Look inside this contemporary art and design gallery in the Highlands of Scotland, which focuses on materials and subject matters inspired by the natural world
How lucky we are to call Scotland our home. It’s a country of great natural beauty, but is also packed to the rafters with creative folk bringing wonderful new things into existence. Cold Paradise is a celebration of both. It’s a gallery that champions makers whose work is directly influenced by landscape, geology, nature and weather. Appropriately enough, Cold Paradise is right in the middle of some of Scotland’s most dramatic landscape (and wild weather), in Shieldaig, a village in Wester Ross between Torridon and Applecross.
Art historian Jamie Morra and artist Magnus Livingstone set up the Cold Paradise (open from May to October by appointment) with the aim of creating a space where contemporary art, traditional craft and ecological thinking can meet. They have an ever-growing roster of artists, but expect to see oils and monotypes by Hugo Winder-Lind, vibrant tapestries by Gyllian Thomson, and a selection of stoneware by Magnus’s brand ARD.
Cold Paradise also offers an artist residency in a cottage on the shores of Loch Torridon in nearby Ardheslaig. Like the gallery, the aim is to open up opportunities for makers whose work is shaped by encounters with the natural world – and where better to find those than here in this wild, remote, inspiring corner of the country.
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Looking to discover more off-the-beaten track gems this year? Scroll through the below to flesh out your To Do list. And don’t forget to pop into Cold Paradise too.
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