For nearly fifty years now I have explored the illusive world of Naboland.
I first came across the name NABOLAND while working as an archaeological draughtsman
on the West coast of Turkey in the historic place of Pergamon in 1975. At the start of my time there I suffered the ill-effects of a mild sunstroke during which I came across a Turkish newspaper that reported the collision between a Swedish cargo ship, the NABOLAND, and a Turkish submarine. The year before I had found a little toy submarine on the shore of an island on the North Sea coast of Germany. In my feverish excitement I linked those two chance findings and developed the vision of letting my little tin toy explore aspects the unknown continent of Naboland.
A German Academic Exchange Grant brought me to Scotland in 1979 and the breathtaking beauty of its landscape and the friendliness of its inhabitants made it easy for me to settle here for good.
Over the years I explored the concept of Naboland in drawings, prints, paintings, film and installations that were feeding off many visual sources of early expeditions into far corners of the world and appeared to chime with the British sense of whimsy and humour.
Since my retirement from teaching at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, just across the Tay, I am able to explore even further zones of Naboland without leaving any carbon footprint whatsoever!
My choice of images for this exhibition concentrates on the icy worlds of the poles and the Tibetan Plateau. However, to create some climatic balance, a few images allow the little tin traveller to have breaks in warmer destinations.
Quite often I manage to build an explorer’s hut for my exhibitions, playing with the notion of survival in a harsh climate for diminutive explorers that turns the visitors into giants. The elegant Tatha Gallery with its wide view across the Tay gives me the association of a gallery at the edge of the Hudson Bay and I am pleased about the opportunity to create the most condensed version of my Naboland hut yet, shrinking the fictitious explorers even more.
Reinhard Behrens
January 2023.
Education
1971 – 78 Hamburg College of Art
1979 – 80 German Academic Exchange Grant for Post Graduate Course
in Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art
1982 – 84 Lecturer at Edinburgh College of Art
1986 Lecturer at Grays School of Art, Aberdeen
1989 – 1992 President of Society of Scottish Artists
1995 – 2020 Lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Since 1987 Lives and works in Pittenweem, Fife
Awards
1980 Andrew Grant Major Award, Edinburgh College of Art
1981 Educational Institute of Scotland Award (SSA)
1983 Benno Schotz Award, Royal Glasgow Institute
1985 IBM Award (SSA)
1986 Educational Institute of Scotland Award (RSA)
1987 Scottish Arts Council Major Bursary
1991 Paisley Drawing Biennale
1998 Noble Grossart Painting Prize
2011 Creative Scotland Bursary
Solo Exhibitions
1982 Edinburgh College of Art
Henderson’s Gallery, Edinburgh
1984 Glasgow School of Art
Printmaker’s Workshop, Edinburgh
1985 Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling
1986 An Lanntair, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
Artspace Gallery, Aberdeen
1987 McLaurin Art Gallery, Ayr
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
1988 Seagate Gallery, Dundee
Pier Arts Centre, Stromness
1989 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
1991 Barrack Street Museum, Dundee
1992 Galerie Gehring, Frankfurt
Aberdeen Art Gallery
1993 St. Andrews Festival, University of St. Andrews
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
1996 Arts in Fife Bus Tour
Campo Santo Chapel, Ghent
Crawford Arts Centre, St. Andrews
Galerie Claude André, Brussels
1997 Kirkcaldy Museum and Gallery
1999 Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
2000 Pittenweem Arts Festival (Invited Artist)
2004 Byre Theatre, St. Andrews
2005 Methil Heritage Centre, Fife
2006 Marishal Museum, University of Aberdeen
Bonhoga Gallery, Shetland
2008 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
2021 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
Group Exhibitions in Britain
1981 "Glasgow Herald" Glasgow
1982 "On Tour in Europe" Edinburgh Printmaker's Workshop
"Scottish Print Open 3" Dundee Printmaker's Workshop
1993 “Cleveland Drawing Biennale”
“Etchings Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition”
“Scottish Prints Now” Edinburgh Printmaker’s Workshop
1984 "Light" Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition
"Contemporary Printmakers" Mercury Gallery, London
1985 "Stonework" Scottish Arts Council Touring Exhibition
1986 "Bradford International Print Biennale"
1987 "Eleven Scottish Artists" Christopher Hull Gallery, London
"Scottish Print Open 4" Glasgow Print Studio
"Festival Portfolio" Edinburgh Printmaker's Workshop
"Non Residents Welcome" Crawford Centre for the Arts, St Andrews
"Drawings by Scottish Printmakers" Mercury Gallery, Edinburgh
"A Century of Scottish Printmaking" Fine Art Society, Glasgow
1989 "Into the Highlands" Dundee Art Gallery and Museum
1990 "The Whale and the Artist" Barrack Street Museum, Dundee
1991 "Paperworks" Seagate Gallery, Dundee
1992 "Word and Image" Festival Exhibition, Edinburgh College of Art
1993 "Dejeuner sur l'herbe" Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
"Aberdeen Artists" Aberdeen Art Gallery
1994 “Paperworks" Seagate Gallery, Dundee
"Times Ten" Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries
"Maritime Life" Portsoy Warehouse Gallery
"Witness of Existence" Demarco European Art Foundation, Edinburgh
"Summer Exhibition" Courtyard Gallery, Crail
1995 “Contemporary Impressions" Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews
"Calanais" An Lanntair Gallery, Stornoway Touring Exhibition
1996 "A Sense of Place" Smith Art Gallery, Stirling
"The Call of the Sea" Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
"Robert Burns" Compass Gallery, Glasgow
"Summer Exhibition" Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
1997 "Cross References" Touring Exhibition to Gracefield Arts Centre
Dumfries, Edinburgh Book Festival, Stranraer Museum, Highland Printmakers Workshop and Gallery, Inverness, Scott Gallery, Hawick "A Patch of their Own" Compass Gallery, Glasgow
"Moby Dick" Duns House, Aberdeen
"Under the influence" Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
"A Selection of Watercolours from RSW" Roger Bilcliffe Fine Art,
Glasgow
"Primavera" Courtyard Gallery, Crail
"Calanais" McLaurin Art Gallery, Ayr
"Drawing Exhibition" Royal College of Physicians
"Mactotem" An Lanntair Gallery, Stornoway, Peacock Printmakers,
Aberdeen
"Frame of Mind" Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
"Scottish Landscapes" Glasgow Print Studio Gallery
1999 “The Need to Draw” Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
“Contemporary Scottish Paintings” Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
“Recent Print Commissions” Art Gallery at Grampian Hospitals Art Trust, Aberdeen
“A5 Christmas Exhibition” Peacock Gallery, Aberdeen
“The Artists Alphabet” Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
2000 Solo Exhibition, Pittenweem Arts Festival
“Travel” and “Art Under £500” Frames Gallery, Perth
“Inside Out” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
“The Inventive Eye” Courtyard Gallery, Crail
“A May Festival Exhibition” The Blythswood Gallery, Glasgow
“Contemporary Scottish Drawing” Frames Gallery, Perth
2001 “Annual Summer Show” Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
“Festival Exhibition”, Courtyard Gallery, Crail
“Summer Show On-line” Sotheby’s, London and Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
“Landscape in Print” Edinburgh Printmaker’s Workshop
“Small Paintings” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
“On a Small Scale” Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
2002 “To Look on Nature” McManus Galleries, Dundee
“10 Years On” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
“Christmas Elements” Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh
“Christmas Card Exhibition” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
“The Art of Performance” Appleyard/Jaguar, Edinburgh
“Earthly Paradise” Cooper Gallery, DoJCAD, Dundee
2003 “SSA Select” The Park Gallery, Callendar Park, Falkirk
“Enchanted Lands” Shire Pottery Gallery, Alnwick
“Venice in Edinburgh” and “Festival of the Sea” The Demarco European Art Foundation, Edinburgh
“Drawing from Experience” Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
“Showcase – Fife” Jerdan Gallery, Crail
2011 “The Chosen Few” Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
2012 “Last and First of Men-Towards a New Anthropology”
The Library Space Battersea, London
2014 Group Exhibition at Edinburgh School of Drawing, Edinburgh
2015 “Allusion I”, RGI Kelly Gallery, Glasgow
2016 “Printroom Dundee”, Dundee University,
EDS Gallery, Edinburgh
Cambo House, Kingsbarns, Fife
2017 “Allusion II”, Tatha Gallery, Newport-on-Tay
2018 “Allusion III”, Fidra Fine Art, Gullane
2019 “Back to the Drawing Board”, Roger Bilcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
“Allusion IV”, RGI Kelly Gallery, Glasgow
“40 Years On”, Frames Gallery, Perth
2020 “River Deep- Mountain High” University of Dundee
2021 “Allusion VI” Open Eye Gallery
Group Exhibitions Overseas
1977 "20 Young Artists" Kunsthaus Hamburg
1978 "Group GO" studio f Ulm
"Group GO" Gallery Hauptmann Hamburg
1980 "Group GO" Gallery Levy Hamburg
1983 "New Scottish Prints" Glasgow Herald Exhibition in New York and
Canada
1986 “From the Land" An Lanntair Touring Exhbition to Canada
1988 "5th Biennale of European Art of Printmaking" Heidelberg
"International Audio Visueel Experimenteel Festival" Arnheim
“Seven from Scotland” Malaspina Printmaker’s, Vancouver, Canada
1995 "Gathering" Galerie Beeldspraak, Amsterdam
1996 "Humour & Automata" Galerie Claude Andre, Brussels
1997 "Autumn Exhibition" Gallery House, Nobleboro, Maine, USA
1998 "Scottish Spirit, ths SSA in The USA "Touring Exhibition to
Philadelphia, New Jersey, New orleans, New York City, Ohio and
North Dakota
"Celtic Connections" Iwate Art Festival, Iwate, Japan
2000 “Scotland House Exhibition”, Brussels
2002 “Natural Elements” Scotland House, Brussels
Regular exhibitor with the Society of Scottish Artists, the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Water-Colours, Aberdeen Artists and Royal Scottish Academy.