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Crawfurd Adamson studied drawing and painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of
Art, Dundee from 1971-76. After receiving a post-graduate commendation, he won an
international scholarship to continue his studies for a further year in the south of
France.
As well as eighteen solo exhibitions in London, Edinburgh, Hong Kong and the USA, his work
has been exhibited in Madrid, Paris, Monte-Carlo, Japan, UK, and the USA. His work is
included in many collections around the world, both corporate and private, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
He has been featured in publications including Art Review, Art Line, The
Week, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Scotsman,
South China Morning Post and DeBrett`s "People of Today",
" The
human figure has always fascinated me. The subtle change of pose, balance or significant
gesture can give a potent impression of their physical presence and mood as well as their
relationship with themselves or to their surroundings. The years spent at Dundee art
college were highly stimulating for me, due to the importance placed on drawing and
painting the human form from life.
During my scholarship in
France and on the many subsequent visits there, and to the north west of Scotland, I
became more involved in landscape and the fleeting effects of light, but never quite
derived total satisfaction from this on its own. Paintings started to evolve that treated
the figure as an organic landscape element, often within landscapes. The figures became
related to water or to rocks, retaining their identity through an uncompromisingly
objective approach to drawing where this was required. Observations of human behaviour and
inter-reaction in social settings started to assume a greater role in the paintings and
offered scope to treat the group scenes in a less literal way, using stronger, often
unexpected colours and creating an overall composition that is more organic than
architectural.
Images, sketches and
studies from many sources are stored away and laid aside until they fit together in a new
form that can be placed onto the canvas. Although my observations of life serve as a
catalyst for the work that ensues, it is the search for ways of using colour to create
form, that drives me forward to paint. That, and a great love of drawing."
Crawfurd Adamson
2002
www.crawfurdadamson.com
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