Ronald Forbes Biographical information
Ronald Forbes
Biography
Artist. (paintings, films and works in various printmaking and drawing media)
Higher Education
1964-68 DA (Edin) Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art
1968-69 SED Postgraduate Scholarship, Edinburgh College of Art
1970-71 Jordanhill College of Education
Professional Experience
2006-2008 Leverhulme Artist in Residence at Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee
2005 Elected Royal Scottish Academician
2003 Appointed Visiting Professor of Fine Art, University of Abertay Dundee
1996-2001 Head of Drawing and Painting, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art.
1996 Elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy
1995 Artist-in-Residence, Hobart Centre for the Arts, University of Tasmania
1983 -1995 Director of the MA/MFA programme Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art.
1980 Scottish Arts Council Amsterdam Studio Award.
1979-83 Lecturer Glasgow School of Art.
1978-80 Artist-in Residence, Livingston New Town
1974-78 Head of Painting Crawford School of Art, Cork, Ireland.
1973-74 Leverhulme Senior Art Fellow, Department of Architecture and Building Science, University of Strathclyde.
1972-73 Lecturer Bell College, Hamilton
1972 Elected a Professional Member of the Society of Scottish Artists
1971 Founder chairman of the Glasgow League of Artists.
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2011 Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Perth
2010 Collins Gallery, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
2010 John Hope Gateway Centre, Botanics, Edinburgh
2009 Hannah Maclure Centre, University of Abertay, Dundee
2009 Edinburgh International Science Festival, CAC, Edinburgh
2008 Scottish Art Club, Edinburgh
2007 Hamnavoe Gallery, Aberdeen
2005 Hannah Maclure Centre, University of Abertay, Dundee
2005 Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling
2003 Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews
2001 Vardy Gallery, Sunderland
2001 Royal Over-Seas League Gallery, Edinburgh
2001 Fine Art Gallery, University of Tasmania, Australia
2000 Royal Over-Seas League Gallery, London
1999 Southern Illinois University Museum, Carbondale, USA
1999 Sonia Zaks Gallery, Chicago, USA
1997 De Keerder Kunstkamer, Cadier en Keer, Netherlands
1996 NS Gallery, Glasgow
1995 Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
1995 Seagate Gallery, Dundee
1995 An Lanntair Gallery, Stornoway
1991 Maclaurin Art Ga1lery, Ayr
1991 Perth Museum and Art Gallery
1990 Seagate Gallery, Dundee
1986 Babbity Bowster, Glasgow
1984 Drian Galleries, London
1983 Compass Gallery, Glasgow
1980 Third Eye Centre, Glasgow
1980 Forebank Gallery, Dundee
1980 The Lanthorn, Livingston
1978 Cork Art Society Gallery
1976 Project Arts Centre, Dublin
1976 Cork Art Society Gallery
1975 Drian Galleries, London
1974 Collins Gallery, Glasgow
1974 Goethe Institute, Glasgow
1973 CompassGallery, Glasgow
Curated Exhibitions
Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Forbes/Robb
1979 Aberdeen Art Gallery
1978 Fruit Market Gallery, Edinburgh
1978 Collins Gallery, Glasgow
1978 Arts Council Gallery, Belfast
Netherlands Touring Exhibition
Forbes/Nelson/Shaw
1983 Netherlands and Belgium
Hoensbruck, Roermond, Maastricht and Liege
“Nature: Only and Idea”
with Nicole Hardy and Jannel
2002 Galerie Trace, Maastricht, Netherlands
“Parallel Paths” Doug Cocker and Ronald Forbes
2006 Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 Invited artist Art and Social Engagement, RSA Annual, Edinburgh
2001 ”4th Australian Artist Book Fair, Brisbane
2001 “Four by Four” Artists’ Books at Fine Art Gallery, University of Tasmania
2000 “Spool: An Exhibition of Prints by Scottish Artists” Manhattan Graphics Center, New York, USA
2000 “Scottish Painters at the Fosse Gallery”, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cheltenham
2000 “Expressions: Scottish Art Since 1945, McManus Galleries, Dundee
2000 “Connections 2000” Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
1999 “Connections” Royal Scottish Academy Festival Exhibition, Edinburgh
1999 “Small Paintings” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
1999 “RSA Painter Members”, Albemarle Gallery, London
1999 “Recent Acquisitions”, Perth Art Galleries and Museum, Perth
1999 “France and Six Nations. L’Art Actuel”,. Tokyo, Japan and touring
1999 “Artists 95”, website exhibition organised by Axis
1999 Morrison Portrait Competition Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
1998,1999,2000 Glasgow Group Exhibition (invited artist) Kelly Gallery, Glasgow
1998 Royal Scottish Academy, Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh
1998 Recent acquisitions from the Scottish Arts Council Collection, Smith Stirling Art Gallery, Stirling
1998 Noble-Grossart Painting Competition, Edinburgh and Glasgow
1998 Holland Art Fair, The Hague, Netherlands
1998 “New Works by Members” Festival Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
1998 “Metamorphosis” Seagate Gallery, Dundee
1998 “Absolute Secret” Postcard Exhibition, Royal College of Art, London
1998 “Small Paintings” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
1997-1998 “Rastava Sodobne Skotskf Grafike” Exhibition of Scottish Prints, touring museums and galleries in Slovenia
1997 “Reunion” de Keerder Kunstkamer, Cadier en Keer, Netherlands
1997 “Figure This”, McManus Art Galleries, Dundee
1997 “An Alphabet of Artists”, Perth Museum and Art Gallery
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999/2000 Nobel Grossart Painting Competition, RSA, Edinburgh and Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
1996 Exhibition of Small Works, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Festival
1996 Dave Thomas project, Expanded Field – 500 Sites, Melbourne, Australia
1996 “Small Works”, Roger Bilcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
1996 “Postcards”, Roger Bilcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
1995 Inaugural Exhibition, New Foyer Gallery, University of Abertay, Dundee
1995 “Uprising”, The Meffan Gallery, Forfar
1995 “Contemporary Scottish Art: 15 Years of Collecting”, The McManus Galleries, Dundee
1994 and 1995 “Celtic Connections Exhibition” The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall,
1994 “World SHO and European Artists Exhibition”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Centre, and Kyobun Civic Gallery, Kawasaki, Japan
1994 “Outpost”, Edinburgh Festival
1994 “Groot in ’T Kleine”, De Keerder Kunstkamer, Limburg, the Netherlands
1994 “Beuys in Scotland”, Demarco European Art Foundation, Edinburgh Festival,
1993-94 “Witnesses of Existence”, Kingston University, England; Demarco Foundation, Edinburgh; Obala Gallery, Sarajevo, Bosnia
1993 “Alive and Printing”, 21 years of Glasgow Print Studio, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow
1991 “Man in the Universe”, Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh
1991 “International Exhibition”, Central Museum, Ginza, Tokyo
1990 “The Compass Contribution” 21 years of Contemporary Art, Tramway, Glasgow
1990 “RSA Guthrie Award Winners 1920-1990”, The Fine Art Society, Glasgow/Edinburgh
1988 “Works on Paper”, Contemporary Scottish Art Touring Netherlands and Belgium
1988 “The Garden”, Fine Art Society, Glasgow
1987 “Scotch in the Apple” Contemporary Scottish Art, Lincoln Centre, New York
1985 “Unique and Original” Glasgow Print Studio, Glasgow
1985 “Exposition International de Peinture”, Paris
1975 “Living Art Exhibition”, Dublin
1975 “Fact and Fantasy”, Scottish Arts Council Tour
1975 “Different Realists”, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh
1974 STV Gateway Exhibition, Edinburgh Festival
1973 and 1984 Glasgow Group Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow
1973 and 1974 ‘Original Print’, Edinburgh
1971 ’20 x 57′ Edinburgh Festival Exhibition
1967-71 ‘Scottish Young Contemporaries
Exibited in many Glasgow League of Artists exhibitions 1971– 80
Exhibited in Royal Scottish Academy, Society of Scottish Artists, Royal Glasgow Insititute and Aberdeen Artists annual exhibtions frequently from 1970 – present
Films
(All works on film currently being digitally remastered to HDV).
‘Between Dreams’ 1974, 16mm
‘She’ 1974, 16mm
‘TV 74’, 1974, S8
‘Portfolio’, 1975, 16mm
‘Behaviour Patterns’, 1976, 16mm
‘Signs’, 1976-77, 16mm
‘Incident’, 1978, 16mm
‘Two Painters’, 1978, 16mm
‘Happy Day’, 1979, 16mm
‘Incident’, 1981, 16mm
‘Three Artists’, 1982, 16mm
“The Illusionist” 2005, DV
“(mind)games” 2009, DV
“ By Any Other Name” 2009, HDV
“Joking Apart” 2011, HDV
Selected Curation and Writing
1999 Wrote catalogue note for the CD which formed part of the exhibition “NO NOISE: SAMPLES” a collaborative work by sculptor Chris Biddlecombe and musician David Troughton. The other writers involved were playwright John Harvey and musicologist, writer and broadcaster Dr. John Purser.
The exhibition opened at the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, and toured extensively throughout the UK.
1994 and1995 Curated and organised the “Celtic Connections Visual Art Exhibition” at the Celtic Connections Festival, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow. Eight artists were involved in 1994, and fourteen in 1995. An illustrated catalogue was produced for each exhibition.
Prizes and Awards
2009 Publication award, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
2009 Dundee Visual Artists Award Scheme award
2006 Leverhulme Artist in Residence Award at SCRI
2002 Publication award, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
2001 Shortlisted for Rootstein-Hopkins Major Sabbatical Award
1999 Sir William Gillies Bequest Award, Royal Scottish Academy
1996 Highland Society of London Award, Royal Scottish Academy
1994 Commendation, Aberdeen Artists Exhibition
1990 Hope Scott Trust Award
1980 S.A.C. Amsterdam Studio Award
1979 Scottish Arts Council Award for Film-making
1979 R.S.A. Guthrie Award, Royal Scottish Academy
1975 Prize for film, “Between Dreams” in BBC “Scope” Film Competition
1968 Prize in Scottish Young Contemporaries Exhibition
1967 1st prize in first Scottish Young Contemporaries Exhibition
1964-69 Numerous awards and prizes at Edinburgh College of Art
Work in Public Collections
Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Cork Municipal Art Gallery, Ireland
Demarco European Art Foundation, Edinburgh
Dundee Museums and Art Galleries
Edinburgh College of Art
Hunterian Gallery, Glasgow
John David Mooney Foundation, Chicago
Museum Narodowego, Gdansk, Poland
Perth Museum and Art Galleries
Ross Harper and Murphy Collection, Glasgow
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh ( Scottish Arts Council Bequest)
Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling,(Scottish Arts Council Bequest)
State Library of Queensland, Australia, Rare Books Collection
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
University of Dundee
University of Abertay Dundee
Residencies
2006-2008 Leverhulme Artist in Residence at Scottish Crop Research Institute, (now the James Hutton Institute), Invergowrie, Dundee, Scotland.
1995 Artist-in-Residence, Hobart Centre for the Arts, University of Tasmania, Ausralia.
1980 Scottish Arts Council Amsterdam Studio Award, Netherlands.
1978-80 Artist-in Residence, Livingston New Town, Scotland.
1973-74 Leverhulme Senior Art Fellow, Department of Architecture and Building Science, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
Public and Voluntary Commitments
2009- 2012 Trustee of he Patrick Allan Fraser Trust, Hospitalfield House, Arbroth
2005-2007, 2011-2014 Member of Council, The Royal Scottish Academy
2000 Member of the Awards and Purchases Committee, RSA Annual Exhibition
2000-04 Member of the John Kinross Scholarship Committee of the Royal Scottish Academy
2000 Elected to the Council of the Society of Scottish Artists
1998-continuing Member of Arts Advisory Committee now the Cultural Engagement Sub-committee, Abertay Dundee University
1998, 2000, 2003 and 2010 Member of Hanging Committee for the Royal Scottish Academy Student Exhibition
1998 and 2009 Member of the selection committee of the J.D.Ferguson Trust Award
1997 Member of the selecting and judging committee of the Royal Over-Seas League Exhibition, London
1996 Member of the judging committee of the Dundee Biennial Open Exhibition
1994-2000 Founding Trustee of the Perthshire Public Arts trust
1983-1995 Member of the board of the Dundee Public Art Programme
1979- 1986 Member of the board of Workshop and Studio Provision Scotland
1971 Founder chairman of the Glasgow League of Artists.