DUNDEE COURIER 21st May 2007
Star- Studded Fan Club
By Helen Brown
DUNDEE- TRAINED, Glasgow born artist Frank To is showing work
in a major exhibition at the Queens Gallery, Dundee.
At 25, he is already winning an enviable reputation for himself as a
contemporary figurative painter with a loyal- and impressively high- profile
following.
Three of his canvases have been beamed up into the collection of Star Trek
actor Patrick Stewart- the cult TV show's Captain Jean- Luc Picard- and more
recently Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin, creator of maverick Edinburgh
detective John Rebus, has shown an interest in the work of this up-and-coming
artist.
A Masters graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art who also trained in
Yorkshire, he has exhibited alongside such greats of the Scottish and
international art scene as Peter Howson and his work has also featured in the
London Art Fair, at shows in Harrogate, Chelsea, Edinburgh and Glasgow and in
the collection of Dundee University.
This is his first solo gallery exhibition and consists of all new work- but
with an underpinning of subjects he has been itching to paint for some time.
He explained, "I've been trying to get this off my chest since I travelled
through Europe in 2002. I did a lot of drawings while I was there, inspired by
the Old Masters especially which is something I'd actually read a lot about.
There's great book, Vasari's LIVES OF THE ARTIST, which is like a contemporary
biographical account of some of the greatest renaissance painters that
influenced me a lot, especially when I read about Michelangelo.
"I was inspired by the idea that Michelangelo could visualise the human
form within a block of marble and used his artistic skills to 'free' it, and I
wanted to explore the idea of teasing out figures from initially abstract
images.
"I work in two distinct ways. First, I use broad sweeping brush strokes to
create the abstract starting points, then more precise brushwork to turn the
abstract into something more figurative."
Although he is becoming known for his highly individual style based on the
human form, Frank's approach actually combines the best, as far as he is
concerned, of two very different painting styles.
He explained, "The course I took in Yorkshire, at Huddersfield, wasn't a
traditional one, it was much more a conceptual course. It wasn't until I did my
Masters at Dundee which has a strong reputation in the traditional approach
that I found I could mix the two elements into something that was really mine.
"It's like alchemy in a way, putting these elements together to make
something new."
Currently busy on a major private commission for a Texan client, achieved
through a New York art dealer who has represented legendary names such as Andy
Warhol and Jean- Michel Basquiat, Frank is also working in his Glasgow studio
for a showcase of Scottish painting at the Modern Artists Gallery in Berkshire
and has an opportunity to create work for the Albemarle Gallery in London, one
of the art world's most prestigious venues.
"The Texan commission happened after a visit to America in February and
it's really interesting- I've never met the client but they apparently have an
art collection featuring Picasso and Monet.
"I'm beginning to take a bit more of a gamble with my work this year. I
graduated in 2005 and took part in lots of shows throughout 2006 to get a name
and get my work out there. Now, in my second year, I feel I'm developing and
taking it further.
"Lots of opportunities are coming together so I think things are at a bit
of a crucial stage. Failure is not an option so I'm working out how best to
tackle this successfully as I can."