor to draw connections first-hand.

Spanning more than 500 years Spheres of Influence I includes A Vision of the Last Judgement, 1808 by William Blake, Nemesis (The Great Fortune) about 1502 and The Passion 1507 – 1513 by Albrecht Durer, Woodcuts by Paul Gauguin and Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat, by Aubrey Beardsley, These are complemented with works by Gray's peers and younger artists who have in turn been influenced by his visual practice, including Rob Churm.

Councillor Archie Graham, Chair of Glasgow Life said: "Alasdair Gray is rightly as one of Scotland's most respected artists and I am thrilled Glasgow is marking his outstanding talent with a series of exhibitions to celebrate his 80th birthday. This exhibition provides an exciting opportunity to explore the connections within Glasgow Museums' collection, between Alasdair's work, and his contemporaries and artists who influenced his work. It also enabled Glasgow Life to collaborate with key venues in the city including the Glasgow School of Art.

"GoMA is an ideal venue where Gray's fans can indulge their passion, while providing a wonderful opportunity for new audiences that are yet to discover his work, alongside Glasgow's own internationally significant collection."

Alasdair Gray: From the Personal to the Universal, a major 'life's work' retrospective dedicated to the Scottish artist, featuring more than 100 paintings spanning his full career, is also currently on show at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

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