Calum Colvin OBE RSA (born Glasgow, 1961) is a Scottish artist whose work combines photography, painting, and installation, and often deals with issues of Scottish identity and culture and with the history of art. He has had solo exhibitions at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and Royal Scottish Academy and has a number of works in the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland, Tate Galleries, and the British Council.[1][2] He is also Professor of Fine Art Photography and Programme Director, Art & Media at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, part of the University of Dundee.[3][4]

Life and work

Colvin studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee from 1979 to 1983, gaining a diploma in sculpture, and at the Royal College of Art, London from 1983 to 1985, where he was awarded an MA in photography.[4]

His art generally involves taking a roomful of objects and painting a design on them so that when seen from one particular viewpoint it appears to form a flat image in a trompe-l'œil style. However, when seen from any other viewpoint the illusion would be broken. Colvin then takes photographs of the room from the particular viewpoint that preserves the illusion and exhibits the photograph. This means that at first glance the viewer thinks they see a flat image and only gradually can pick out the details revealing they are seeing a three-dimensional scene.[5]

His images are full of bright colours, and he initially worked with the Cibachrome colour process, commonly used in advertising and commercial photography.[6]

His exhibition Ossian Fragments of Ancient Poetry (2002) was inspired by James Macpherson's fraudulent works attributed to the ancient Celtic poet Ossian.[7][8][9][10] His exhibition Natural Magic (2009), took its title from David Brewster's Letters on Natural Magic; Brewster pioneered photography in Scotland as well as inventing the kaleidoscope and other optical devices. Colvin played with ideas about illusions and vision, including examining claims that Renaissance artist Jacopo Chimenti had invented stereoscopic images. The exhibition received a five star review from The Scotsman.[11]

Exhibitions

  • The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, 1993. Inspired by Hieronymous Bosch.[12]
  • Sacred and Profane, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 1998[13]
  • Ossian Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 2002[10]
  • Natural Magic, Royal Scottish Academy, 2009[11]
  • Burnsiana, 2013. Exhibition and book produced in collaboration with poet Rab Wilson.[14]

Permanent collections

Colvin's work is held in the following permanent collections:

Awards

  • Member of the Royal Scottish Academy
  • OBE, 2001, for his contribution to the visual arts

References

  1. 1 2 "Calum Colvin". National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Calum Colvin". Tate. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Calum Colvin". University of Dundee. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 "CV". CalumColvin.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Jamieson, Teddy (9 June 2013). "Interview: Calum Colvin: 'I grew up in a country with no say in its own future'". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Hodgson, Francis (5 March 1988). "Photography Two Scottish Photographers: Calum Colvin and Ewan Fraser". The Spectator: 37.
  7. ↑ Gaskill, Howard (2004). The Reception of Ossian in Europe. Continuum. p. 404. ISBN 9780826461353.
  8. ↑ Miller, Phil (13 September 2002). "Mythical third century Celtic bard returns in Calum Colvin exhibition for National Galleries tour of Scotland Artist breathes new life into tale of Ossian". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Cox, Roger (4 October 2002). "Pick of the day Ossian - Fragments of Ancient Poetry". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 Price, Stuart (28 December 2002). "Books: Pick of the week Ossian - Fragments of Ancient Poetry: new works by Calum Colvin To 9 Feb Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh". The Independent (UK). Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Art review: Calum Colvin, Natural Magic". The Scotsman. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  12. ↑ gallery23edinburgh (3 February 2017). "Artist Talk: Calum Colvin & Burnsiana". Gallery 23. Retrieved 24 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "Edinburgh Printmakers". Edinburgh Printmakers. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  14. ↑ "Arts News". The Glasgow Herald. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Calum Colvin". British Council. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
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