One of the first things you will learn about the trailblazing painter Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, upon climbing the steps to Dovecot’s Tapestry Balcony, is that she was not inspired by perfect things, but varied ones. Her vivid, delicate still lifes are given form by worn fabrics, well-loved tchotchkes, and tulips just beginning to wither. It’s likely, then, she would appreciate the range of her works featured in Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour, held by Dovecot Studios on the fifth anniversary of her passing.
The balcony where A Life in Colour is held has limited space, but the exhibit doesn’t suffer from it. Instead, various smaller works are clustered next to each other, echoing Blackadder’s flattening of perspective and space within her carefully composed still lifes. The subjects are typically, and playfully, Blackadder: plants, cats, textiles, and souvenirs from Japan. These are broken up by a few looming, near-abstracted landscapes, in which the depth and mastery of her colors are especially distinct.
While Dovecot Studio collaborated with Blackadder frequently, their contribution to this exhibit is only in the form of a gun-tufted rug woven after her passing. Dovecot’s recreation of The Red Vase is magnificent and acts as a dual centrepiece with Blackadder’s own tapestry Cats at Play, bringing out the precision of her lines and the rich layers of her colours. It’s a fitting and respectful tribute to a long-time artistic partner.
The exhibit, thankfully, never feels weighed down by having to explain Blackadder’s influence. Any modern Scottish art exhibit is enough of an explanation. Instead, it’s focused on the many mediums of her singular talent. Any visitor will find something to learn from Dame Elizabeth Blackadder.
Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour is open until November 14th and is free to enter.
Image credits: Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour at Dovecot Studios. Photography Phil Wilkinson.
