David Remfry: In Residence

21 February – 13 June 2026

Acclaimed artist David Remfry brings his lyrical artistic vision to Edinburgh, featuring 30 evocative paintings, including a sensitive portrait of his friend, Alan Cumming and his first-ever tapestry, created with Dovecot Studios.

Known for his large-scale watercolours of dancers and his drawings of neighbours and friends from his 20 years living in New York, Royal Academician David Remfry is adept at recording both people and place. He has long been fascinated by textiles, modelling colour and pattern in his paintings through furnishings, and the drapery and folds of fabric on the body.

The exhibition features paintings and drawings chosen to convey the sense of dialogue implicit in the work of the tapestry studio and between the artist, subject, and space. Remfry is constantly observing the world around him, and in doing so, connecting memory with place before committing his perceptions to paint. From hotel interiors to crowded dance halls and even undefined spaces, he approaches his compositions as something to be carefully considered, framed, or even erased, giving equal weight to what surrounds the subject as to the subject itself. The works on display span five decades of Remfry’s career, from McGilchrist Sisters, begun in 1971, to the new tapestry Chandelirium, completed in 2026.

Works in the exhibition are available to purchase.

EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS

Monday to Friday, 12pm–3pm

Saturday, 10am–5pm

Please note the balcony will be closed on Saturday 29 November due to a private event.  Please check our building opening hours for detailed information on closures or additional opening dates.