Alison Dunlop

Drawing on the rich European tradition of Surrealism and an early influence of Canadian "magic realism", Alison's work continues to develop in even more compelling and thought-provoking ways. Boundaries between the real and the imagined are blurred as she creates subjects which, merging desires with reality, appear to be taken straight from dreams. With a sense of narrative, these dream-like constructions or figures play out their dance, frozen in time, against a backdrop of dramatic tension as she explores the interplay between light and dark, feminine and masculine, veiling and revealing. These intense and enigmatic images continue to resonate and intrigue long after the viewing.

Artist's Statement by Alison Dunlop RSW:

"I work at creating simple, yet arresting images, which communicate on several different levels. By manipulating 'objets trouves' and placing them together in an unexpected way, they're granted new meaning.

Realism lies at the heart of my technique and makes my images accessible and convincing, but this first impression is swiftly cast aside. I am concerned with creating symbols which resonate on both a personal and a collective level - my aim is to make the ordinary seem extraordinary, in a subtle way."

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Alison Dunlop Curriculum Vitae

Reviews and Articles

Alison Dunlop Image Gallery - Available Works

Bit Of A Twist

Hung I

Decoy II

Free Fall II

Tidal Treasure

Wee Decoy

Alison Dunlop Image Gallery - Archive

Sling

Flow

Fall II

A Taste Of Gravity

Knot IV

Knot Again

Twister II

Curriculum Vitae

Born in Canada in 1958, Alison began her studies there before continuing in France and Britain. In 1982, she came to Scotland to undertake postgraduate studies at Edinburgh College of Art, and has made Scotland her home.

In 1989 Alison was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and is a past Vice-President of the Society. She also served as President of Visual Arts Scotland for three years in the 1990s and has been made an honorary life member.

She is a founding Director of The Exhibiting Societies of Scottish Artists (ESSA) and a founding member of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni Association. She was Honorary Arts Convenor of the Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh from 2001-2004.

Twice the recipient of the Elizabeth T Greenshields Foundation Scholarship, she has been short listed several times for the Nobel Grossart Painting Prize and received the Alexander Graham Munro Award from the RSW in 1997.

Her oils and watercolours are widely held in both public and private collections throughout the UK and Canada, and have been featured in exhibitions at the following galleries:

LONDON GALLERIES: Panter and Hall; Thompson's Gallery; The Piccadilly Gallery; The Thackeray Gallery and also at The Bruton Gallery, Bath.

SCOTTISH GALLERIES: Tracey McNee Fine Art, Randolph Gallery, Edinburgh; The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh; The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh; The Stenton Gallery.

CANADIAN GALLERIES: Galerie Rochon, Toronto.

OPEN EXHIBITIONS: The Royal Scottish Academy; The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour; The Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts; Visual Arts Scotland.

CRITICAL REVIEWS:

"lurk[ing] in your mind like a thriller" The Herald, 1998.

"meticulous and metaphysically charged" Scotland on Sunday, 1998.

"Her considerable reputation stems from a series of highly finished still life paintings, each given a slightly surreal edge by a narrative title that belies a dry, incisive wit" Matthew Hall, Panter and Hall, 2002.

With our contemporary art gallery in Glasgow City Centre, we at Tracey McNee Fine Art aim to supply quality mid-career artists' works to the discerning collector. The gallery exhibits varied works with an emphasis on high quality figurative oil paintings from Scottish artists.