Gerald Laing
Encyclopedia
Gerald Ogilvie Laing was a British pop artist and sculptor. He lived in the Scottish Highlands
.
and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
before St Martin's School of Art.
Laing’s career took him from the avant-garde world of 1960s pop art
, through minimalist sculpture, followed by representational sculpture and then back full circle to his pop art roots.
In 1993 the Fruitmarket Gallery
in Edinburgh
staged a retrospective exhibition of Laing's work.
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.
Life
Laing was born in Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
before St Martin's School of Art.
Laing’s career took him from the avant-garde world of 1960s pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, through minimalist sculpture, followed by representational sculpture and then back full circle to his pop art roots.
In 1993 the Fruitmarket Gallery
Fruitmarket Gallery
The Fruitmarket Gallery is an art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the centre of the city on Market Street, beside Edinburgh Waverley train station....
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
staged a retrospective exhibition of Laing's work.
Work
Notable works include:- Brigitte BardotBrigitte BardotBrigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
(1962) painting and subsequent screen prints including dragsters and the Baby Baby Wild Things series (late 1960s) - Callanish (1974) abstract steel sculpture for the campus of Strathclyde University to mimic the Callanish Stones
- The Galina series including An American Girl (1977)
- Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
(1991), Picardi Place, Edinburgh - Axis MundiAxis mundiThe axis mundi , in religion or mythology, is the world center and/or the connection between heaven and Earth. As the celestial pole and geographic pole, it expresses a point of connection between sky and earth where the four compass directions meet...
(1995), Tanfield House, Edinburgh, Scotland - Twickenham Rugby Players (1995), London, England
- Bank Station Dragons (1995), Bank tube station, London
- Falcon Square (2001), Inverness, Scotland
- New Paintings for Modern Times (2004–2009): a series of work drawn from the Gulf war and modern media