Catalogue for Kate Bentley's solo exhibition at Morningside Gallery May 2025
THE WEE P ICTURE
JOE HARGAN PPAI PAI RGI
MORNINGSIDE GALLERY
THE WEE PICTURE JOE HARGAN PPAI PAI RGI
22.11.25 - 07.12.25
MORNINGSIDE GALLERY
INTRODUCTION
Scottish artist Joe Hargan was born in 1952 in Glasgow. He studied Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1970 – 74 under Danny Ferguson RSW. RGI., James Robertson RSW. RGI. RSA. PAI. and Dr David Donaldson RSA. RGI. D.LITT (Queen’s Limner). A well recognised and respected figure on the Scottish art scene, Joe has been the recipient of numerous awards, from the Glasgow School of Art Painting Prize back in 1972, the Royal Scottish Academy Maude Gemmell Hutchison Award in 2002 and more recently the Paisley City of Culture Bid Award in 2021. And plenty of others in between. Joe is from a generation of artists who value their own work as part of a bigger picture; with a sense of responsibility and reciprocity, Joe has worked tirelessly over the years to protect and promote the visual arts for the artists and public of today, as much as those of tomorrow. These values, coupled with his great aptitude for paperwork and deciphering legalese, have resulted in his frequent election to leadership roles within art institutions. Among many other leadership positions over the years, Joe has been President and Chairman of the Paisley Art Institute from 1989 - 2000 and President of the Glasgow Art Club from 2017- 2020, again returning to the Presidency of the Paisley Art Institute in 2022 (ongoing). The last few years have been a challenging time for Joe and many others, and a legal battle with Renfrewshire Council surrounding the future of the Paisley Art Institutes’s building, exhibition spaces and its large £4 million collection of Scottish paintings, has taken up a lot of his time and energy. Joe has been at the centre of all of this, working round the clock to ensure that the permanent collection and the contemporary annual exhibitions have a future, and most importantly, that the young artists of tomorrow have some of the same opportunities that he and his peers have had in the past. This is a rather long and serious introduction to an artist who many people associate first and foremost with the tongue- in-cheek ‘Sniffy’ paintings - masterfully colourful paintings featuring the ‘sniffy’ rotund butler within gallery and stately home settings, always surrounded by old masters and an air of the ridiculous. Not only finely executed, these paintings offer humorous and sometimes surreal vignettes of the good life - wine flows and there is always cake, as we are treated to a painting within a painting, a Canaletto or a John Singer Sargent from the end of Joe’s brush. There is always a little more than meets the eye however, and these ‘Sniffy’ paintings are a commentary of sorts, with Joe’s playful juxtapositions of the traditional and the modern raising questions about the value of contemporary art, and his humorous ‘vignettes’ providing us with a visual picture of some of the debates that take place in the strange and
wonderful place that is the art world today. Even with all of its challenges and contradictions - and perhaps because of them - it is Joe’s world, the place he has inhabited creatively for decades and the source of his inspiration. Joe’s ‘wee pictures’ give us an insight into the art world’s bigger picture. The ‘Sniffy’ paintings can be enjoyed on their own, but it is in the context of a solo show like this that we can really ap - preciate them as part of the larger narrative of Joe’s life and work. The solo exhibition is also an opportunity to show the breadth of Joe’s creative output, and in particular, some of his larger figurative paintings, which reveal his life-long study of Western art and culture and his ability to see and make connections between its past, present and future. In his early 70s now, Joe’s unshakeable energy and commitment to the arts is admirable and the future will undoubtedly remember his contributions as an individual artist and for the work he has done to promote visual art in the West of Scotland and Scotland more generally. For now though, we are able to delight in his paintings, and to treat ourselves to a full exhibition of work by one of Scotland’s most accomplished painters. From the largest gestural abstracts to the wee pictures, Joe’s brushwork is irresistible and feels like painting at its most fluent. Finally, both Joe and I would like to dedicate this exhibition to the unforgettable Dr Andrew Flapan, who passed away earlier this year. It is safe to say that Andrew was the biggest collector and supporter of Joe’s work over the last few decades. A regular visitor to the gallery and keen follower of Joe’s work, he knew about each and every Sniffy painting, which gallery it was at, and perhaps to the panic of his very patient wife, where he might find a space for it on his walls. Sniffy paintings were hidden at work before he would attempt to sneak new purchases into the house, a plan that never quite went unnoticed. A true collector - and self acknowledged obsessive about Joe’s work - Andrew never stopped finding joy and delight in the paintings, and perhaps experienced more than a few moments where life seemed to imitate art! Always interested in the quirks of life and people (including himself), Andrew’s genuine warmth, kindness, and presence will be remembered by all of us here at the gallery, Joe and Anne-Louise, and of course Sniffy himself!
Eileadh Swan Gallery Director
The Wee Picture Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 108 x 108 cm £9500
A Good Nose Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 108 x 108 cm £9500
The Opener Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 72 x 72 cm, £4500
Cat Lady Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 72 x 72 cm, £4500
Figure in a Landscape Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 46 x 46 cm £1800
Summer Fayre Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 46 x 46 cm £1800
In The Pink Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 72 x 72 cm, £4500
The Art Lover Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 78 x 78 x cm, £4800
En Vacances Oil on Board, Framed Size: 47 x 65 cm £2700
Mum and I Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 45 x 56 cm £2200
Striking a Pose Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 108 x 108 cm £9500
ABOVE Jannie Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 47 x 47 cm, £1400 R IGHT The Venetian Suite Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm, £6500
That’s Ma Boy Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm £6500
A Dog’s Life Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm, £6500
I Dream of Jeanie Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 125 x 125 cm £10,500
Moroccan Scape Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 46 x 46 cm £1800
Sunbather Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 46 x 46 cm, £1800
Moon Shadow Mixed Media, Framed Size: 128 x 128 cm £9500
Jack and Jill Oil on Board, Framed Size: 47 x 65 cm £2700
Ramona Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 47 x 65 cm £2700
R IGHT The Recital Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm, £6500 ABOVE Lucille Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 46 x 46 cm, £1800
A Little Sniff Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 72 x 72 cm, £4500
Horse Play Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm £6500
Little Marie Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 52 x 52 cm £2500
Jenny Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 45 x 56 cm £2200
Jen Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 42 x 42 cm £1100
Jonathan Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 37 x 37 cm £900
ABOVE Yupin Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 45 x 56 cm, £2200 R IGHT On Duty Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 72 x 72 cm, £4500
The Family Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 158 x 158 cm £20,000
A Good Night In Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm £6500
Fifi and the Muse Oil on Canvas, Framed Size: 93 x 93 cm £6500
Little Kate Oil on Canvas Board, Framed Size: 52 x 52 cm £2500
Mia and the Songbird Oil on Board, Framed Size: 36 x 39 cm £1100
B IOGRAPHY
Scottish artist Joe Hargan, was born in 1952 in Glasgow. He studied Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1970 – 74 under Danny Ferguson RSW. RGI., James Robertson RSW.RGI.RSA.PAI. and Dr David Donaldson RSA. RGI. D.LITT (Queen’s Limner). Joe is a well recognised and respected figure on the Scottish art scene. He was President and Chairman of the Paisley Art Institute from1989 – 2000 and he has been President of the Glasgow Art Club since 2018. Joe is also the recipient of numerous awards. Joe is a master of colour and tongue in cheek humour. His paintings are not only finely executed; they offer humorous and sometimes surreal vignettes of the good life. These feature Sniffy and various other characters within striking gallery and stately home settings. Recurring symbols and metaphors abound within the paintings, and one is often treated to a painting within a painting. An old master within a new master. Having a real thirst for knowledge, Joe values learning as a life long pleasure rather than a school bound necessity. Within a single painting one can find, he references to Velazquez and Damian Hirst sitting side by side. This is alongside symbols of the good life (wine), learning (books), and contemporary culture (the burger). He juxtaposes apparently opposing forces within single paintings. Contemporary art and the art of the old masters, ‘high’ culture and ‘low’ culture. More recently, the political positions of Leave and Remain, symbolised by the flags of the Union Jack and the European Union.
N O T E S :
All paintings are for sale and may be purchased or reserved upon receipt of this catalogue. We kindly request that decisions on reserves are made by 5pm on Friday the 21st of October. Please contact us if you would like further images of a painting or to arrange an in-gallery or virtual viewing appointment prior to the exhibition opening.
Painting sizes are width x height.
MORNINGSIDE GALLERY 94 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4BY 0131 447 3041 | art@morningsidegallery.co.uk | www.morningsidegallery.co.uk
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