Vija Celmins, Uist

About

This exhibition offers visitors in the Western Isles the chance to see work by Vija Celmins, an artist best known for her intricate, monochromatic drawings. In 1966 she began to use photographs as the subject for her works, creating what she described as ‘impossible images’, which remind us of the complexity of the simplest things. The images on loan explore her meticulous renderings of the surface of the ocean, the vastness of the night sky and her fascination with the microscopic detail of a spider’s web. Works such as 'Drypoint - Ocean Surface' (1983) - so precisely, painstakingly rendered as to be frequently mistaken for a photograph - encourage us to reflect upon the vast, unknowable beauty of the natural world.

Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre is a partnership between Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath and the Uist Art Association, and is located in Lochmaddy, on the shoreline of a marine Special Area of Conservation. The sea and sky dominate in a western Atlantic environment that directly influences the artistic and cultural life of Taigh Chearsabhagh, and is perfectly suited to an exhibition of Vija Celmins' work.

As part of the exhibition there will be a range of events exploring the artist’s work, drawing particular emphasis on her use of printing techniques and references to astronomy and the night’s sky.