VCRB Gallery

Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1993, Graeme has continued to practise as a painter based in WASPS Southblock Studios, Glasgow. He exhibits regularly in solo shows and group exhibitions throughout the UK and Europe.

Recent work depicts people and events experienced in public spaces around the city. These paintings show figures engaged in ambiguous actions in half-remembered spaces. These situations and scenes have lodged in the memory due to some resonance or poignancy that can't quite be dismissed. The resulting paintings are partly an attempt to balance a sense of stillness with a sense of movement; a tension intended to generate a heightened awareness of the strangeness of everyday life and those around us.

This body of work represents a fascinating attempt to give "time" a tangible, physical form. Through intricate layering and evocative imagery, the artwork bridges the scientific and the ephemeral, creating a space where memory, data, and the essence of existence converge.

The pieces begin with a constructed space, reminiscent of a grisaille, built layer by layer over days, years, and decades. These foundational layers are inscribed with data—a chronological record of time’s passage—serving as a tangible representation of temporal accumulation. On this base, figures emerge, painted in translucent oil glazes. These forms appear still and suspended in time, evoking remnants of memories. Rendered in a hazy, sfumato style, the figures blur the boundaries of shadow and light, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that speaks to the impermanence of recollection.

At its core, the work explores a powerful duality. On one hand, the scientific use of data reflects time’s measurable, structured dimensions. On the other, the artwork captures the elusive, unstructured essence of time—intangible, fleeting, and indefinite. This juxtaposition highlights the paradox of time, merging its finite, linear qualities with its infinite, amorphous nature into a single, cohesive image.

Willy Verginer was born in Bressanone (BZ) in 1957. He attended the Art Institute of Ortisei, where he studied Painting. After graduation, he worked in various wood sculpture studios in Val Gardena. In the 1980s, starting from the tradition of his valley, he tried to distance himself, by means of autonomous learning, from conventional methods. From 1984 to 1989, he taught at the Professional School of Sculpture of Selva (BZ). In one of his first personal exhibitions, curated by Danilo Eccher at the Galleria Spatia in Bolzano, he showed abstract works, made of wood with combination of natural materials. The 90s were characterized by profitable exhibitions and the foundation of the Artistic Group Trisma, formed by Walter Moroder, Bruno Walpoth and Willy Verginer. Afterwards, ten years of research, crises and a not so creative period followed. In 2005, he exposed at Galleria Castello in Trento: Verginer changed radically his style and showed figurative sculptures developing an original plastic language combined with an acrylic paint with shades of artificial colors.

Alexander Massouras (b. 1981) is an artist from Nottingham now based in Cambridge, UK. His work is in UK and international collections including the British Museum, the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a Leverhulme Fellow at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Paul Mellon Centre.

Through selective appropriation and erasure of found images, Massouras’s paintings, sculptures and prints explore the construction of the past, and the personal residues left on public memory. He uses a visual language that is simultaneously fragile and stark to question the very nature of permanence in art.

Christian Verginer, born in 1982 in Brixen, Italy, is a distinguished sculptor celebrated for his intricate limewood carvings that explore the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. He commenced his artistic education at the School of Arts in Ortisei and further honed his skills at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara.

Verginer's work predominantly features human figures in harmony with natural elements, such as animals and trees, often employing linden wood accented with unexpected applications of acrylic paint. His sculptures are noted for their anatomical precision and the seamless integration of traditional wood-carving techniques with contemporary themes.

Operating from his studio in Ortisei, located in Italy's Alto Adige region, Verginer shares this creative space with his father, Willy Verginer, and brother, Matthias Verginer, both accomplished sculptors. This collaborative environment fosters a blend of Val Gardena's rich carving traditions with modern artistic expressions.

Matthias Verginer, born in 1982 in Bressanone, Italy, is a contemporary sculptor renowned for his intricate wooden sculptures that blend realism with conceptual depth. Raised in Ortisei, Val Gardena, amidst the Dolomites, he studied advertising graphics and sculpture at the School of Arts in Selva Gardena. Following his formal education, Matthias apprenticed under his father, Willy Verginer, and collaborated with artist Aron Demetz, further refining his sculptural techniques.

Sharing a studio with his father and twin brother, Christian Verginer, Matthias has developed a distinctive artistic voice. His earlier works are noted for their humor, juxtaposing human figures with animals in whimsical, often absurd scenarios. In recent years, his approach has evolved to incorporate layered wood and fabric, creating isarithmic patterns that emphasize the inner character and nature of his subjects. These sculptures invite viewers to reflect on the mechanisms through which we perceive reality, exploring both the joys and challenges of human existence.

Matthias's work has been exhibited internationally, with showcases across Europe, the USA, and Taiwan. His sculptures are celebrated for their technical mastery and the ability to evoke introspection, prompting contemplation of the human condition and our relationship with the natural world.