exhibitions & events 2023

Barbara Rae CBE RA - Colour Fields

Glasgow Print Studio is delighted to present a solo exhibition of work by internationally renowned artist Barbara Rae CBE RA RSA RE.

Click here to see works from this exhibition.

A survey of colour and place through the specialist media of carborundum prints and monotypes, this exhibition includes work that Barbara Rae has produced with the Master Printmakers at Glasgow Print Studio and in her own studio over the past ten years.

Barbara Rae’s research journeys take her to some of the world’s remotest areas in search of inspiration. These include the West of Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, Shetland and the Lammermuirs in Southern Scotland, the Arizona desert and the ice floes and Inuit villages of the Northwest Passage, Baffin Island and Hudson’s Bay.

Her work is distinctively rich and evocative; combining bold compositional control with strong contrast and layered abstract expressionist marks and textures to capture a sense of history, time and place. Her palette of intense colour evokes dramatic landscapes while retaining an abstract sensibility. The majority of her print editions published by Glasgow Print Studio use an intaglio technique called carborundum. Essentially this involves making marks using a mixture of glue and powder, allowing for loose, painterly marks and the realisation of rich colour.

Rae’s first solo exhibition at GPS was held in 1987 and has had four further solo shows between 1992 and 2003. She has developed a strong relationship with Glasgow Print Studio, collaborating on the production of editions and monotypes over the past 39 years. Many of the exhibited works were made in collaboration with Master Etcher Ian McNicol, who has worked with Barbara since the early 1990s, fostering a symbiotic visual shorthand and collaborative relationship.

Click here to see works from this exhibition.

Born in Falkirk (1943), Barbara Rae CBE RA RSA RE lives and works in Edinburgh. She is a painter and printmaker recognised internationally as a master colourist and is one of the most celebrated artists currently practising in Scotland. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1961 to 1965 and taught at Glasgow School of Art between 1975 and 1996. She lectured in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking at Aberdeen College of Education from 1972 to 1974 and lectured in drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1975 to 1996.

Rae’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and has been included in many private collections in Britain, Europe and the USA, as well as in many public and corporate collections. She is the recipient of numerous awards, scholarships, and honorary degrees. Rae was elected President of the Society of Scottish Artists in 1983. She was made a Member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1992 (ARSA 1980) and a Royal Academician in 1996. She has been a Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland since 1995 and was a Member of the Board of the British School at Rome in 1998. In 1999 she was awarded a CBE and received an Honorary Doctorate from Napier University, Edinburgh.

Click here to see works from this exhibition.

Image: Barbara Rae CBE RA, 'Leaving Disko - Dark', monotype, 38 x 38 cm. Barbara Rae CBE RA, 'Night Clouds', 2022, carborundum, 89 x 89 cm, edition of 20. Images courtesy The Artist and Glasgow Print Studio.