The Glasgow based artist, Alex Allan, has an unusual process of making work in relief - a technique of 'reverse sculpting'. 

Alex builds up multiple layers of paint and plaster onto a surface that he then sands back to reveal the colourful layers beneath. The final image emerges as if from layers of sentry rock, resembling geographical structures, maps, marks in the landscape or something more abstract.

These works sit somewhere between two and three dimensionality. With a degree in sculpture, Alex is acutely aware of the history of sculpture. He draws on this making reference to classical relief sculpture, but uses materials more often associated with modern construction and our contemporary urban environment. 

This triptych marks a point in a series of paintings where the artist has taken a step back from colour to further explore the potential for mark-making in his unusual, very physical way of making work. 

Accolades

Alex Allan has an BA and MFA in Sculpture from Edinburgh College of Art. Recent solo exhibitions include Fleek, Lust & the Apple, Midlothian and a four part exhibition at Govan Project Space, Glasgow. Alex has exhibited at St John’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, The Chopping Block, London, The Fleming Collection, London, Catlin Art Prize, Village Underground, London, RSA New Contemporaries and the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. Alex has taken part in several residencies including, in 2019, Bothy Projects (Inshriach), Scotland.