Sorcha Dallas

The University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL info.talbotrice@ed.ac.uk +44 0131 650 2210 www.trg.ed.ac.uk

PRESS RELEASE

Alan Michael Touch Void

Exhibition open to the public: 19 January - 1 March 2008

Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm

Admission Free

For all enquiries please contact Martin Minton 0131 650 2211 /

martin.minton@ed.ac.uk

Talbot Rice Gallery is delighted to present Alan Michael’s first major exhibition of new paintings in Edinburgh.

Touch Void is a suite of new paintings representative of Michael’s favoured formats: text and image rendered in various styles. Michael mines various high and low cultural references to create a fluid summation of styles where the painting process and context become almost invisible. Current cultural icons such as the BMW Mini are just as valid a reference point as the work of Robert Rauchenberg, and mass produced consumerism with its carefully marketed sheen becomes a commodity to be employed for it’s own ends.

Michael’s paintings often make reference to previous works and frequently use styles from the frontiers of Pop Art. In his work, details of city life are repeated like mantras, symbolism is deferred or abolished and fragments remain as fragments.

Previous exhibitions include Decamp (David Kordansky Gallery 2007), and The Invention of Birth Control (Sorcha Dallas Gallery 2005). Born in Glasgow in 1967, Alan Michael gained a BA in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone College, Dundee in 1996 and an MA (Fine Art) from Glasgow School of Art in 1998. The artist lives and works in Glasgow.

Notes to editors 1. The University of Edinburgh, of which Talbot Rice Gallery is part, must be mentioned in any articles. Thank you. 2. Talbot Rice Gallery is named after David Talbot Rice, Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh from 1934 – 1972 and was established in 1975. The Gallery has a commitment to showing work by Scottish and International artists. The Gallery promotes knowledge, understanding and new ideas, realised through solo and thematic exhibitions, events and publications.

1. The artist is available for interview; please contact the gallery to discuss your requirements. 4. Further information and a selection of images can be found at www.sorchadallas.com 5. A full programme of events accompanying this exhibition can be provided by the gallery.