Ruth Nicol’s 'Eask Neuk' Exhibition at the Junor Gallery
by Ilaria Bevan
Several weeks ago, the Junor Gallery opened its first exhibition that contemplates the exquisite landscapes by Ruth Nicol entitled, East Neuk. The Edinburgh native has explored the beautiful landscapes of Fife that we students of St. Andrews know and love.
Although Beth Junor, the gallery owner and curator of the exhibition, and Nicol met only last summer whilst creating the group exhibition Landmarks, the two had a ‘good working relationship’ from the beginning, according to Junor. From reading about the exhibition, Ruth’s work stood out against the other artists in the show (Alan Riach and Alexander (Sandy) Moffat) and this reigns true in her solo show in the South Street establishment.
I was fortunate enough to have visited the gallery twice during the instalment of Nicols’ landscapes and even more fortunate to have helped Junor and one of her her volunteers hang up a rather large landscape entitled Anstruther, Fife (2019). It was such a pleasure to see how Junor curates her exhibitions and she does so with diligence and thoughtfulness. Despite her only been curating art exhibits for a few years, she believes that ‘we ‘curate’ in life all the time, in the widest sense of the word’ – something which I, upon reflection, can certainly apply to my life. Using such a philosophy, she understands that ‘each [exhibition] is unique and will present its own challenges and joys’, much like life does. Upon visiting the gallery after the installation’s completion, it is safe to say that the arrangement of the pictures is both aesthetically pleasing (I am an Art History student, I had to use that phrase) and delicate.
Ruth Nicol, Anstruther, Fife, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 150 cm, St. Andrews.
Junor has arranged the pieces so that they compliment one another in terms of their vibrant colours and expressive application of acrylic paint but also the various angles Nicol focuses on. Initially, the exhibition was going to feature her previous work, however Nicol decided to travel to East Neuk to observe, sketch and take inspiration from the gorgeous Scottish landscapes in the area. After taking around 4000 photographs of the scenes, she diligently planned and reworked her compositions in a plethora of sketchbooks. The sum of all this hard work is clearly seen in her paintings and conté crayon drawings.
Interestingly, when I saw the final grouping of pictures, Junor revealed to me that each scene is actually linked by one subtle recurring motif; the road. In our busy and faced-paced society, it is difficult to stop and appreciate the beauty around us, even if we do live in St. Andrews for the majority of the year. Junor says,
“The way we travel through a landscape with a sense of anticipation is beautifully captured in her work. Neither does she shy away from including wind turbines or telephone wires in her paintings. She contrasts the built environment, drawn with precision, with large areas of canvas painted in a freer, but equally skilled style.”
By including this familiar atmosphere of modernity into landscapes that rival those reimagined by Charlotte Brontë in Wuthering Heights, Nicol appears to indicate to the viewer that even in areas seemingly untouched by metropolitan life, contemporaneity is ever-present. Moreover Nichol, in not being afraid to address the harmony between the natural and artificial elements present in these landscapes, presents a new, perhaps more realistic perspective on our environment. Instead of rendering the landscapes bleak or ugly due to human touch, she instead uses her abstract brushwork and imaginative colour palette consisting primarily of pinks, blues, purples and greens to guise the viewers into seeing a new version of Scotland.
When asking Junor about what she might wish a viewer to take from the exhibition, she thought exactly this. She wishes them to take a ‘sense of pride’ in their surroundings and feels that Nichol has helped them reimagine East Neuk’s ‘wide skies, the sea’s beauty and power […] its history’. Nichol paints her landscapes with such integrity and with great raw emotion that it is hard to not be fascinated with her vision of East Neuk.
Being biased myself; I was transfixed by her images of St. Andrews, particularly West Sands, St. Andrews I and II, diptych (2019). This enormous image that refers back to Junor’s previous curatorial choices in Landmarks definitely changed my perception of this beloved St. Andrews spot on my next visit several days later. Although I cannot say my view that day was quite as psychedelic as Nichol depicts, I could almost feel the colours and the movements of the sensational brushstrokes on the canvas – albeit, it was extremely windy.
Ruth Nicol, West Sands, St. Andrews I and II, diptych, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 150 cm (each panel), St. Andews.
Nevertheless, I believe that whether you are a local of East Neuk, a student of St. Andrews, or a visitor looking to play a good round of golf, this exhibition is definitely worth a visit. As we go into the darker, colder winter months, Nichol’s injection of colour in Junor’s cosy space will certainly liven up your day.
East Neuk is open until March 7th 2020.