Stuart Duffin RE ARSA

Artist’s statement

In 1996 I was invited to work in Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Print Workshop for a month as part of an international artists exchange with the Glasgow Print Studio. Although Jerusalem is the closest that we can get to heaven of our own accord, nowhere more than in the Holy City did I experience the loss of paradise, or our separation from God in a more painfully obvious way. This is a loss or a searching that I believe remains deep within the make up of each one of us. All my work since then has been a result of the experiences, thoughts and memories of Jerusalem.

The work is, on one hand, a simple still life of familiar (to me) everyday objects. But on the other hand there is symbolism attached to them. It is a personal symbolism but not so personal that the viewer cannot enter in to it. The old maps and modern views of Jerusalem, central to the whole body of my work, represents the view that the welfare of Jerusalem is a barometer to our own spiritual welfare, not only as individuals but of society as a whole.

CV

1959 Born in the United Kingdom
1982 Graduated in fine art printmaking from Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, Scotland.
1984-present Member of Staff at the Glasgow Print Studio (Studio
Manager 1989 – 2002)

Currently working primarily in mezzotint, etching and painting as the Studio Etcher at the Glasgow Print Studio.

Awards and elections

2000 Award winner at the SSA (Society of Scottish Artists) annual exhibition
1996 Elected an associate of the RSA (Royal Scottish Academy)
Exchange artists to the Jerusalem Print Workshop
1995 Elected Fellow of the RE (Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers)
Elected professional member of the SSA (Society of Scottish Artists)
1992 Exchange artist to the Senej Print Workshop Moscow, Russia
1991 Elected associate of the RE (Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers)
1989 Award winner, Scottish drawing exhibition, Paisley Museum
Award winner, 2nd Irish miniature print exhibition, Dublin
Award winner, 1st British miniature print exhibition, Bristol (touring UK)
1987 Scottish Arts Council award to travel and study in Italy
1986 Award winner, 1st Irish miniature print exhibition, Dublin

Selected exhibitions

2004 Out of darkness (international mezzotints) Glasgow Print Studio.
2003 Two international mezzotint artists, Davidson Galleries, Seattle USA
Between paradise and the Abyss, solo exhibition Leith School of Art, Edinburgh
2002 National Print Open, Mall Galleries, London
2001 Sacred Science, solo exhibition Glasgow Print Studio
1999 Glasgow Print Studio in India, (Mumbai, Barroda Jaipuri, Madras, Hyderabad)
1998 Dreaming of Jerusalem, solo exhibition, Gallery of the Jerusalem Print Workshop
1997 Dreaming of Jerusalem, solo exhibition, Glasgow Print Studio Gallery III
1995 National Print Open, Mall Galleries, London
The Colour of ashes, solo exhibition, Glasgow Print Studio Gallery I
1993 International exhibition of graphic art, Kharkov Museum, Ukraine
1991 Contemporary Scottish Printmaking, USSR Union of Artists Hall, Moscow
International miniature prints New York and touring USA (also in 89 and 85)
1990 11th International Print Biennale, Bradford and London
1989 Nostalgia, solo exhibition, Glasgow Print Studio Gallery
Laughter and Forgetting, solo exhibition, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
1988 Ka De We, Scottish Printmaking in Berlin
1986 International Contemporary Art Fair, Los Angeles
1985 International miniature prints Cadaques, Spain

Stuart Duffin regularly lectures on his own work and Scottish printmaking to a wide range of arts groups. He regularly teaches specialist printmaking classes at the Glasgow Print Studio and at colleges and universities. He has been a selector for such exhibitions as the National Print Open at the Mall in London and the Royal Scottish Academy. He has work in many public and private collections including the BBC, Glasgow University, The Jerusalem Foundation and Kharkov Museum.

Contact

Stuart Duffin, 40 Cromarty Ave, Glasgow G43 2HG, Scotland.
t: 0044 (0)141 632 7432
e: info@stuartduffin.com
Website: www.stuartduffin.com