A major joint retrospective of Rae’s work together with that of his friend of 50 years Gordon Cockburn (1944-2022) is opening at Rozelle Gallery in Ayr on 18 November 2023 to 28 January 2024. This non-selling exhibition then tours to the Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries and the Baird Institute in Cumnock over the next 10 months. Ronald Rae’s small sculptures, found objects, graphic work and paintings will be featured. The exhibition is marked by a published catalogue and an exhibition-only digital print limited to an edition of 25 has been created with the help of the Glasgow Print Studio (retails at £220).
An artist monograph on the life and work of Ronald Rae written by Robert De Mey is published on 17 November 2023 by Unicorn Publishing Group. This details his origins, his self-education, influences, practice and diversity as an artists across multiple different media.
To see unique footage of the creation of the Baby Elephant go to the right margin at LATEST NEWS ON VIDEO scroll down to Ronald Rae returns to carving granite Parts One, Two, Three to its completion in Part Four.
Ronald Rae’s latest sculptures Baby Elephant and Gorilla Family were exhibited from August till November 2015 at Edinburgh Airport’s new plaza to welcome visitors to the Festival City. The site for the Baby Elephant was next to Africa on the world map on the tarmac making a powerful statement about the plight of these wild and wonderful creatures. The Baby Elephant is now on exhibition at the West End of Edinburgh and the Gorilla Family has joined the Ronald Rae Exhibition at the Falkirk Wheel where ten sculptures are displayed.
The plaza links the East Terminal to the Tram Terminus. The tram goes to the city centre with a stop at St Andrew Square where visitors can see another Ronald Rae endangered species – the 20 tonne Lion.
In Spring 2014 Man of Sorrows moved from The Falkirk Wheel Exhibition to Warwickshire. It is always a happy day for Ronald Rae when he moves a sculpture to its final home. He likes to be there to oversee the installation and to make sure the client is happy too. This short video shows what a convivial experience it can be.
Watch the last hammer blows of Ronald Rae’s Gorilla Family sculpture which he completed on 23rd January 2014. The sculpture took him seven months to carve. Every time he finishes a work he says this will definitely be his last granite sculpture – his mind is willing but his body says emphatically “No!” Only time will tell…
On Sunday 29th September at 8pm on BBC2 television Ronald Rae’s Tyger Tyger features in The Crane Gang a documentary about unusual lifts done by Ainscough‘s heavy cranes. This programme shows Ronald Rae’s fifteen tonne granite sculpture Tyger Tyger being uplifted from The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, the transportation and installation at its new home in Somerset with all the problems it involves. The programme is now on YouTube.
Watch the progress of Ronald Rae’s seven tonne Gorilla sculpture during the past ten weeks. The heat of the summer deterred him from working as often as he would have liked. Gradually the gorilla is emerging from the stone with the surprise of a baby gorilla too!
See Ronald Rae begin his latest carving of a Gorilla yet another endangered species. The seven tonne granite stone came from the woods next to Dalbeattie Quarry. He reckons the stone was quarried 150 years ago and has been waiting for him all that time. The video shows his progress over the past two weeks.
Ronald Rae’s fifteen tonne granite sculpture Tyger Tyger moved from The Falkirk Wheel to its new home in Somerset on May 15th. The site for the sculpture required 400 metres of tracking across a field to reach the site. This short video shows the expertise of many people to make this happen. Please excuse the sound production at the beginning of this video – the wind was howling with intermittent sleet showers!
The BBC also filmed the Tyger Tyger being moved to Somerset as part of their series called The Crane Gang. It was broadcast on BBC2 on 29th September 2013 at 8pm. You can now see it on YouTube.
Hand-carved granite sculptures in public and private collections