If you are heading for Dundee this weekend, why not swing by Dundee University’s Lamb Gallery and enjoy a 70-year retrospective exhibition from a Duncan of Jordanstone alumnus.
The exhibition features 86-year-old Alec Muir’s artwork, which spans seven decades. It will be launched tomorrow at 5.30pm and features Dundee, past, present and future with scenes from 1970s Downfield, the Wellgate redevelopment and the more recent demolition of tenements throughout the city.
Alec enrolled at Dundee College of Art, now Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, at the age of 15 in 1945 and he had his first work exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1950.
Following his National Service, he worked for British Road Services before joining the process department of DC Thomson where he worked for six years. In 1963, Alec became an art teacher, working at both Linlathen High School and Morgan Academy. He retired in 1988 and began to devote himself full-time to painting. With greater freedom, he was able to travel more and began painting colourful scenes in Italy, Spain and Portugal. He has also continued to document the ever-changing face of Dundee from his own perspective.
Curator Matthew Jarron said: “Alec’s work is meticulous in its technique, with some of his paintings taking several years to complete. Some are detailed recreations of particular places and times in Dundee and elsewhere, while others are more surreal flights of the imagination.
“Throughout the exhibition, we see an absolute dedication to the art of painting, combined with a quirky sense of humour that is distinctively Dundonian.”
The exhibition runs until Saturday, March 25, and will be open Monday-Friday, 9.30am-7pm and Saturday 1-5pm. Contact: museum@dundee.ac.uk or 01382 384310.
