Glasgow based contemporary artist
About
Biography
April, B.1998 is a Glasgow Based Contemporary Artist, graduating from the Glasgow School of Art. She studied a BA (Hons) in Sculpture & Environmental Art and a Master of Letters in Fine Art Practice.
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Education
2023-2024
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The Glasgow School of Art, Master of Letters in Fine Art Practice. (Distinction)
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2019- 2023
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The Glasgow School of Art, BA(Hons) Sculpture and Environmental Art. (First-Class)
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2018- 2019
The Tramway Visual Arts Studio, Foundation Art Course.
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2016-2018
City of Glasgow College, Diploma in Contemporary Art Practice.
Solo Exhibitions
2024
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Echoes of Renewal in Rust, Gleneagles Hotel, UK.
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Beyond The Surface, The Briggait Front-Galleries, Glasgow, UK.
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Print! W2 Men's Store, West End, Glasgow, UK.
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Group Exhibitions
2024
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(Pending) The Beat, The Kaleidoscope Gallery, UK & Echo's Studios, Rau Pelotas, Sao Paul, Brazil.
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(Pending) T H E U N F O L D P R O J E C T: A GRADUATE SHOWCASE 2024-2025
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(Pending) Dreams, Part Crowd Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
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(Pending) Landscape Painting Today, London Messum's, West East, Online Exhibition, London, UK.
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Postgraduate Degree Show, Fine Art, Stow Building, Glasgow, UK.
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Salon Des Inclusions, Annex Gallery, The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK.
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Do you know who I am? Wasps South Block Gallery, Glasgow, UK.
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Come for Supper, The Drawing Room, The Glasgow School of Art, UK.
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2023
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Early Days, Barnes Garage Space, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK.
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Shoulder's of Giants, GSA Graduate Show, Glasgow Art Club, UK.
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Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition, McLaurin Gallery, Ayr, UK.
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Big Arts Show, Paisley Art Department, Glasgow, UK.
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Undergraduate Degree Show, Stow Building, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK.
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WEST, Visual Arts Scotland, The Briggait, Glasgow, UK.
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Surplus, The Axiom Building, Glasgow, UK.
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Exhibit A, Govan Project Space, Glasgow, UK.
2022
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130 Years, Scottish Society of Artists, Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) Edinburgh, UK.
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Past-Present-Future, Sink Space, Stow College, Glasgow, UK.
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Material Matters-Remade, French Street Gallery, Glasgow, UK.
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Artefact, Sink Space, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK.
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Infinite Worlds, Saltspace Gallery, High St, Glasgow, UK.
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Autumn Exhibition, Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow, UK.
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Argyll Art Map, Midton Open Event, Lochgilphead, UK.
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Big Art Show, Outspoken Arts Scotland, Department A, Paisley, UK.
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Annuale 2022, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, UK.
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Reconfiguration, Saltspace Gallery, Glasgow, UK.
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Spring Exhibition, Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow, UK.
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Shedded Wheat, House for an Art Lover, Glasgow, UK.
2021
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Maximum Tilt, Saltspace Members Exhibition. Saltspace Gallery, High St, Glasgow, UK.
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Art of the Possible, Glasgow Art Club, Bath St, Glasgow, UK.
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The Walking Forest, Strathclyde University Gardens, Glasgow, UK.
2020
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Emergence showcase, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow School of Art, UK.
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Meet the Members Exhibition, Scottish Society of Artists online exhibition, UK.
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Conscious Subconscious, McLellan Galleries, McLellan works, Glasgow, UK.
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Representing Reality, McLellan Galleries, McLellan Works, Glasgow, UK.
2019
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Visual Arts Studio, End of Year Showcase. Tramway, Albert Drive, Glasgow, UK.
2018
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Contemporary Art Practice Showcase, Ralph Cowan Gallery, City of Glasgow College, UK.
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Awards
2024
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Women in Art Prize, Longlist, 2024.
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Wasps Studios: Most Original Artwork at 'Do you know who I am' Exhibition. Glasgow, UK.
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Selected Artist: Emerging Sculpture Award at Edinburgh Park, Edinburgh, UK.
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GSASA Student Initiated Funding Award.
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GSA People 2024: Partnership Award, Library Services.
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GSA Teaching Awards, 'Students do great stuff' Runner up.
2023
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The WASPS Award (Solo Show) Scottish Society of Artist's Show at the MacLaurin Gallery, Ayr, UK.
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Society of Scottish Artists, New Graduate Award (Highly Commended).
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2022
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Barns-Graham Prize, Scottish Society of Artists at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK.
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Duais a' chon mhoir prize, Big Arts Show, Paisley, UK.
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Midton acrylic's year long research collaboration, Glasgow School of Art, UK.
2021
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Cop 26, Golden Monkey Award.
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2020
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SIE, Scottish Institute of Enterprise. SISA Level 2 Innovation Catalyst. Glasgow School of Art, UK.
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Statement
My work explores the dynamic agency of rural landscapes, focusing on the transient nature of animals and materials within them. Living between Glasgow and Edinburgh, in a town rich with industrial heritage, my practice merges painting and sculpture to capture themes of collapse, renewal, regeneration, land ownership, and placemaking within nature. My creative process is deeply informed by touch, abstraction, and the iconography of objecthood in a post-industrial landscape. By deliberately losing control during the painting process, I explore the vitality and materiality of paint, which often results in a collapse that mirrors the transformative processes within landscapes. This approach directly links the renewal and regeneration seen in my paintings to the ongoing transformations in the rural environment around me.
My home in Lanarkshire, with its history rooted in coal mining, steel production, and agriculture, plays a significant role in shaping my artistic perspective. Influenced by Tim Ingold's "The Temporality of Landscape" and his concept of a Dwelling Perspective, I explore the interconnectedness of human and non-human processes within landscapes. My use of colour, drawn from both the natural environment and archival materials, is central to my work, though I still find it challenging and evolving. The provisional nature of my painting process, with its embrace of rejection, imperfection, and spontaneity, allows me to explore the unknown in creative research. This approach often requires me to rebuild, revisit, or even completely reject and start anew, ensuring that the work remains authentic and deeply connected to the landscape's inherent unpredictability.
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Society of Scottish Artists Council Member, September 2024-Present.
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The Glasgow School of Art, Learning & Technology, User Support Assistant, Library Services. January 2024-Present.​
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Bank Lecturer of Design, West College Scotland, June 2024-Present.
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The University of Glasgow, Widening Participation Postgraduate Tutor. October 2023- June 2024
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Glasgow School of Art, Student Ambassador. September 2022-August 2024.
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Art Tutor, Studio Glasgow, UK. July - Oct 2023
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Midton Acrylics 2021-2022
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Professional Experience
Publications
/Articles
2024
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Master's Degree Show Catalogue, The Glasgow School of Art, UK.
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'Beyond the Surface' By April - Exhibition at The Briggait in Glasgow (artrabbit.com)
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Scotsman: Emerging Sculpture Award, (January 2024) Emerging Scottish sculptors get the chance to create work for new Edinburgh ‘culture quarter’ (scotsman.com)
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2023
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Glasgow School of Art Website, (December 2023) The Glasgow School of Art (gsa.ac.uk)
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Paisley Art Review; The Scotsman (July 2023). Art review: The Big Art Show, The Art Department, Paisley (scotsman.com)
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GSA Degree Show Review; The Scotsman (June 2023) Art reviews: Glasgow School of Art Degree Show 2023 | Glasgow School of Art MFA Degree Show 2023 | The Scotsman
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Glasgow School of Art Digital Showcase (July 2023) April – GSA Showcase 2023
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Glasgow School of Art, Degree Show Catalogue, Good Press Glasgow.
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Living Landscape, Undergraduate Degree Show work, Self Publication.
2022
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SSA 130 Years | Annual Exhibition Awards – Society of Scottish Artists (s-s-a.org)
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Materials Matter Research Publication, Goodpress Glasgow, UK. Project funded by The Glasgow School of Art.
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Award Winners, Paisley Art, July 2022. Prizewinners 2022 – OUTSPOKEN ARTS SCOTLAND
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2021
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A year lost at SEA, Goodpress Glasgow, UK. Year 2 Sculpture and Environmental Art publication by the Glasgow School of Art.
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Exhibition Catalogue. 'Art of the Possible' - Exhibiting Artists - Glasgow Art Club Close of Play: Art of the Possible (gsa.ac.uk)
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2020
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Glasgow University Magazine (GUM) Facebook
