Barbara Rae DBE: Prints
Spanning over two decades of work, this exhibition presents a vibrant selection of Dame Barbara Rae's prints, charting journeys through Europe, the Arctic, the United States and closer to home in the Lammermuir Hills. From the heat of Arizona to the glacial light of northern landscapes, these works trace Rae's enduring fascination with place, memory and colour.
From the beginning of her career, Rae has considered herself both painter and printmaker, two sides of a single practice that continually inform one another. Printmaking offered her an arena of discovery and experimentation: a space to test ideas of structure, layering and rhythm that would, in turn, shape her painting. She has long described the print studio as a place of equality and freedom, where intuition and intent guide the creative process. Techniques such as carborundum and screenprint allow her to build dense, tactile surfaces in which gesture and colour achieve the physical intensity of paint.
Throughout her practice, Rae uses printmaking to evoke sensation rather than topography, capturing the passage of weather and the quiet persistence of land and sea. The rich ochres and crimsons of southern Europe suggest heat and tempo, while the silvers and indigos of the Arctic recall stillness and distance. Colour and form become expressions of place, her compositions balancing structure and spontaneity in the way history reshapes the landscape.
Together, these works map the breadth of Rae's travels and the persistence of her vision. Created between 2000 and 2023, they chart a journey that spans both place and time, capturing Rae's enduring dialogue with the history and memory of the land. Her mastery of printmaking lies in her ability to unite technique and instinct, exploring the meeting point between the man-made and the natural world, whilst retaining remarkable intensity.
