Internationally recognised for both her individual and collaborative work in print, Ciara Phillips' new solo exhibition Undoing it presents her characteristically vibrant woodcuts, etchings and screen-prints in a printed installation covering the entirety of GoMA’s Gallery 3.
Undoing it is an exhibition that focuses on the creative process itself. For Ciara Phillips, making art offers an opportunity to think and think again, to both do and undo simultaneously. In particular, the processes of printmaking bring her thinking and making into direct contact through touch, pressure, transference and repetition:
“I like the level of uncertainty that comes from printing - the tools and methods often interfere with my intention, and I find that productive. […] The prints are the product of improvisation - a back-and-forth live discussion with the work as it happens.”
By scraping, rubbing and pressing wood, copper, nylon and paper, Phillips creates a printed record of recent thoughts and actions. Her large-format works range from expressive, abstract compositions, to notes outlining her printing plans, measurements and colour choices. Visual citations in the form of sketches and photographs offer audiences an insight into the people and perspectives that influence her and whom she wishes to credit.
Undoing it is a welcome return to Glasgow for the artist, who first moved to the city in 2002 to study at Glasgow School of Art. Over almost 20 years in Glasgow, she has forged an internationally recognised practice. In 2014, Phillips was nominated for the Turner Prize, and in 2020, she received the world’s leading award for printmaking, The Queen Sonja Print Award, in Oslo.
More about the artist:
Ciara Phillips is a Canadian/Irish artist who moved from New York to Glasgow in 2002 to study at Glasgow School of Art. For nearly twenty years, Phillips lived in Glasgow’s East End where she worked out of studios in Dennistoun and the Merchant City. In 2005, she began using the communal facilities at Glasgow Print Studio to develop an experimental and process-lead approach to printmaking that has since gained her international recognition in the field of contemporary art. In 2014, Phillips was nominated for the Turner Prize, and in 2020 she received the world’s leading award for printmaking, The Queen Sonja Print Award, in Oslo.
Phillips has worked as an educator and as an artist in community contexts since the late 1990s, and her long-term artwork, Workshop (2010 - ongoing) - which engages people of all ages and backgrounds in thinking-through-making with her - has been shown in public museums and galleries in the UK and Ireland, Europe, North America and Australia. In her current role as Professor at The Art Academy: Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Bergen, Phillips foregrounds, “collectivity and reciprocity as necessary methods for the urgent work of thinking and doing the world, together”.
IMAGE
Ciara Phillips, "Any time there is a surface…” (2018) Woodcut, relief print and screen-print on paper.
Installation view from Mead Gallery, University of Warwick. Photo: Luke Pickering
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
All information (whether in text or photographs) is supplied in good faith but should not be relied upon as being a statement of representation or fact.GOT AN EVENT TO SHARE? It's free to post your events on What's On Glasgow, click here to find out more!
Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Glasgow? Follow us on Facebook and join the What's On Scotland Group!Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum holds delightful daily recitals by eminent local organists and visiting players!
READ MOREAndy's Man Club meets every Monday at 7pm in the Activity Space at Kelvin Hall... come along for a brew, a biscuit and a chat.
READ MOREGlasgow Museums Resource Centre is home to over a million treasures, come and see for yourself on one of their regular Behind the Scenes Tours!
READ MOREKelvingrove's Discover - Make And Create, Handle And Discuss Objects weekly sessions offer free hands-on fun designed for families with children!
READ MOREA display of nine of Alasdair Gray's works from The Morag McAlpine Bequest is open now in the Fragile Art Gallery in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
READ MORETo celebrate Glasgow's 850th anniversary, students from Shawlands Academy have teamed up with Glasgow Life Museums to celebrate by curating this touring exhibition!
READ MOREThe Milky Way is part of a touring programme for Feed – an arts-based project that promotes inclusive, sustainable approaches to infant feeding and public space.
READ MOREJoin curators at The Burrell Collection on a journey through the galleries uncovering hidden LGBTQ+ histories from their collection!
READ MORECurated by artist Rachel Mimiec, this display in Kelvingrove's Community Gallery features props, costumes, and photography from all Creative Citizens productions!
READ MOREStill Glasgow at the Gallery of Modern Art is an extensive new exhibition which has photography at its core and looks at Glasgow, past and present.
READ MOREJoin The Burrell Collection on selected dates throughout December for a series of fantastically festive live performances!
READ MOREJoin The Burrell Collection each weekend for a free drop in family session where you can get hands on and find out more about the collection through crafts, music and object handling!
READ MOREThe Gallery of Modern Art holds a regular, drop in, Saturday Morning Art Club for 5 to 12 year olds!
READ MOREThroughout the year Glasgow Museums Resource Centre holds Specialist Tours where you can join the curators for an in depth look at the collections!
READ MORECome and celebrate how Barbie has inspired generations across the world for almost seventy years when Barbie®: The Exhibition comes to Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum!
READ MORE
The Glasgow Gallery of Photography are hosting a month long photography exhibition, with the theme Abandoned at their exhibition space on High Street during January!
READ MORE
The Glasgow Gallery of Photography are hosting a month long photography exhibition, showcasing Travel in photography at their exhibition space on High Street during January.
READ MORE
This free mini-exhibition at The Mitchell Library showcases a creative collaboration between the Universities of Glasgow & Edinburgh and local residents living with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
READ MORE
This January Glasgow Life and The Mitchell Library are delighted to be hosting an exhibition by The Alexander Thomson Society marking the 150th anniversary of the death of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson.
READ MORE
The Scottish Motorhome, Caravan & Holiday Home Show returns to the Scottish Event Campus for 2026 between the 5th and 8th of February!
READ MORE
In February, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography will be displaying a month-long international photography exhibition with the theme Surreal running throughout the month.
READ MORE
In February, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography will be displaying a month-long international photography exhibition with the theme Diptych/Triptych running throughout the month.
READ MORE
In March, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography will be displaying a month-long international photography exhibition showing the work of Women in Photography running throughout the month.
READ MORE
In March, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography will be displaying a month-long international photography exhibition with the theme Environment running throughout the month.
READ MORE