It was my pleasure to mentor the artist Andrea Geile on the creative journey towards her retrospective exhibition, Fertile Ground, at the Gerhard Marcks Haus, Bremen.
Andrea Geile
Andrea Geile trained as a print-maker and sculptor in Bremen and Hanover and has been based in Edinburgh since 1995. Her practice maintains these aspects whilst encompassing the indoors and the outdoors with en plein air sculptures, installations and artist-led, socially-engaged ‘Walking Art’ projects. She is best known for her monumental yet sensitive works made in Corten steel. They can be experienced in places of outstanding natural beauty, such as The Chlorophylls in the Lettermore Forest on the Isle of Mull.
The creative process
Over some three years, Geile and I met up in her studio, on-line and in other locations, such as during the installation of her 2021 exhibition, Wonder Wander, at the Scottish Ornithologists Club. It was very rewarding to discuss new and future work with Geile and to support her through the highs and lows of the creative and exhibition preparation processes. She cited the Scottish female nature writers Nan Shepherd (1893-1981) and Kathleen Jamie (b.1962) as sources of inspiration, nurturing her own deeply-felt connection with the natural environment. In terms of Scottish art history, the response of Joan Eardley (1921-63) to the north-east fishing village of Catterline and the Gartenkunst Little Sparta created by Ian Hamilton-Finlay (1925-2006) have encouraged and enriched her own practice.
Fertile Ground
After a tremendous amount of work by Geile and the marvellous team at the Gerhard Marcks Haus, the day of the Fertile Ground exhibition opening finally dawned. The installation looked magnificent. Geile’s works occupied the entire ground floor of the gallery and some were also installed in the grounds. The first copy of the catalogue arrived during the vernissage and I was proud to see my essay ‘Andrea Geile: A Scottish Viewpoint’ in print. Copies of the biliingual (German / English) catalogue can be purchased here.
I look forward to an on-going relationship with Geile. In the meantime, you can see her work presented in the garden of The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh and in other locations around Scotland – see Geile’s website for details. For more about public sculpture, female sculptors and Joan Eardley please click on the links provided.
