Art

Visual expression allows us to communicate with each other and express emotions as well as personal experiences. Glasgow is very fortunate to have such a diverse range of art collections and there are two main galleries in the city centre, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. I have visited both of these galleries to view the variety of exhibitions on display and I was amazed at how many different forms there can be to visual expression. The space used for the exhibition can have a huge impact on the visual works and everyone has a different opinion on them. I think the gallery that had the biggest impact on me was the Gallery of Modern Art.

The Gallery of Modern Art opened in 1996 and is situated at Royal Exchange Square in the heart of Glasgow city centre. The building was refurbished and has a blend of old and modern architecture which appeals to many. Entrance to the gallery is free and this attracts millions of visitors and as a result of this, the gallery continuously changes and develops in order to attract new visitors. There are also several educational workshops that take place in the Gallery throughout the year which are aimed for all ages. Details of such events and the exhibitions that are taking place can be found on this website: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=3



The exhibition that I found most interesting was the “Echo & Transcend” exhibition which focussed on abstract art. The first thing that I noticed once I entered the gallery was some information about abstract art and one of the phrases that I thought was really interesting was “Similar to musical compositions, the works here are independent objects that don’t imitate nature.” There were many works from a variety of artists, such as John McLean, William Gear and Bridget Riley. It was the works of Bridget Riley that I found most interesting as she is an optical artist and her works seem to vibrate, pulsate or flicker, and this is achieved by the precise use of certain combinations of patterns and colours that have a physical effect on the eye. One of my favourite works was “Cataract 2” as it seemed to grab my attention more than the others and I felt that there was so much to discuss about this piece of art.

The exhibition had a mixture of 2D and 3D works and was situated in a very large space with lots of natural light. The architecture was also extremely ornate and this made the exhibition even more interesting.

I attended the gallery with a few friends and we all had very different opinions of the art. We also had some discussions on what the art could represent and what emotions were supposed to be conveyed. All of this was very interesting and made me fully appreciate the exhibition and realise that visual expression is a fundamental element to society.