Christiana Spens reviews Joan Eardley: A Sense of Place at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, on view through May 21, 2017.

Spens writes: “By combining the freedom of abstract expressionism, along with the familiarity of local places, [Eardley] invoked a wild sublime in these Scottish scenes that remains unique and arresting… Eardley’s observation of these places is not pessimistic, but rather, in her movement towards abstract expressionism, her vision is playful, surreal and sublime. There is an earthy romanticism to her work that is both tender and wild.”