Coordinates: 57°27′51″N4°30′42″W / 57.4642°N 4.5118°W
Kilmorack Gallery - July 2015 showing the work of painter Alan MacDonald and sculptor Eoghan Bridge
Kilmorack Gallery reuses a converted church building for its exhibitions, in a rural location near Beauly in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It was established as a commercial gallery in 1997 after the building was purchased by art dealer Tony Davidson, believing that inspirational art could sit in an inspirational building just as well as in a white cube. By putting on consistently ambitious solo and mixed shows of some of the country's finest artists and sculptors, Kilmorack Gallery has established itself as one of Scotland's leading contemporary art galleries. The success of non-urban, destination galleries like Kilmorack 'has made "remote" more than ever a relative term', wrote art critic Duncan Macmillan of the Scotsman. Davidson and art critic Jan Patience featured on The Janice Forsyth Show in May 2013, speaking about the gallery and the works on exhibition.
Artists showcased include established and emerging Scottish painters and sculptors. These include Ade Adesina, Eduard Bersudsky, Helen Denerley, Sharmanka Kinetic Gallery, Eoghan Bridge, Laurence Broderick, Joyce W. Cairns, Kirstie Cohen, Helen Denerley, Steve Dilworth, Lotte Glob, Janette Kerr, Alan Macdonald, Pinkie Maclure, Peter White and George Wyllie.
On the fifteenth anniversary of Kilmorack Gallery, the art writer Georgina Coburn wrote: 'Kilmorack continues to be one of the most astute galleries in the country in the presentation of new work. It continues to show dynamic and powerful work which successfully challenges expectation.
The Church of Scotland kirk building was built in 1786, recast in 1835 and became a B listed building in 1971. The building had lain empty for twenty-fire years before changes were made for it to be used as an art gallery. This reuse is cited as one of the more fitting church adaptation. Since 1998 an iconic scrap metal lizard sculpture by Helen Denerley has been displayed on the outside of the gallery.
The memoir CONFESSIONS OF A HIGHLAND ART DEALER (Woodwose Books) was released in September 2022. This is Tony Davidson's debut novel and describes the history, people, places and philosophy behind Kilmorack Gallery. It was described by the Scotsman as an unexpected page-turner and was shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2022, the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Award 2023 and the Scottish National Book Awards, First Book Award 2023.
Alan Macdonald (born 1962) is a Scottish artist with work that is instantly recognisable for its theatricality and humour, and for bringing together Old Master techniques with Pop modernity. Macdonald's larger scale paintings often have a central figure surrounded by smaller humans and mythological figures. Elaborate clothing and nonsensical props add to the mystery and psychology of Macdonald's work.
Working in the Western painting tradition, 'Macdonald visually acknowledges his artistic heroes like Titian, Ingres, Goya or Van Dyke but also throws a grenade, actively subverting our expectations of how the female nude, portrait, self-portrait, landscape or history painting should behave.'
Growing up in Malawi there was no television, so Macdonald's early days were filled with imaginative play' and 'in "dusty colonial libraries" he discovered books on Reynolds, Whistler and Da Vinci.
At the age of 13, Macdonald and his family moved to Dundee, Scotland where he later graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee with a BA Hons. in Fine Art (1984), followed by a Post Diploma in Fine Art from Cyprus College of Art, Paphos, Cyprus (1985).
Macdonald spent his early artistic career in London before relocating to Scotland.
In 2014-2015 his work featured in 'REALITY: Modern and Contemporary British Painting' at the Sainsbury Centre for the Arts, Norwich and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
'Curated by artist Chris Stevens, the exhibition [brought] together over 50 works celebrating the strength of British painting,' including works by Walter Sickert, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, L.S.Lowry, Stanley Spencer, David Hockney, Ken Currie, Paula Rego, George Shaw, Alison Watt, and Caroline Walker.
In 2025 Madonald won the London Art Biennale 'Best Work' prize with his painting 'Euphorus.'
'Alan Macdonald's work can be found in public and private collections worldwide including : EMI London, Corinthia Hotel London, Kayley Hong Kong, WorldCom UK, Old Mutual London, Artemis Artforms Leeds, The Prudential London, Ampersand Hotel London and Scion Los Angeles.'
Alan MacDonald's wife (Carolynda Macdonald) and son (Rory Macdonald) are also artists with similar interests in fine painting that explores psychological spaces. They exhibited together as part of the 'House of MacDonald'' exhibition at Kilmorack Gallery in 2024.
Category:Living people Category:1962 births Category:Scottish artists
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