The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) launches on Bloomberg Connects

Art UK is delighted to announce the launch of The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) guide on the Bloomberg Connects app.

The RSA guide on the Bloomberg Connects app

The Bloomberg Connects app is a free digital guide where you can explore content from a range of different cultural organisations. Wherever you are in the world, you can access a range of content, either to add to your experience viewing the gallery in person, or to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. The RSA's guide is an exciting addition to the diverse array of cultural institutions currently represented on the app.

The RSA, which was founded in 1826 and held its first annual exhibition in 1827, has actively supported and celebrated Scotland's rich artistic heritage for almost 200 years. The Academy provides support for Scottish artists, engaging exhibition programmes, artist opportunities and events which showcase Scotland's varied contemporary art scene. The RSA's collection, made up of works by academy members, teaching materials, gifts, bequests, and other purchases, is recognised by the Scottish Government as a collection of National Significance to Scotland.

The RSA's new guide on the Bloomberg Connects app features fascinating highlights and content from this vast collection, including the RSA's acclaimed annual exhibition (23rd April to 12th June 2022), now in its 196th year. After running the annual exhibition entirely digitally for the last two years, the RSA has this year returned to a physical exhibition. It is available to view both online and in person and features a range of media including painting, sculpture, photography, installation, works by architects and digital works.

One of the standout pieces of the show is Laura Footes' The Corpse Flower. She describes the inspiration behind the painting at the Royal Botanic Gardens as: 'the most unusual flower in one of their greenhouses. Titan Arum is its Latin name, and it is the largest flower in the world and only blooms once every 5–10 years and it opens its flowers at night and releases the most foul odour of rotting corpse (hence the name). I was enchanted by the idea of this dormant monster. The seductive horror of the plant reaffirms my awe of the natural world including the chaotic dysfunction of organic matter in the human body, as I have lived with a debilitating intestinal disease since I was 13.'

Highlights from another current exhibition 'Doug Cocker: Works on Paper' (23rd April to 12th June 2022) are also included. Best known as a sculptor, Doug Cocker RSA also works prolifically on paper. The current exhibition of his work at the RSA brings together a selection of explorations of formalism in collage, pencil and pen. Based in rural Angus, Cocker's work takes cue from the shapes and colours of the land. 'Doug Cocker: Works on Paper' shows the artist exploring the limits to which he can push his language of abstraction.

You can also explore past exhibitions at the RSA on their Bloomberg Connects guide. '目の戸 | Mado' was an exhibition of new works by Paul Furneaux RSA. Renowned for his mastery of the Japanese printmaking technique of Mokuhanga, Furneaux's work takes inspiration from the colours, shapes and textures of both the Scottish and Japanese landscapes.