Dunoon-born artist to showcase wide-ranging work in new exhibition

A DUNOON-born visual artist with an international reputation is set to present a new exhibition featuring work spanning prints, drawings, sculpture, digital art and film.
Stephen Hurrel, who was brought up in Dunoon and studied Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art, will showcase a mix of recent and earlier pieces from his studio.
The exhibition will include prints, drawings, digital and sculptural works, as well as material documenting his public art projects through posters, cards, brochures and publications.
Organisers say the show will offer an eclectic look at an artist whose work moves across time, space and different media.
Mr Hurrel developed an interest in the role art can play in public spaces during the 1990s, which went on to lead to several permanent public art commissions in the UK and overseas.
His work can be seen closer to home at Greenock Health and Care Centre, where he served as lead artist between 2016 and 2021, and at Woodside Health and Care Centre in Glasgow.
One of his best-known public works, the light-based sculpture The Rings, has hung in the entrance atrium of Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries since 2004.
A recurring theme in much of his work is the playful use of words and language.
This will be reflected in the exhibition through pieces including the digital 3D animation WARRIOR/WORRIER, the screen print Sea-Estrelas-Tears, and a new series of digital prints titled LOVEVOLVE.
The influence of Dunoon and its coastal setting has also remained central to his work, particularly in a series of short independent films made over the past 15 years.
These films combine experimental and cinematic imagery with ambient soundtracks and voice, and have been screened internationally at venues and film festivals.
One of those films, Clyde Reflections, will be shown at Dunoon Burgh Hall as part of Dunoon Film Festival on Sunday, May 10.
Mr Hurrel has said music and album artwork were also an early influence on his creative development, sparking a wider interest in visual art and sound.
Over the years, his work has been exhibited widely, including at the Venice Biennale, the Colombo Biennale in Sri Lanka, and in Glasgow at the Gallery of Modern Art, Tramway and the Centre for Contemporary Arts.
He has also undertaken residencies in Australia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Portugal and across Scotland, and has worked as a lecturer at several art institutions in the UK, as well as serving as Course Leader of Context and Media M.A. in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Since 2001, he has produced around a dozen permanent public artworks, including a large stainless-steel installation in Tasmania.