We are proud to be hosting the first large-scale survey exhibition of work by Scottish artist and writer David Batchelor (born 1955). For three decades, Batchelor has been concerned, above all, with colour. His work reflects both a delight in the brilliant hues of the urban environment, and an inquiry into how we respond to this rapidly changing technological environment.

Including work in a wide range of media, from sculpture, installation and drawing, to painting, photography and animation, Colour Is will take visitors on a journey through Batchelor’s career, starting with his pre-colour works from the 1980s. These give way to his earliest experiments with colour and found objects in the ‘90s, and vivid multimedia installations during the 2000s. The exhibition culminates with recent work, including a glowing animation, in which sentences beginning with the words ‘Colour is …’ are projected in a continuously changing colour-saturated space.

A number of the works on display are coming directly from the artist’s treasure-trove studio and have not been displayed in public before. Additional material from Batchelor’s archive, including numerous preparatory sketches and notebooks, will be displayed throughout the exhibition, shedding light on his working methods and sources of inspiration.

Image: Covid Variation, 2020, tape on Dibond