WHAT’S THE STORY?

IT has been announced that Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh is to stage the first major exhibition of the extraordinary work of Archie Brennan, one of Scotland’s greatest unsung artistic heroes who died last year at the age of 87.

Brennan was one of the greatest practitioners of the art of tapestry. He was a friend of both Sir Sean Connery and the late Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, and his work influenced and continues to influence Pop artists and tapestry creators the world over.

Opening next year, on March 26, Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop! will tell the fascinating story of how Brennan rose from a young Scottish apprentice to become a globally recognised master of the art form. The exhibition will give not only Brennan, but Scottish tapestry the wider recognition they justly deserve.

WHO WAS ARCHIE BRENNAN?

BORN in Roslin in 1931, Brennan joined Dovecot Studios, the renowned centre for tapestry production in Edinburgh, for part-time evening classes at the age of 16.

In 1948 he was taken on as an apprentice, completing that apprenticeship in 1954. At the same time he was making his way in the world of bodybuilding where he made friends with a certain Thomas Sean Connery – it was Brennan who suggested that Connery become a life model at Edinburgh College of Art where arts impresario Richard Demarco was one of the students who painted the future James Bond.

He took his hobbies seriously – Brennan won the Mr Scotland title in 1953 and retained an interest in sports all his life, particularly fly fishing and tennis.

Passionate about education, he established the tapestry department at Edinburgh College of Art and as Director of Dovecot from 1963, he was a huge influence on an entire generation of Scottish weavers. Travelling and teaching extensively, Brennan inspired weavers all over the world.

He taught at university in Australia and stablished the Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne before helping to set up the National School for the Arts in Papua New Guinea. He moved to the United States where he married fellow weaver Susan Maffei, spending the last 30 years of his life with her in New York.

WHAT WERE HIS GREATEST WORKS AND ACHIEVEMENTS?

COMBINING tapestry with Pop Art in which he was influenced by Paolozzi and Andy Warhol, among others, Brennan created a unique body of work in which he would seize on ephemeral images of the day and weave them into tapestries which once seen are rarely forgotten.

In doing so he not only influenced tapestry weaving but also Pop Art itself.

Muhammad Ali and Princess Diana were just two of the people whose images he wove, and his range of work included tapestry postcards and even a Midlothian County Map representing his native county through geometric shapes.

He played a huge role in the art world in general, and was at various times the Acting Chairman of the British Crafts Centre and President of the Society of Scottish Artists.

Surprisingly there has never been a major retrospective exhibition bringing together many of his works. That will now happen when Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop! will run at the Dovecot Studios on Infirmary Street, Edinburgh, from March 26 to June 26 next year with more than 80 of Brennan’s works set to feature.

WHAT DID BRENNAN SAY ABOUT HIS ART?

HE was very modest about his art, once saying that weaving a tapestry was “about as sensible as building a life size model of St Paul’s Cathedral out of matchsticks.”

Brennan nevertheless stated his love for tapestry. He said: “Quite simply, the practice of woven tapestry has been an obsessive passion my entire adult life. It is my language and I love – hate – delight and struggle with it each day, all day. In a unique manner, it is a vehicle to convey concepts, comment, harmony, discord, rhythm, growth and form. Simply put, it is what I do. That tapestry today is widely regarded as a minor art form leaves me unconcerned. That is somebody else’s loss.”

WHAT IS DOVECOT SAYING ABOUT HIM?

CELIA Joicey, Dovecot Director, told The National that Archie Brennan “is the undisputed master of modern tapestry.” She added: “In a career spanning eight decades, he fundamentally changed the art form on an international level, but what has received less attention is that Brennan is undoubtedly one of Britain’s greatest Pop artists.

“Brennan’s iconoclastic approach to tapestry blending popular and celebrity images with high art proved revelatory, leading to a 20th century revival in the medium. It is this previously un-researched area of art history and his position as a Pop artist which will be revealed next Spring,

“Brennan’s contribution to weaving is unparalleled, and his approach distinctly aligns with the Pop Art movement. He frequently referenced public figures in his work from Muhammad Ali to Princess Diana, and often created tapestries from sketches taken from the TV or newspapers. Weaving is a long process, so the idea of capturing fleeting pop culture moments is contradictory, witty, and very Archie.

“Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop! is a chance for us to celebrate an exceptional Scottish weaver and artist, and where better than Dovecot Studios where his career flourished. We cannot wait to welcome visitors to discover Brennan’s woven world, and to no doubt be charmed by him and his work.”