Simon Laurie RSW RGI (b.1964)

Born in Glasgow, Simon studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1982 to 1987, remaining to complete his postgraduate studies there. He has painted professionally and exhibited publicly since graduating in 1988. Only three years later, he was given his first solo exhibition on Cork Street, London and, in the following decade, continued to hold solo exhibitions there, as well as in Scotland and Toronto.  We feel privileged to have held subsequently a number of one-man exhibitions at Panter & Hall, London.

Simon’s paintings are typically inspired by everyday objects and the ever-changing Scottish landscape; they have been said to combine the purity and formalism of the St Ives School with the rich tradition of the Scottish colourists. Indeed, his pictures are infused with colour and display an elegant sense of space and perspective, resonating with collage art works. Each painting is created using bright acrylics in a simple form within a balanced composition.

While exhibiting at the Royal Glasgow Institute, Simon won the Ernst & Young Award (1990), the Scottish Craft Council award (1991) and the Teachers Whiskey Travel Award (1992) and, in 1991, was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Watercolourists. In 2000, Simon was also elected a member of the Royal Glasgow Institute. His work can be found in many notable private and public collections, including the permanent collections of the Contemporary Art Society, London, the Aberdeen Art Gallery, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, Unilever, London, TSB Headquarters, London, The Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Football Association.

Simon's highly individual abstract style has won him most of the principal awards at the Scottish societies over the last decade. His many public collectors include the Contemporary Arts Society, Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, Unilever and the Royal Bank of Scotland.