Visual Art

New exhibition highlights Joe Hargan’s blend of imagination and profound artistry

April 24, 20246 Mins Read


The forthcoming self-titled “Joe Hargan Solo Exhibition” is a captivating new show by acclaimed Scottish artist Joe Hargan and is set to mesmerize art enthusiasts at the Morningside Gallery in Edinburgh starting April 26.

This eagerly anticipated showcase promises to be a testament to Hargan’s mastery in blending imagination with profound artistic expression.

Scottish artist Joe Hargan was born in 1952 in Glasgow. He studied Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1970 – 74 under Danny Ferguson RSW. RGI., James Robertson RSW. RGI. RSA. PAI. and Dr David Donaldson RSA. RGI. D.LITT (Queen’s Limner).

A well recognised and respected figure on the Scottish art scene, Joe has been the recipient of numerous awards, from the Glasgow School of Art Painting Prize back in 1972, the Royal Scottish Academy Maude Gemmell Hutchison Award in 2002 and more recently the Paisley City of Culture Bid Award in 2021. And plenty of others in between.

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Joe is from a generation of artists who value their own work as part of a bigger picture; a generation that recognises the important role that regional and national arts bodies can play in the encouragement of young talent and the development of professional artistic careers. With a sense of responsibility and reciprocity,

Joe has worked tirelessly over the years to protect and promote the visual arts for the artists and public of today, as much as those of tomorrow.

These values, coupled with his great aptitude for paperwork and deciphering legalese, have resulted in his frequent election to leadership roles within art institutions. Among many other leadership positions over the years, Joe has been President and Chairman of the Paisley Art Institute from 1989 – 2000 and President of the Glasgow Art Club from 2017- 2020, again returning to the Presidency of the Paisley Art Institute in 2022 (ongoing).

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The last few years have been a challenging time for Joe and many others, and a legal battle with Renfrewshire Council surrounding the future of the Paisley Art Institute’s building, exhibition spaces and its large £4 million collection of Scottish paintings, has taken up a lot of his time and energy.

Joe has been at the centre of all of this, working round the clock to ensure that the permanent collection and the contemporary annual exhibitions have a future, and most importantly, that the young artists of tomorrow have some of the same opportunities that he and his peers have had in the past.

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This is a rather long and serious introduction to an artist who many people associate first and foremost with the tongue-in-cheek ‘Sniffy’ paintings – masterfully colourful paintings featuring the ‘sniffy’ rotund butler within gallery and stately home settings, always surrounded by old masters and an air of the ridiculous.

Not only finely executed, these paintings offer humorous and sometimes surreal vignettes of the good life – wine flows and there is always cake, as we are treated to a painting within a painting, a Canaletto or a John Singer Sargent from the end of Joe’s brush.

There is always a little more than meets the eye however, and these ‘Sniffy’ paintings are a commentary of sorts, with Joe’s playful juxtapositions of the traditional and the modern raising questions about the value of contemporary art, and his humorous ‘vignettes’ providing us with a visual picture of some of the debates that take place in the strange and wonderful place that is the art world today.

Even with all of its challenges and contradictions – and perhaps because of them – it is Joe’s world, the place he has inhabited creatively for decades and the source of his inspiration.

The ‘Sniffy’ paintings can be enjoyed on their own, but it is in the context of a solo show like this that we can really appreciate them as part of the larger narrative of Joe’s life and work.

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The Herald:

The solo exhibition is also an opportunity to show the breadth of Joe’s creative output, and in particular, some of his larger figurative paintings, which reveal Joe’s life-long study of Western art and culture and his ability to see and make connections between its past, present and future.

In his early 70s now, Joe’s unshakable energy and commitment to the arts is admirable and the future will undoubtedly remember his contributions as an individual artist and for the work he has done to promote visual art in the West of Scotland and Scotland more generally.

For now though, we are able to delight in his paintings themselves, and to entreat ourselves to a full exhibition of work by one of Scotland’s most accomplished painters. From the largest gestural abstracts to the smallest of his character studies, Joe’s brushwork is irresistible and feels like painting at its most fluent.

Hargan’s distinctive style, characterized by intricate detail and vibrant hues, breathes life into each creation, inviting contemplation and introspection.

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At the heart of the exhibition lies a thematic exploration of transcendence – the idea of surpassing ordinary limitations to reach higher states of being. Through his evocative artworks, Hargan delves into the complexities of human existence, inviting viewers to ponder the mysteries of the universe and their place within it.

In his oil paintings, Hargan skillfully captures fleeting moments of beauty and wonder, imbuing them with a sense of timelessness. From celestial landscapes bathed in ethereal light to intricate depictions of cosmic phenomena, each piece invites viewers to lose themselves in contemplation of the infinite.

Complementing his paintings are Hargan’s mixed media installations, which serve as immersive portals into otherworldly realms.

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Incorporating elements of sculpture, light, and sound, these installations transport viewers beyond the confines of the gallery space, offering glimpses into alternate realities and unseen dimensions.

Central to the exhibition is Hargan’s exploration of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and the cosmos. Through his art, he seeks to evoke a sense of awe and reverence for the natural world, urging viewers to recognize their interconnectedness with all of creation.

Joe Hargan’s Solo Exhibition starts 26th April and runs to 11th May  at  Morningside Gallery,

94 Morningside Road Edinburgh EH10 4BY 0131 447 3041 email art@morningsidegallery.co.uk

Click here to for details  https://www.morningsidegallery.co.uk/exhibition/joe-hargan-pai-ppai-solo-exhibition

Click here to view catalogue https://www.morningsidegallery.co.uk/exhibition/joe-hargan-pai-ppai-solo-exhibition

Join Morningside Gallery mailing list here https://www.morningsidegallery.co.uk/



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