Remarks: Art Under the Arches

“Washington Garcia was established in 2006 with a series of exhibitions in the front room of a Victorian tenement flat on Glasgow’s south side. Since then it has continued to commission projects for a series of unusual locations throughout the city.

The project was a response to our perception that some city-based artists had become conspicuous by their absence from Glasgow’s thriving art scene. Claire Barclay had not shown work here for six years prior to her exhibition in February 2008 with Washington Garcia, After the Field ,a groundbreaking site-specific installation in a barn at Dumbreck Riding School in Pollock Park.

One of our initial aims was to represent art from internationally renowned artists who have had little exposure in Scotland. This led to Kalup Linzy’s first British solo show in a disused city centre shop in April 2008. An emerging Brooklyn-based video performance artist, he captivated audiences at Glasgow international, 2008, with his rendition of ‘Asshole’, an appropriately titled RnB pastiche.

After various metamorphoses and adventures involving fires, floods and, ultimately, art, it is fitting that Washington Garcia has finally found a home in a railway arch underneath the roar and rumble of a train line. This noisy neighbour, heard every 20 minutes, serves as a reminder of our travelling roots.

For the next 18 months, we will occupy Arch 24 (Unit 13) of Eastvale Place; an expanding, vibrant, art ghetto in what has been coined the ‘Eastvale District’ of the city. We will use this time to support exciting emerging artists alongside established practitioners. The new space won’t stop our off-site commissions; in 2010 we’ll again be showing an internationally acclaimed artist in a new location.

In May Washington Garcia presents the first Scottish solo-exhibition of London-based artist Shezad Dawood, an installation centred on his new cross-genre film ‘Feature’. During 2009 and 2010, the gallery already has further ‘firsts’ for Glasgow lined up, but also welcomes much anticipated returns, including our favourite video RnB starlet, Kalup Linzy.”Niall MacDonald, solo show, 18 April–10 May
www.washingtongarciagallery.com