Mother Glasgow

Discover the story behind Gerard’s ‘Mother Glasgow’ exhibition

‘Mother Glasgow’ is a celebration (via 15 oil-painted portraits) of multiculturalism within the city of Glasgow, and the essential role of women in our society.

In all of the various exhibitions I’ve been involved in, both here in Glasgow and around the world, I’ve used my portraits to tell stories… either about politicians, actors, individuals from the world of business and sport, or simply individuals who’ve come into my life for one reason or another.

In this case, each of these paintings and the subjects depicted has an important story to tell. Stories about the importance of immigration, of multiculturalism and the role of women in our society…

Stories which matter now more than ever in these increasingly polarised times.

words from Gerard…

Hi everyone. I thought it might be worth offering you a few words about this project, about what I hope to achieve, and why, basically, I’ve put this thing together for those who know my work.

You’ll be aware that I use paintings to tell stories, whether it be using objects symbolically in some of my larger figurative works, whether it be in my portraits themselves, where inevitably in the best of what I do. There’s a narrative embedded. And in this instance, I wanted to tell a story about Glasgow. I wanted to tell a story which celebrated multiculturalism within the city. And to do so, I decided to paint a series of portraits of women from around the world who have chosen to make the city their home.

Full transcript available here

—

Now, I suppose your first instinct would be thinking about people who have come to the city recently, but that’s not the way that this has worked out.

For example, I have an amazing 87-year-old Italian lady called Gina Useabi who came to the city when she was 17 years of age.

I have, uh, a wonderful French ballet dancer. I have a Japanese violinist. It’s a remarkable group of women.

And I suppose interestingly, you know, I didn’t go out with some kind of a wishlist, you know. I simply allowed life to bring these women to me, which it has so much so that what initially was intended to be 12 portraits is now 16. And actually the reality is it could be 150, it could be 1,050.

For every one story that I’m hoping to tell, there are a thousand others. Lots of amazing things have happened along the way.

As well as the opportunity to paint a portrait properly, you have to get to know a person. So I’ve had the opportunity to enter into the lives of, these individuals and, uh, amazing stories about their journey to the city and about their experience since they came. But one of the most amazing things, which has unexpectedly come about is that we have been offered space on these huge digital billboards, which you’ll see throughout the city. And you may actually have already seen the first of the portraits of Gina Usbi, which went up a couple of weeks ago. I mean, just amazing.

The opportunity to do that in itself, really an art Project. The idea is that these paintings will inhabit the city between now and the exhibition launch in March next year.

Just amazing. The plan is that we, the portraits, will change every two weeks. We’ll put a new one up. I don’t have all of them finished yet, so we’re working with the ones we have. And as new portraits come out of the studio, then they’ll feed on, um, right up to the opening of the exhibition. The hope is that the exhibition will run in various different locations for the whole of 2026,

But initially, it will be in the Mitchell Library. This is all in time to coincide with International Women’s Day next year, which is on the 8th of March. So the paintings will be going into the Mitchell on the ninth. There’s a media launch a couple of days before.

But basically that’s the start of the exhibition. And again, Glasgow life has been amazing. Uh, they’ve given me the space. They understand what I’m trying to do, and the idea that the paintings will be in a place where people are, I think, is just amazing.

Anyway, as they say, keep an eye on the billboards. Keep an eye on the website and watch this space.