THE EVENING TIMES June 15th 2010
By Caroline Wilson
A Glasgow-based artist hopes his unusual city centre exhibition will encourage people to invest in fine art.
Frank To, whose fans include Star Trek star Sir Patrick Stewart, is showing his latest works across the windows of a vacant shop as part of a major Glasgow City Council regeneration project.
The installation, on a three-storey building in St Vincent Street, is part of the £300,000 Style Mile initiative, which aims to help the city beat off competition from out-of-town shopping centres, attract tourists and fight the recession.
To's unique painting technique is earning him international recognition among art critics and high-profile collectors as a leading contemporary figurative painter.
The Falkirk-born painter hopes the shop project, which was backed by Braewell Galleries, will open up fine art to a wider audience and encourage more of the public to see art as a good investment.
He said: "Artists and galleries in Scotland are suffering due to people not buying art. It's not that people can't afford to. It's just that a majority are afraid to do so.
"As well as inspiring the general public with this kind of project, I'm hoping it will also encourage them to go to art galleries to view the actual work.
"With many investors reluctant to put their hard-earned savings into stocks and shares at present, fine art offers an attractive alternative asset. Depending on the artist, the value of art rarely falls over the medium to long term."
Born in 1982, To has exhibited alongside some of the greats of the international contemporary art scene, such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst.
His work has featured in several national art fairs and shows in Glasgow, London, Bath and Dundee and in various episodes of the STV detective drama Rebus.