Fraser Kee Scott
Encyclopedia
A Gallery
The A Gallery was a contemporary art gallery in Wimbledon, London run by Fraser Kee Scott.The gallery was founded in 1997. Its first exhibit was by then-recent graduate Alison Jackson. In 2004, the gallery exhibited a sculpture by Marie White of a nude female; some members of the public complained...
in Wimbledon, London, and a partner in Wanted Gallery, Notting Hill. He has promoted artists, Paul Normansell and Thomas Ostenberg, as well as the Stuckists
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
, with whom he has demonstrated against the Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
. Scott is a member of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, whose teachings he has said can be beneficial to artists. This association caused a dispute with the Stuckists, which was resolved amicably.
Life and work
Fraser Kee Scott developed a strong interest in art at school and saw himself as an artist. On his 19th birthday, and without a degree, in 1997 he founded the A GalleryA Gallery
The A Gallery was a contemporary art gallery in Wimbledon, London run by Fraser Kee Scott.The gallery was founded in 1997. Its first exhibit was by then-recent graduate Alison Jackson. In 2004, the gallery exhibited a sculpture by Marie White of a nude female; some members of the public complained...
, which has since dealt with "some of the biggest names in contemporary British art, often pre-empting the mainstream by at least a year." The first exhibit was recent Chelsea
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design, the erstwhile Chelsea School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation...
graduate Alison Jackson
Alison Jackson
Alison Jackson is an English artist known for her lookalike photographs of celebrities. She has won a BAFTA for BBC 2's series Doubletake...
's Crucifix.
In 2001, Scott became a member of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
during a trip to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He has said that the importance of artists is acknowledged by Scientology, whose teachings can help artists' work by improving their "emotional tone", which in the case of Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (painter)
Francis Bacon , was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon's painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds...
was "all fear". He said, "I am always inspired by Scientology. Basically L Ron Hubbard knew the importance of artists to society and he pointed out how art has the power to lift moods and change the world and I strive to achieve this goal, a new renaissance!"
In October 2005, Scott, described as "gallery owner—and Stuckist", said in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
gallery chairman, Paul Myners, was hypocritical for refusing to divulge the price paid by the Tate for its purchase of The Upper Room, paintings by its trustee, Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili is a Turner Prize winning British painter best known for artworks referencing aspects of his Nigerian heritage, particularly his incorporation of elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists, and is now based in Trinidad.-Early life:Ofilli was born in Manchester. He had a...
, who had asked other artists to donate work to the gallery. Scott said that Stuckist
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
artists would be painting pictures called "The Hypocrisy of Myners" and the best one would be offered to the Tate.
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Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
against the Tate's purchase. He talked to Isabella Blow
Isabella Blow
Isabella Blow was an English magazine editor. The muse of hat designer Philip Treacy, she is credited with discovering the models Stella Tennant and Sophie Dahl as well as the fashion designer Alexander McQueen....
, the fashion designer who overdosed on drugs in May 2007, advising that her problems could be helped by Scientology.
In 2007, A Gallery staged On Form, a group show, which included some Stuckist
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
artists, such as Peter McArdle
Peter McArdle
Peter McArdle is an English artist, member of the Stuckists art group and gallery owner.-Life and career:Peter McArdle was born in Tynemouth. He finished St. Aidan's RC School, Tyneside, in 1983, at which point he began to get sales for his paintings, which have supported him since...
, whose painting On a Theme of Annunciation, used to promote the show, was censored by MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
for showing a nude figure. Scott called the site "Murdoch Space" and said the painting was not porn or titillation, but thought-provoking: "They don't seem to be able to differentiate between the two!"
In an article in the South London Guardian
Newsquest
Newsquest is the third largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom with 300 titles in its portfolio. Newsquest is based in Weybridge, Surrey and employs a total of more than 5,500 people across the UK...
, Scott talked about the show On Form and also about Scientology. In the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, Stuckist co-founder, Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (artist)
Charles Thomson is an English artist, painter, poet and photographer. In the early 1980s he was a member of The Medway Poets. In 1999 he named and co-founded the Stuckists art movement with Billy Childish. He has curated Stuckist shows, organised demonstrations against the Turner Prize, run an art...
, said the South London Guardian article put the Stuckists in a difficult position, as he had been promised the gallery was run as a commercial enterprise, and it was "outrageous" that the show should be used to promote Scientology, linking it to the Stuckists, who had no connection with the Church. Another Stuckist artist, Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey (artist)
Paul Harvey is a British musician and Stuckist artist, whose work was used to promote their 2004 show at the Liverpool Biennial. His paintings draw on pop art and the work of Alphonse Mucha, and often depict celebrities, including Madonna....
, made a similar complaint. Scott said that it was not "even an issue" and he did not use artists to promote Scientology, but was dedicated to selling their work, which he did so very successfully.
Interviewed later by Scott, Thomson said that his remarks in the Evening Standard represented how he saw matters at the time, but that he accepted Scott's subsequent explanation that there was no intention to link the show and the Church and Scott did not realise the article would do this; Thomson said that the matter was a misunderstanding which had been resolved, and the Stuckists had continued to show successfully at the gallery: "For the record, I have always found you to be a very honest and principled person with a genuine passion for art."
In 2007, then-Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
gallery chairman, Paul Myners, visited the A Gallery. Scott said, "He [Myners] said he wasn't sure why we were so critical when our art was quite similar to the stuff... at the Tate"; Scott replied, "...if that were the case why on earth did the Tate turn down the art we offered them?"
Scott noticed the work of Paul Normansell in his Birmingham degree show, and subsequently exhibited it in the A Gallery. An article on the A Gallery show, Go Figure, in GQ magazine showed Normansell's painting of Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
, which was seen by the manager of rock band The Killers, who commissioned Normansell to create the artwork for the Day & Age album and the single, "Human
Human (The Killers song)
"Human" is a song by American rock band The Killers, and was released as the first single from the band's third studio album Day & Age. It premiered on Zane Lowe's evening show on BBC Radio 1 on September 22, 2008, with a digital release on September 30, 2008. It became the third song by the band...
".
In 2009, Scott promoted the show, Famous Doubles by Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey (artist)
Paul Harvey is a British musician and Stuckist artist, whose work was used to promote their 2004 show at the Liverpool Biennial. His paintings draw on pop art and the work of Alphonse Mucha, and often depict celebrities, including Madonna....
at the Wanted Gallery, Notting Hill, of which Scott is a partner.
Asked to comment on the artworld, Scott replied:
- Supporting artists is hugely important. It creates a culture that has independent thought, and the creativity that the buyer is supporting seeps though into the society as a whole and has a positive effect.