I visited the opening of the inaugural Glasgow Art Show last night. This brand new venture has hopes of replacing the hugely successful Glasgow Art Fair.
For the last fifteen years the fair sprang up in George Square in the centre of the city heralding spring and, for a few days, a fabulous variety of quality galleries exhibited all aspects of the visual arts.
It was almost impossible to avoid the huge marquee in the centre of the city, and people from all walks of life would be tempted in. This was one of it's finest qualities, that people not necessarily familiar with gallery-going would see the finest work that Glasgow, Scotland and beyond had to offer.
I actually thought the new format, housed in the a large conference room in a hotel, would have no chance of competing, but I think I was mistaken. It was laid out incredibly well and it captured the roving excitement of the original art fair. It was not as spacious as expected, and the general quality of the work was lower than the Fair, but this is also to be expected in its first year.
I really enjoyed the experience, and came away feeling hopeful.
Good luck to all the galleries taking part. I so hope the red dots will be popping up throughout the weekend, and that Glasgow will once again have it's great annual celebration of creativity in the visual arts.
Thanks for reading!
Natalie
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