Joseph Urie was born in Glasgow, 1947, trained at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee and then at the Royal Academy Schools, London. He has won numerous awards, has exhibited widely and is held in various public collections throughout the UK.
This is his first solo show for a number of years and the first retrospective of his work to date. Despite taking a step back from public exhibitions he has maintained a prolific output of painting and drawing and for the past 3 years has been working on lino and woodcuts.
This exhibition will cover mainly work on paper from 1978 to the present day and will include earlier sketches, drawings, lithographs and oils on paper as well as showcasing his recent linocut work.
He is arguably best known for his large, painterly canvases packed with ambiguous symbolism – the paint applied thickly and swiftly with an apparent obsessive agitation. His sketches, again laid down quickly with a similarly frenetic style, are the foundations for these large canvases and are exhibited here giving a wonderful insight into the artistic process. Fully worked charcoal drawings, detailed pen and ink studies as well as vibrant watercolours document the journey Joe has been on – his hopes and dreams, fears, lost and found love, broken hearts, superstitions and mythology all can be found within the ambiguous symbolism of Joe’s work.
The majority of this work has never been exhibited and offers a great insight into the development of a unique artistic talent.
