Catalogue for exhibition at Morningside Gallery March 2022
S T E P H E N M A N G A N S T I L L L I F E
MO R N I N G S I D E G A L L E R Y
S T E P H E N M A N G A N S T I L L L I F E
0 5 . 0 2 . 2 2 - 2 0 . 0 2 . 2 2
M O R N I N G S I D E G A L L E R Y
I N T R O D U C T I O N
A Stephen Mangan solo exhibition is a rare event and a first in Edinburgh since 2010. This exhibition, entitled Still Life, spans all of Stephen’s iconic subject matter - beach promenades, the racecourse, the theatre, tenements, harbours and figures - and it will captivate collectors of Stephen’s work and inspire those encountering it for the first time. What we find in Stephen’s work is more than a strong style. Stephen creates another world through his paintings, one which is at once familiar and otherworldly. Through his carefully planned out compositions and his slow, meticulous approach to painting, he creates a world with arresting presence and stillness. Whilst each painting is compelling on its own, when presented together the strength of Stephen’s vision is even more apparent. Stillness is palpable in Stephen’s harbour paintings, which are devoid of people and feature calm waters, the occasional lit window in a lighthouse acting as the only suggestion of human habitation. What is perhaps even more fascinating is the way that Stephen creates a sense of still and quiet contemplation even in his paintings of busy beaches, theatres and train stations. These are paintings populated by many people yet each person seems to inhabit their very own world. Stephen’s paintings invite us to be still, to stop and look, and we hope that you enjoy the exhibition as a whole as much as the individual works.
Eileadh Swan Gallery Director
Notes
All paintings are for sale and may be purchased or reserved prior to the exhibition opening. We kindly request that decisions on reserves are made by 12 noon on Friday the 4th of March. This catalogue features seventeen of the twenty paintings in the show. Please get in touch if you would like images of the additional three paintings.
All the sizes listed in the catalogue are framed sizes.
S T E P H E N M A N G A N S T I L L L I F E
The thread that runs through this exhibition is the search for stillness. Years ago when I began to find a way of painting people in quite a personal way I recall feeling that what was missing was a sense of place, somewhere for these characters to inhabit. Over the years I have built up in my paintings an environment that can suggest a story and create an atmosphere. Having been brought up around the beaches of East Lothian and my family home being next to the Racecourse, this seemed a good place to start. With the exception of the harbour and tenement paintings, my main preoccupation has been with people and the spaces they occupy. And what arose naturally was the composition and the sense of stillness in these works. It was natural that different places would become ideal to populate - places that would create a particular atmosphere and endless possibilities of human relationships and little dramas. Hence the cafes, the bars, the train stations and latterly the theatres. In all of these figurative works I of course owe a debt to the artists I admire and who have had a profound effect on me: Seurat, Vermeer and Hopper. By contrast, the harbour paintings are devoid of people, and the focus is on the boats, the masts, and the water. It is the harbour as its own character, and with its own personality, that is the focus here. Although my earlier harbour paintings did have a few people dotted about, it gradually occurred to me that the viewer of the painting should be the only human presence in these works. The viewer alone should be there to watch the reflections on the water and to witness the stillness of the place.
STEPHEN MANGAN
U N D E R T H E C L O C K O i l o n C a n v a s | 6 0 x 6 0 c m | £ 2 9 0 0
S T R E E T S C E N E O i l o n C a n v a s | 8 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 2 0 0
WA I T E R O i l o n C a n v a s | 8 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 2 0 0
L AT E A R R I VA L O i l o n C a n v a s | 1 0 8 x 1 0 8 c m | £ 5 0 0 0
P I A N O B A R O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 8 0 c m | £ 4 2 0 0
C O N D U C T O R O i l o n C a n v a s | 7 0 x 8 0 c m | £ 3 6 0 0
I N T E R VA L O i l o n C a n v a s | 7 0 x 8 0 c m | £ 3 6 0 0
L A D I E S D AY O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 6 0 0
J O C K E Y O i l o n C a n v a s | 5 4 x 6 0 c m | £ 2 2 0 0
J O C K E Y O i l o n C a n v a s | 5 4 x 6 0 c m | £ ? ? ? ?
T H E L A S T R A C E O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 6 0 0
D E C K C H A I R O i l o n C a n v a s | 1 2 0 x 1 0 0 c m | £ 6 0 0 0
E A R L Y B I R D O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 6 0 0
I N C O M I N G T I D E O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 6 0 0
B AT H E R O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 9 0 c m | £ 4 6 0 0
G I R L I N A S W I M M I N G C A P O i l o n B o a r d | 3 0 x 3 6 c m | £ 9 0 0
S W I M M E R O i l o n B o a r d | 3 2 x 3 5 c m | £ 9 0 0
T H E V E R O N I C A O i l o n C a n v a s | 9 0 x 1 0 0 c m | £ 5 0 0 0
B O Y I N A N E W S PA P E R H AT O i l o n B o a r d | 3 0 x 3 6 c m | £ 9 0 0
P O R T R A I T O F A G I R L O i l o n B o a r d | 3 0 x 3 3 c m | £ 9 0 0
B E F O R E T H E S T O R M O i l o n C a n v a s | 8 0 x 8 0 c m | £ 4 0 0 0
WA S H I N G D AY O i l o n C a n v a s | 7 0 x 5 0 c m | £ 2 8 0 0
STEPHEN MANGAN
Born in Edinburgh in 1964
Graduated in 1988 with a BA Hons degree in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone Art College, Dundee
Completed a Postgraduate Diploma (Drawing and Painting) in 1989
Recipient of numerous awards, including the Saltire Society Purchase Award, (RSA); John Murray Thomson Award, (RSA); the Guthrie Award, (RSA); City Sites Estates Art Award, Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) Exhibited widely, his paintings can be found in private and public collections globally, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
M O R N I N G S I D E G A L L E R Y 94 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4BY 0131 447 3041 art@morningsidegallery.co.uk www.morningsidegallery.co.uk
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