At the Annual Business Meeting of the Glasgow Art Club held on the evening of Thursday the 22nd of February 2018, the members of the Club elected Mr Joe Hargan PAI as the new President of the organisation. Mr Hargan has made the following statement;
“As the newly elected president of the Glasgow Art club it is a pleasure to take over from our first Lady President Efric McNeil who did a sterling job over her term. I hope to continue developing our links with the various institutions and public.
During the past 3 years as Artist Vice President and chair of the gallery committee we have offered degree students their first prestigious show. I intend to broaden these connections with the other Scottish art institutes in Scotland. We have put on all levels of exhibitions from Primary and Secondary schools to art school degree students, memorial exhibitions, solo and mixed shows. Within this last 3 years we have put on 43 exhibitions. We have a healthy program of events forthcoming with educational talks and a prestigious Redpath/ Michie exhibition in the Autumn amongst others.
I wish to develop our important archival research with the help of Glasgow University students. This involvement is developing a data base of our history. A history that takes in the great and the good in the Arts and business life of Glasgow and beyond. This material I believe will be invaluable to academic and public research and we reward these research students from Glasgow University the Glasgow Art club Diploma.
There are challenges to funding and developing unused areas of the club into viable working and gallery spaces.
I am looking into a Membership drive to bring in the wider community.
Another key area is developing Historic House tours allowing increased access to enjoy this important part of Glasgow and Scotland’s Heritage.
Additionally I would like to see us develop our Art collection and expose it to a wider public.
As you can see there is a lot to do, and with determination I will continue the process of presenting and promoting art to a broader audience.”
Joe Hargan was born in Glasgow, 1952. He studied drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art from 1970-74 under Danny Ferguson James Robertson and David Donaldson
Joe has exhibited regularly his contemporary paintings since the early 1970`s at: the Royal Glasgow Institute of Art; Royal Society of Watercolors; Royal Scottish Academy of Art; The Paisley Art Institute; Royal Academy, London; Dick Institute, Kilmarnock; British Watercolor Society & National Portrait Gallery
Joe is a founder member of Group 81 Artists who regularly exhibited at McLellan Galleries, Glasgow. In 1981 Hargan was elected a member of the Glasgow Art Club. Then in 1985 he became a member of the Paisley Art Institute and later that year elected a council member. In 1989 he was nominated and voted Chairman and President of the prestigious Art Institute. He was to hold the post for 11 years.
In 1996 for the quality of his paintings and his service to Scottish art Joe Hargan was awarded the Paisley Art Institute diploma. The Art Institute was founded in 1876 and has built up a substantial art collection of Scottish Art. It promotes contemporary art through its annual exhibition and also organises the notable Scottish Drawing Competition every two years.
The body of Joe`s paintings are remarkable for their diversity. But his paintings are immediately recognisable and follow the rich tradition of vibrant, bold colourist Scottish paintings. Contemporary paintings by Joe Hargan of the renowned character `Sniffy` have featured in many of his paintings and are now collected by art lovers worldwide. Over the years Hargan has been awarded a number of art prizes reflecting and rewarding the quality and breadth of his talent.
Hargan draws inspiration from many sources: Italian renaissance art, Spanish art, American influences such as Rothko and Newman; and of course British artists Francis Bacon, Philipson and David Donaldson
A full list of elected members can be viewed at glasgowartclub.co.uk/about/council-management/