Still Life | The Beauty of the Ordinary offers a small homage to the monumental Les Choses exhibition held in The Louvre in 2022. Still life remains a thriving and classic genre in Scottish art practice.

Scottish artists have used still life as a medium to explore beauty, transience, and material culture. Embracing both tradition and innovation, these artists have drawn inspiration from historical influences while pushing the boundaries of form, composition, and meaning.

This April, we are delighted to welcome Nancy Fuller for her first solo exhibition with The Scottish Gallery. Nancy Fuller graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, with a degree in Fine Art Printmaking before obtaining a MA in the History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A Mandarin scholarship took her back to Taiwan, her country of birth, and it was there that she discovered the art of wood-firing. To design and build her own wood-kiln in Aberdeenshire, she undertook a yearlong training with anagama master Suzuki Shigeji in Shigaraki, Japan.

Lizzie Farey’s practice concentrates on wood and willow, which she harvests once a year from her willow field in Kirkcudbrightshire. Her work also incorporates foraged pussy willow, larch twigs, rushes, reeds and bog myrtle.

Natural forms provide both the foundation and inspiration for my work. My career in willow spans over thirty years, beginning in 1991, when I immersed myself in every aspect of the traditional craft of basketmaking. Once I had mastered these skills, I naturally transitioned towards more artistic forms and sculptures, allowing the beauty of the materials to emerge. My latest pieces aim to convey a sense of depth, calm, and simplicity. – Lizzie Farey