There are many wonderful things to be found in the Scottish Gallery on Dundas Street at present, of which this article describes just a few.
Andrea Geile's architecturally natural responses to people and specific places will be familiar to many New Town wanderers, and were the focus of a walking exhibition in the Festival three years ago (Breaking news, 1.8.11).
At present, she is showing six pieces here. Level the Field No 2–4 can be seen from the street in the front-facing cellar area (see photo above-right). Its three parts, available for purchase separately, are made of hand-cut weatherproof Corten steel. The satisfying rounds refer to hay bales in the Scottish countryside, and the delicate leaves at their centre to a recurring theme in her work, ivy:
... the everlasting, and ever growing, a historical synonym for life ... It is also called Lovestone for its habit of hugging stone. On the other hand it is perceived as a serious invasive species and also as a horticultrual weed. A good example for life itself and its challenges.
Geile's Leaf Poles in the garden to the rear (right) also appealed to this visitor.
That surprising green tranquility (Issue 221) is punctuated also by Helen Denerley’s remarkably lifelike creatures sculpted from scrap metal. (Her 'Dreaming Spires' giraffes already grace Greenside outside the Omni Centre.)
The first encounter is with a Doe and Fawn. I liked the way the absences at their centre help them melt from view – a form of camouflage, of somehow not being in the moment, analogous to their models' real-life vanishing skills ...
... followed by a variety of birds – these two in chattering conversation or dispute
... and blackbird.
More wonders tomorrow from the Scottish Gallery at 16 Dundas Street.