Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Born in Glasgow in 1961, Calum Colvin has exhibited his work nationally and internationally for over thirty years since graduating from the Royal College of Art, London in 1985. He was a winner of one of the first Scottish Arts Council Creative Scotland Awards from which he created the acclaimed exhibition for the SNPG ‘Ossian, Fragments of Ancient Poetry’ in 2001. He was awarded an OBE the same year and elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 2004. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021. Colvin is Professor of Fine Art Photography and Associate Dean of Research at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee.
Colvin’s constructed photographic artworks begin as large-scale studio 'stage-sets', tableaux of everyday objects, furniture and bric-a-brac carefully posed and theatrically lit. Viewed from the fixed-point perspective of a large-format camera, painted trompe-l'oeil elements are introduced, integrating object and subject in a complex mise en scene. These are finally photographed on film, digitized and printed onto paper or canvas. These visual illusions/allegories are intended to draw the viewer into a creative dialogue as the images are interpreted, touching on contemporary concerns relating to society, the environment and aspects of national identity.
His works have been widely exhibited in venues as diverse as Orkney, Los Angeles and Ecuador, and are represented in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Museum of Fine Art, Houston; The Tate Gallery, London and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. A monograph, The Constructed Worlds of Calum Colvin: Symbol, Allegory, Myth, cataloguing his artistic career to date was published by Luath Press, Edinburgh in 2019.
Biography
1979-1983: Diploma in Sculpture, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee.
1983-1985: MA in Photography, Royal College of Art, London.
1985-1993: Lived and worked as artist in London.
1993-2001: Lecturer in Fine Art, University of Dundee.
1995-1996: Senior Research Fellow in Digital Imaging, University of Northumbria.
2001- present: Professor of Fine Art Photography, University of Dundee.
2013 – 2018: Head of Contemporary Art Practice, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art + Design, University of Dundee.
2018 - present: Associate Dean of Research.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1987-1990: ‘Calum Colvin’ Kathleen Ewing Gallery, Washington DC; Sander Gallery, New York; Friedman-Guinness Gallery, Heidelberg; Torch Gallery, Amsterdam; Richard Pomoroy Gallery, London; Seagate Gallery, Dundee; Salama Caro Gallery, London; Galeria 57, Madrid;Glenn/Dash Gallery, Los Angeles; California State University, Long Beach, California; Friedman-Guinness Gallery, Frankfurt; Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney; Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston; Portfolio Gallery, Edinburgh.
1991:’The Two Ways of Life’ Art Institute of Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary; Winnipeg Art Gallery; Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe .
1993-2000: ’The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things’ Portfolio Gallery, Edinburgh; Photographers Gallery, London; Photosynkyria, Thessalonki, Greece;Norwich Arts Centre; BM Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul; Banco Central Art Gallery, Quenca, Ecuador; British Council, Quito, Ecuador; Royal Photographic Society, Bath; Fotomuseum, Stadtmuseum, Munich; Seagate Gallery, Dundee; Photography Centre of Athens; Forum Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia; Varazdin Town Museum, Croatia; BM Contemporary Art Centre, Istanbul; Izfas Art Gallery, Ismir; State Fine Arts Gallery, Ankara; Encontros da Imagem, Braga, Portugal; Kawasaki City Museum, Japan; The Meffan Institute, Angus.
1996- 2000 ‘Pseudologica Fantastica’ Impressions Gallery, York; Focal Point Gallery, Southend -on –Sea; Portfolio Gallery, Edinburgh; Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Wales; Centre Cultural Caixa de Terassa, Barcelona; University of Salamanca; Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville; Viewpoint Gallery, Salford, Manchester; Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery; Piece Hall Gallery, Halifax.
1998-2003:‘Sacred and Profane’ Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; National Machado de Castro Museum, Coimbra, Portugal; Martha Schneider Gallery, Chicago; Peacock Printmakers, Aberdeen; Crawford Art Centre, St Andrews.
2002-2008: ‘Ossian, Fragments of Ancient Poetry’ Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh; Iona Gallery, Kingussie; Swanson Gallery, Thurso; An Tuireann, Skye; Timespan, Helmsdale; St Fergus Gallery, Wick; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; Birnam Institute, Dunkeld; Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries; Festival de Musique de Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Beaulieu, France; UNESCO, Paris; Inverness County Centre for the Arts, Nova Scotia; University of Guelph, Canada.
2009: ‘Natural Magic’ Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; Swanson Gallery Thurso; St Fergus Gallery, Wick.
2014: ‘The Magic Box’ Edinburgh Printmakers.
2013/15: ‘Burnsiana’ Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Ayr; Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh: Dick Institute, Kilmarnock.
2016/17: ‘Jacobites by Name’ Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh; Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.
2017: ‘Museography’ McManus Galleries, Dundee.
2020: ‘Constructed Worlds’ Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh.
Collections
Works included in many public collections including: Victoria and Albert Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York; Scottish Natioal Portrait Gallery; The British Council; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art; Royal Photographic Society; Arnolfini Collection Trust; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Ferens Museum, Hull; Art Institute of Chicago; Tate Gallery; Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow; Aberdeen Art Gallery; City Art Centre, Edinburgh; Deutsche Bank; The Scottish Parliament. McManus Galleries, Dundee; City of Glasgow College.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Master of Arts, Photography, Royal College of Art
Award Date: 1 Jan 1985
Diploma in Sculpture
1 Sept 1979 → 1 Jun 1983
Award Date: 1 Jun 1983
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 5 Finished
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Alastair MacLennan - Beyond the Archive
Colvin, C. (Investigator), Lockhart, A. (Investigator) & Watson, A. (Investigator)
14/02/22 → 31/10/22
Project: Research
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Visual Research in Creative Collections and Economies
Colvin, C. (Investigator), Lockhart, A. (Investigator) & Murray, C. (Investigator)
1/12/20 → 31/03/21
Project: Research
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Digital Art and Activism Network (joint with University of Abertay)
Colvin, C. (Investigator) & Leuzzi, L. (Investigator)
1/03/19 → 28/02/21
Project: Research
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The Magic Box
Colvin, C. (Investigator)
Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
2/06/14 → 1/09/14
Project: Research
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Burns - after Flaxman
Colvin, C., 2023, In: Studies in Photography. Summer 2023, p. 46-49 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Alastair MacLennan: Beyond the Archive, McManus Art Gallery, Dundee
MacLennan, A. (Artist), Bhose, R. X. (Artist), Godfrey, H. (Artist), Colvin, C. (Research group member), Lockhart, A. (Curator), Watson, A. (Research group member), Cavanagh, C. (Contributing member), Donald, J. (Contributing member), Bodor, J. (Contributing member), Robertson, A. (Contributing member), Keracher, S. (Contributing member), Page, R. (Contributing member), Gillespie, S. (Contributing member), Jack, R. (Contributing member), Rubczak, N. (Contributing member) & Breathnath, S. C. (Contributing member), 29 Oct 2022Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
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Honorary Fellows, Past and Present
Colvin, C. (Artist), 8 Nov 2022Research output: Non-textual form › Artefact
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Brexit Tears
Colvin, C. & Crawford, R., 2020, Newtyle, Angus, UK: Kettilonia. 56 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
Prizes
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Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Colvin, C. (Recipient), 30 Mar 2021
Prize: Election to learned society
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Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Colvin, C. (Recipient), 29 Mar 2021
Prize: Election to learned society
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Activities
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Dundee artist’s exclusive Robert Burns artwork to be launched at Burns Night event in Edinburgh
Colvin, C. (Member)
13 Jan 2023Activity: Other activity types › Public engagement and outreach - media article or participation
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Calum Colvin interview with The Courier: How Dundee professor Calum Colvin failed ‘O’ grade art and became one of Scotland’s leading artists
Colvin, C. (Interviewee)
21 Jan 2023Activity: Other activity types › Public engagement and outreach - media article or participation
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Burns night concert. Launch event for "Burns - After Flaxman" 2023
Colvin, C. (Member)
25 Jan 2023Activity: Other activity types › Public engagement and outreach - festival/exhibition
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Royal Society of Edinburgh (External organisation)
Colvin, C. (Member)
2022 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of group
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Royal Scottish Academy (External organisation)
Colvin, C. (Member)
2022 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of panel
Press/Media
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Brexit Tears: A pithy political collection of images and clever wordplay
3/08/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Page\Park turns former welly factory into printmakers
28/05/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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