Fleming-Wyfold Foundation Award Winner Announced

By Susan Mansfield, 15.02.2020

Emma-Louise Grady. Dystopia Metaphoria, 2019. Courtesy the artist.

Emma-Louise Grady, who graduated in June 2019 from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee, has been chosen for the £1,500 prize, which aims to recognise the “best painter or draughtsman/woman” in the RSA New Contemporaries exhibition. Emma-Louise’s large richly patterned work has been praised for its “ambition and complex beauty” by Fleming Collection director James Knox. 

The RSA New Contemporaries exhibition, which opens in Edinburgh on Saturday [15th], is the leading showcase for emerging artists in Scotland, selecting participants from the graduates of all five Scottish art colleges in 2019. The show runs in the RSA building until March 11.

Mr Knox said: “This year’s RSA New Contemporaries show is rich in painterly talent, with noteworthy clusters from Aberdeen’s Gray’s School of Art and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee. Emma-Louise Grady has been awarded the 2020 Fleming-Wyfold Foundation Award for her majestic patterned works in mixed media which stand out for their ambition and complex beauty.” The award is a significant boost for a young artist at a key time in his or her career. Mr Knox added: “It is a privilege to continue collaborating with the RSA in the support of the most promising artists to graduate from Scotland’s art schools.”

A development of her degree show work, Emma Louise’s large-scale mixed media work looks particularly impressive in the high-ceilinged Georgian rooms of the RSA. She said: “My paintings explore the practice of intuitive mark-making. I am inspired by vivid colour and my surroundings also influence my process. Through the exploration of patterns, my work represents a sense of freedom and fluidity.”

Now based in Glasgow, Emma-Louise has worked as artist in residence for the company Enterprise Mentoring. Her work was recently exhibited at the Tatha Gallery, Newport-on-Tay, as part of a graduate exhibition, and is exhibited online with gallery New Blood Art.