We are delighted that our Morag Donkin exhibition opens this evening for a preview 4-6pm. 

Morag Donkin


23 June to 4 August 2018
Open Tuesday - Saturday 11 am - 5pm


Morag Donkin is an artist living and working in Edinburgh. She studied Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2013. She was awarded the Keith Prize by the Royal Scottish Academy in 2011 and the Fleming-Wyfold Award in 2012.

‘This exhibition brings together a collection of paintings that explore the woodland landscapes of Scotland. All trees have character and an ethereal beauty. Their seasonality and growth inspire wonder and we have a primal appreciation for their life, which surely is only deepened when we consider how their life supports our own.


I have a deep respect for trees. I am eternally compelled to paint them. As a subject they have so much to give, and their presence creates such atmospheric spaces. I walk the woodlands every day and I always find inspiring imagery. I look to explore that connection with my painting, and feed the aspects of the composition that drew my initial attention.


These paintings may feel familiar to anyone who has taken a woodland walk in Scotland. The forest can be a very personal experience and also of great comfort. I believe this exhibition reflects a positive time in my life and a growing gratitude for the natural world.


The materials I use in my painting are also important to my work. I do like to stay true to the forms and colours of the woodland, but I leave room for the paint to tell its own story and allow loose brushwork to mirror the organic nature of these spaces. Colour is a powerful medium and it can change the feel of everything in a piece.


I admire the work of Caspar David Friedrich, the 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter. His true admiration for the world is palpable in his vast archive of work. I am also influenced by Peter Doig and his fluid, fearless use of paint. Seeing what can be achieved in paint compels me to continue to explore the medium.


I continue to collect a visual database of the trees that I meet. For me, there is no end to their intrigue and unwavering authority. If landscape painting is unfashionable, I will continue to be unfashionable. I sincerely love the woodlands of Scotland.’

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Our Gardner Muirhead: Leitmotif exhibition opened on Saturday 2nd May and there was a great turnout for the unveiling of this exciting new body of mixed media artworks by the Glasgow-based artist. 

“Once I have a collection of materials which I think hint at a theme, I allow the images to make their own connections and dialogues. For around a week, the components are constantly in flux – rearranged, photographed, shifted - until they find their place together. It is by this process that they are organized into a composition. The end results are usually a surprise to me.” – Gardner Muirhead 

One of the most compelling aspects of Muirhead’s art practice is the way in which these concerns are combined with masterly printing technique, where found material is juxtaposed with an exacting approach to the craft and process of moku hanga or Japanese woodblock. This, combined with stencilled metal, spraypaint, lacquer and other materials give his mixed media collages an incredible variety of surface texture. 



To see the exhibition online, click here.

Exhibitions include:


2014
Wall Projects Christmas Exhibition, Montrose
Macmillan Annual Art Show, Caledonia Galleries, Glasgow
Scottish Home Show with Holburn Gallery, Aberdeen
Artsyland 8: New Graduates, Wall Projects, Montrose
Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
Best of Degree Show, Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow
Graduate Exhibition, Abernyte Art Gallery
Degree Show, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee
Spring Exhibition, The Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh
Teenage Cancer Trust Exhibition, Skypark, Glasgow

2013
Members Show, Generator Projects, Dundee, 
Passing Place, The Old Ambulance Depot, Edinburgh, 
Sommerausstellung, Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe
Erasmus Lichthof, Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe
The Undiscovered Landscape, Matthew Building, DJCAD, Dundee

2012
Lomond School Foyer (as part of residency), Helensburgh
Meeting Point , The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow
Something Palatable, Roseangle Gallery, Dundee

2011
Self Portrait Exhibition, Bradshaw Art Space,DJCAD, Dundee
The Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

2010
Helensburgh Art Club Annual Exhibition

The Sutton Gallery is delighted to be partnering with the Edinburgh Iranian Festival as a venue for a number of events this February. We are very excited to be able to present the first exhibition in Scotland of the renowned Iranian artist Hassan Meshkinfam. Featuring oil paintings, watercolour landscapes and a unique sequence of collages based on the poet Nima Yushij, this exhibition will provide a cross-section into the work of this extremely interesting contemporary artist.  

Born in 1954 to a gifted family of artists, Meshkinfam was educated in Iran and at the Besancon School of Fine Arts in Paris. He has exhibited his work widely both nationally and internationally and his work is in private and public collections in Iran, USA, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, Japan and the Czech Republic.  In 2003, Meshkinfam made a major contribution to the cultural life of his city, Shiraz, by founding the first private museum of art in Iran: The Meshkinfam Museum.

The exhibition opens with a preview on Saturday 7th February from 5 - 7pm. The exhibition continues until the 28th February. 

In addition to  the exhibition, the gallery will also be hosting two very special events in partnership with the festival:

Nima Yushij; Inspiring Poetry, Music & Art
Date: Saturday 14th Feb 2015
Time: 20:30 - 22:00
Venue: The Sutton Gallery, 18a Dundas Street, EH3 6HZ
Entry: FREE AdmissionWhat could be more romantic on Valentine’s Day than Persian Poetry?  

The work of the internationally acclaimed Iranian poet Nima Youshij (1896-1960), often regarded as the founder of modern Persian poetry, has inspired not only poets but many artists and musicians too.

Join us for an evening of poetry, music, and visual art at Sutton Gallery where in conjunction with an exhibition of Hassan Meshkinfam’s mixed media artworks, we will be presenting an evening of songs and words from the poet.

Hassan Meshkinfam’s work interprets and illustrates Nima’s poetry through arresting, dream-like imagery. Musician Majid Mokhberi will perform songs that take Nima’s verse as their lyrics. Members of the Edinburgh Iranian Festival Committee will read poems in both Persian and English, contextualising  Nima’s life and work.


Persian Music; Lecture, Performance and Workshop 
(Dr Parmis Mozafari)
Date: Friday 13th Feb 2015
Time: 20:0 - 21:00 
Venue: The Sutton Gallery, 18a Dundas Street, EH3 6HZ
Entry: FREE Admission
This talk will cover a historical overview of the condition of female musicians and dancers in Iran. Dr Parmis Mozafari, who will be delivering this talk, is a research fellow at the Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St Andrew. She did her BA and MA in music in Iran and received her PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Leeds. She is a Santur player and has taught music in Iran and ethnomusicology and Persian music in the UK.
The talk will be followed by a short performance by Dr Mozafari on Santur, and an introductory workshop on Traditional Iranian instruments, including an opportunity to get hands-on experience. 

We had a great opening for our Cat Outram exhibition, which opened on Friday. It's a great pleasure for us to be showing Cat's work in the gallery as we are all huge fans of her elegant compositions and distinctive style. Featuring a wide range of her etchings, including many new pieces, the exhibition focuses around 'light'. Continues until September 27th 2014.

Here are a few photos from our July exhibition preview yesterday evening featuring the artwork of Gordon Cheape and Giorgio Granozio, both of whom live in Edinburgh. It was great to see so many people at the gallery. The exhibition continues until 26th July so there's plenty of chance to see it, so head down to Dundas Street.

The paintings of Colin Wilson - currently on display at The Sutton Gallery - are causing quite a stir in Edinburgh. His hyper-real depictions of Edinburgh street scenes feature on the front page and in a double page spread of today's Edinburgh Evening News. Make sure you grab a copy to find out more and come in to the gallery to see them!  The Evening News tweet below is definitely worthy of a RT, don't you think?