[Decorative glazed panel inspired by the landscapes of the west coast of Scotland, the Orkney Islands and the island of Canna] [art original] /
Smith, Ian McKenzie,1935-
[Scotland],
[1988?]
An art original.
Statement by the artist: The point of reference of much of my work over the past 25 years has been the west coast of Scotland and the Orkney Islands. A recent return visit to Canna, home of the renowned Gaelic scholar, John Lorne Campbell, prompted me to produce a number of related works drawing on its remarkable landscape and seascape. The process of "distillation" as it may be described is not one which can be explained easily. The "place" is absorbed over a longer period of "gestation", until it becomes "Lodges within". The unconscious is then free to give up the material, resisting any wilful impulse to dictate or forge an image. This attitude is "doing without knowing", as before all else, the making of the picture requires uninhibited spontaneity and naturalness. [Note: the original panel by Ian McKenzie Smith was cracked, and this is his second choice. It is not clear if his comments relate to all the panels he prepared, or only to his original design.]
One of a series of twelve decorative glazed panels which were previously arranged on levels 3 to 7 of the north facade of the National Library of Scotland's Causewayside Building. A group of Scottish artists were commissioned to create these panels which were then incorporated into the building which opened in 1988. The artists represented are Barbara Rae, Elizabeth Blackadder, Gordon Bryce, John Houston, William Littlejohn, Frances Walker, Glen Onwin, William Crosbie, Michael Docherty, Charles Pulsford, Ian McKenzie Smith and George Donald.
Glass painting and staining
Glass art