Ardgowan Distillery sponsor gallery in newly opened Wyllieum

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SPONSORSHIPArdgowan Distillery are proud to announce their sponsorship of Gallery One, now the Ardgowan Distillery Gallery, at the newly opened Wyllieum, a space dedicated to the work and legacy of one of Scotland’s most beloved and well-known artists, George Wyllie.

Situated in Greenock, on the mouth of the River Clyde, The Wyllieum is close to both Wyllie’s home in Gourock and his place of work, The Customs House. The purpose-built gallery is housed in the new Greenock Ocean Terminal Visitor Centre, a Glasgow City Region City Deal project on the town’s waterfront. It is the first purpose-built museum and gallery to open in Scotland since 2018.

I Once Went Down to the Sea Again, the first exhibition in the Ardgowan Distillery Gallery

Photo: Derek Mitchell

Home to the largest collection of works by George Wyllie in the world, The Wyllieum will showcase Wyllie’s work and legacy, hosting a rolling display of exhibitions and displays of art which connect to Wyllie by outlook or ethos. Alongside a permanent collection display showing items from the George Wyllie Estate, ephemera and archival material, the year-round gallery programme will include two temporary exhibitions showcasing Wyllie’s practice and placing it in dialogue with his collaborators while also creating a platform for contemporary artistic responses to his work.

Born in Glasgow in 1921, George Wyllie trained as an engineer with the Post Office before serving in the Royal Navy from 1942 to 1946. He was a Customs and Excise Officer for thirty years before becoming a full-time artist in his late fifties, pioneering socially engaged artwork such as the Straw Locomotive (1987), which hung over an empty Clyde as a requiem for Glasgow’s engineering prowess; and Paper Boat of the Origami Line (1989), a reminder that over two fifths of the world’s merchant ships were launched in The Clyde in the early 1900s. Later works include his series of outdoor Equilibrium Spires: wire sculptures which he placed in various locations, ranging from the remote Gruinard Island in the Inner Hebrides to the Berlin Reichstag.

Many of George’s major works have become more prescient over time. The aforementioned Straw Locomotive and Paper Boat communicated the hole left in communities after industry was ripped from them in the 1980s.

George’s sense of social justice and equality was formed, in no small part, by his experiences as a younger man. The socialist principles of shipbuilders, dockworkers and the river economy were compounded by Wyllie’s experiences during the Second World War; serving in the Royal Navy George was one of the first foreign nationals to visit Hiroshima shortly after America dropped the atomic bomb.

The first exhibition to be held in the Ardgowan Distillery Gallery, I Once Went Down to the Sea Again, is co-curated by Will Cooper, Inaugural Director of The Wyllieum, and sculptor Sara Barker. In keeping with Wyllie’s own approach to his work, The Wyllieum is a free, welcoming space of inspiration and invention, posing questions around what art is and can be. More information on the exhibition can be read here.

Ardgowan team L-R: majority investor Roland Grain, marketing manager Nicola Campbell, CEO Martin McAdam, sales & marketing director David Keir

Photo: Gavin MacQueen

Roland Grain, Chief Investor at Ardgowan Distillery, said: “Investing in arts and culture is something I’m very passionate about in my homeland, Austria, and the opening of the Wyllieum presented a great opportunity for me to do the same here. Myself and the team at Ardgowan Distillery are passionate about supporting our local community any which way we can. For us, it is not just about the whisky, it is also about leaving a positive legacy for generations to come and nurturing tourism and local employment in the wider Inverclyde area. We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the Wyllieum team and wish them every success.”

Inaugural Director Will Cooper said, “George Wyllie started making art full time after a career that included stints in the royal navy and 30 years as a customs & excise officer in Greenock. His decision to become an artist in his retirement is an inspiration for us all. His incredibly diverse artistic output included anxieties about the banking system and the role of European colonists in the formation of modern America; and many of his themes have become even more vital over time. I am in awe of the dedicated hard work of impassioned supporters who have turned their love for George into The Wyllieum. Our opening programme is hugely exciting – we’ll open the gallery with I Once Went Down to the Sea Again, a survey of one of George’s most ambitious projects. Bringing Sara Barker in to co-curate the show will ensure these works are brought into the 21st century. I can’t wait to welcome visitors into our building!”

The £20.1 million project includes a brand-new pontoon alongside the visitor centre, which was designed by renowned Scottish architect Richard Murphy OBE, and was officially opened in September last year. It is owned by Inverclyde Council and was built with funding from the UK and Scottish Governments via the Glasgow City Region City Deal.

The Wyllieum also houses a shop selling Ardgowan Distillery whiskies, homewares, books, crafts, and objects developed by The George Wyllie Estate; and shares the building with Scotts restaurant and Peel Ports’ cruise ship arrivals area which brings more than 150,000 tourists directly into Greenock each year.

I Once Went Down to the Sea Again runs until 11 August 2024.