The current retrospective of the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy on show in the Royal Scottish Academy was the latest destination for our group. The exhibition spans the artist’s career from when he was a student up to the present day and includes pieces made specifically for the location.
On arrival we were met by JJ and Poppy who were to be our tour guides for the visit. They first took us to a room for refreshments, our packed lunches and some conversation before taking us up to the galleries. The exhibition fills two floors of the building and JJ and Poppy took us around the upper floor, giving us lots of interesting information and answering questions.
Some of our group were already familiar with Goldsworthy’s work but for several it was the first time they had seen any of his pieces. Morag: ‘I particularly enjoyed the aspect of nature and time destroying the works. I look forward to using Goldsworthy’s work as inspiration for upcoming projects’. Lindsay: ‘The wool on the stairs, the hanging display around the skylight, the flags, and the thing you can walk through with the sticks on each side were favourites for me’. Simon: ‘I really enjoyed seeing work from different periods. Particularly the earlier work from the seventies. I hadn’t realised he had a beginning with work of a conceptual nature. I think the show was one of our best trips’. Ruth: ‘I particularly liked the bit with the branches and the flags from each state’.
Accessibility to the building is good, with a wheelchair accessible entrance at the rear of the building which leads to a lift to all floors. There is also a ramp down to the side entrance which leads to the lower floor and reception area. The only disappointment was the glass vitrines in the exhibition that had some photographs and text about Goldsworthy’s earlier works. These were at a height that made it very difficult for Ruth, our wheelchair user, to see and impossible for her to read.
You can find information about the exhibition and watch a video of the artist and others at work on the installation at Andy Goldsworthy | Fifty Years | National Galleries of Scotland
This project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
