The 2008 exhibition Inspired comprised favourite pieces from The Fleming Collection picked by its admirers including artists, curators, museum directors, gallerists, art collectors, members of staff at Flemings and at Fleming Family and Partners. Co-curated by Lucia Lindsay, Assistant Keeper of Art at The Fleming Collection and Tim Cornwell, Arts Correspondent for The Scotsman, this second exhibition brings the world of painting in touch with some of today’s leading lights in music, film, theatre, poetry and literature as well as artists and philanthropists.
Favourite paintings are described in a variety of media with references to
Scotland
’s rich cultural heritage as well as international painting and music across the centuries. Musicians from a broad range of genres, from classical opera to blackened future folk and pop have linked their own compositions or performances to their chosen painting. Since the gallery was founded collaborations with playwrights and musicians have resulted in new works including pieces by The Clamjamfry Company, performed at the gallery in 2007, and Scottish Miniatures, performed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at The Cheltenham Festival in 2006. Poet Jen Hadfield has based her poem written for this exhibition on the shape of Alasdair Wallace’s Flock of Birds. The exhibition illustrates how frequently set design and painting overlap and inspire one another. Opera director David McVicar’s gives his thoughts on James Pryde’s Unknown Corner and film producer Andrew Macdonald comments on his use of paintings by Stephen Conroy.
Tim Cornwell, Arts Correspondent, The Scotsman comments that, “from an arts journalist’s point of view, The Fleming Collection and its Keeper Selina Skipwith have proved an invaluable, independent resource on the Scottish art scene. It comes with no agenda, no politics, and as a London-based institution takes the long view of Scottish art. Its original guidelines of collecting Scottish scenes, or the work of Scottish artists, has given it an increasingly broad reach, particularly in the expanding world of Scottish contemporary art.”
