JOYCE GUNN CAIRNS - HOW WE LIVE WITH OTHER SPECIES

23 February - 29 March 2021

This exhibition is a tribute to our love of other species, the huge importance that some individual animals have in our hearts and in our lives and as such, 10% of all sales will go towards the artist's wildlife charity of choice

In our opinion, Joyce Gunn Cairns is one of the finest artists working in the UK today and we are privileged to be presenting this solo exhibition
All works can be delivered to your door, or collected at a later date. UK delivery is free

All the paintings are framed in cream

ESTHER WOOLFSON FOREWORD
"When the philosopher Tom Regan described animals as ‘biographical’ beings, he was making both a statement and a plea for us all to change how we look at and treat other species. He was asking us to recognise the lives of other creatures as richly valuable and worthy of respect.

In the work of Joyce Gunn Cairns, Regan’s plea is met. Each creature she portrays is an individual, expressive of him or herself, each occupying a unique, significant place in a world in which the usual hierarchies of biology have lost their meaning. In this world, all—spider, mouse, bee, fox or human— enjoy a rare but perfect equality.

Joyce’s meticulous observation of form springs from a profound knowledge and love of other species. Her creatures are not ‘studies’, distanced and other. They’re close to us in both life and death. Through her work, we know her cats as individuals of character , history and inclination. We recognise her crows as who they are—vibrantly intelligent, watching, questioning. When she portrays humans and animals together, the portrayals are suffused by compassion, tenderness and love as, in all her work, entire lives are presented to us delicately in line and light.

It has probably never been as important as it is now for us to see, and treat other species differently. With Joyce’s work, we make a beginning."


PAYMENT PLAN
Any work can be paid up over 6 months interest free

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Joyce Gunn Cairns MBE trained in Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art, having previously completed a degree in German and Comparative Religion at Aberdeen University. She has become one of Scotland’s most cherished artists, with nine works in the permanent collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, five works in the permanent collection of the City Art Centre, and works in other major collections including Balliol College, Oxford and Jesus College, Cambridge.
Drawing on her deep sensitivity and appreciation of literature, at the core of Gunn Cairns’ practice is expressive figurative work, including portraits and wildlife studies. From some of Scotland’s most eminent cultural figures to an otter or a dormouse, whatever the subject, Gunn Cairns draws them with the same delicacy of perception and appreciation.
Her work has been well reviewed across the board, including by Duncan MacMillan, who commented: "Joyce Gunn Cairns' remarkable paintings ... demonstrate how many different kinds of visual truths there are ;..... in these graphic and unflinching images, she not only manages that sense of reaching out to touch; she conveys how, from inwards, we feel outward; what it is like to be in one's own skin..." Duncan MacMillan, The Scotsman
She was awarded MBE for services to the arts in the June 2004 Queen's Honours List


We are very much looking forward to reopening and seeing you all again soon

Thank you so much for your support

Natalie x

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