Hope includes 35 new paintings from the Glasgow-based artist, marking his twelfth solo exhibition with the Edinburgh gallery.
In a career spanning 20 years Naismith’s painting style has evolved from a literal, more traditional depiction of the Scottish landscape and skies, to colour-drenched canvases which explore cloud cover and its effect on light and colour. The duality of darkness and light is an enduring and evocative metaphor, symbolising the tension between despair and hope, the unknown and the revealed, suffering and transcendence.
This exhibition is a personal one for the artist. In February his mother passed away and through the grieving process he began to reflect on her influence, her positive spirit and energy, and the gift of hope that she gave him through her life. His paintings, with their strong contrasts – in palette choices and mark making – manifest his fundamental sense of hope and optimism, of light emerging through darkness.
Based at Church Hill in Morningside, the gallery will display 35 new paintings for the exhibition, which can also be viewed online and toured as a virtual exhibition for anyone who can’t make it to Edinburgh.
Scott Naismith at Morningside Gallery: Hope runs from 14 to 29 June 2025.
