Turner watercolour and work of Iona-based artist feature in exhibitions

28th March 2010

On Saturday 27th March 2010 two new exhibitions opened at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. The centre-piece to the Art of Progress exhibition will be a 1833 painting by JMW Turner of the old stone bridge across the River Ness, a striking landmark of its day, while works created by silversmithing and weaving by award winning Scottish artist Mhairi Killen feature in the Absent Voices exhibition.

'The Art of Progress' looks at how artists have presented architectural and industrial developments in rural and urban Highland landscapes. As well as the Turner watercolour, two black-and-white drawings of railway bridges in 1896, much simpler and more technical in style reflect the industrial optimism of the Victorians.

The exhibition also features some of the museum's collection of works by William Glashan, a local architect with a passionate interest in the heritage of Inverness. He recorded the town's streetscapes, knowing that much of what he painted would soon be demolished in the name of progress.

Two dramatic works by Inverness artist Gordon Harvey bring the exhibition up to date, with the Kessock Bridge under construction against a dark night sky and a massive oil rig in the Cromarty Firth. A more controversial theme is explored by the artist Bronwen Sleigh in her stark but delicate etchings of wind farms in the Highlands.

Museum Curator Catharine Niven welcomes the display of the Turner painting. She said: "It is a very evocative little picture and we are very pleased to be able to display it again. As a watercolour, it would fade very easily, so we can only display it occasionally, but it can be seen at the museum by appointment when it isn't on display."

`The Absent Voices' exhibition brings together contemporary craft and historical tradition through a series of installations by Iona-based artist Mhairi Killen. Each piece is interwoven with personal and collective memories influenced by some aspect of the environment and culture of the island that is the artist's ancestral home. Breaking down divisions between craft and fine art, the exhibition explores themes of identity, archaeology, memory and journeying and investigates the tradition and heritage of Iona, one of Scotland's most significant, beautiful and remote locations.

The recipient of many awards, including a Scottish Arts Council Creative Development Award in 2007, Mhairi Killen is a distinctive voice in Scottish contemporary art and has consistently challenged traditionally-held perceptions of arts and crafts practice. The artist has a family history of silversmithing and weaving and this combined with her studies in art at field archaeology inform her ongoing exploration of her environment, past and present. The exhibition is accompanied by a hand-finished limited edition notebook which documents the artist's working practice.