Artist shares Enlightenment

A COLLECTION of watercolour paintings celebrating the great libraries of Scotland will go on show in Old Aberdeen today.

Enlightenment, by Edinburgh artist Hugh Buchanan, is opening in the north-east after being on display at the Francis Kyle Gallery in London.

The exhibition will also feature a number of new works by the artist. These will including an atmospheric depiction of the gothic bookcases of the Divinity Library at King’s College, Aberdeen. Mr Buchanan said: “It is appropriate that Scotland, being the birthplace of enlightenment, should have some of the largest and most elaborate libraries.

“While working in many of them, I have chosen to reject the general in favour of the specific, searching for the telling details that best evoke the spirit of the place.

“So it is by the buckram bindings, the electric sockets, the scuffed floorboards and the triangles of light that I have chosen to describe them.”

Professor Christopher Gane, vice-principal of culture and communities at Aberdeen University, said: “We are delighted to welcome these impressive artworks to our venue, and to offer these extraordinary depictions of great libraries to art lovers.”

The exhibition will be on show at the Old Town House, in High Street, Aberdeen, from today to Monday, March 30. It is free and will be open from 9am to 5pm.