FRANK PUTS ART IN SHOP WINDOW By Caroline Wilson, The Evening Times 15th June 2010

By Caroline Wilson

A Glasgow-based artist hopes his unusual city centre exhibition will encourage people to invest in fine art.

Frank To, whose fans include Star Trek star Sir Patrick Stewart, is showing his latest works across the windows of a vacant shop as part of a major Glasgow City Council regeneration project.

The installation, on a three-storey building in St Vincent Street, is part of the £300,000 Style Mile initiative, which aims to help the city beat off competition from out-of-town shopping centres, attract tourists and fight the recession.

To's unique painting technique is earning him international recognition among art critics and high-profile collectors as a leading contemporary figurative painter.

The Falkirk-born painter hopes the shop project, which was backed by Braewell Galleries, will open up fine art to a wider audience and encourage more of the public to see art as a good investment.

He said: "Artists and galleries in Scotland are suffering due to people not buying art. It's not that people can't afford to. It's just that a majority are afraid to do so.

"As well as inspiring the general public with this kind of project, I'm hoping it will also encourage them to go to art galleries to view the actual work.

"With many investors reluctant to put their hard-earned savings into stocks and shares at present, fine art offers an attractive alternative asset. Depending on the artist, the value of art rarely falls over the medium to long term."

Born in 1982, To has exhibited alongside some of the greats of the international contemporary art scene, such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst.

His work has featured in several national art fairs and shows in Glasgow, London, Bath and Dundee and in various episodes of the STV detective drama Rebus.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

CITY ART By Ruth Walker, Spectrum Magazine, Scotland on Sunday, 13th June 2010

STREET ART

By Ruth Walker

NO- ONE likes to see empty shop units covered with flyers and graffiti. Which is why Glasgow City Council have commissioned a group of artists to decorate them instead. Artists featured in the past have included Peter Howson and Laetitia Guibaud, and this week Frank To will be joining the illustrious list. His distinctive work- collected by Star Trek legend and newly knighted Patrick Stewart- will be transferred on to large vinyl panels and fitted to the windows of 73 St Vincent Street. It's all part of the Glasgow Style Mile Regeneration project, collaboration between the council and Braewell Galleries. The properties are donated by the owners, which means the only cost is for the vinyl. To says: "Artists and galleries in Scotland are suffering due to people not buying art. It's not that people can't afford to. It's just that a majority are afraid to do so. As well as inspiring the general public with this kind of project, I'm hoping it will also encourage them to go to art galleries to view the actual work."

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

RECESSION- HIT SHOP GIVE EXHIBITON SPACE TO CITY'S ARTICTIC TALLENTS By Mark Smith, The Scotsman 3rd June 2010

RECESSION- HIT SHOP GIVE EXHIBITON SPACE TO CITY'S ARTICTIC TALLENTS

By Mark Smith

THE blight of empty shops, with their soaped up windows and prominent To Let signs, has become a grim reminder of the recession in every city centre.

But now Scotland's biggest city has turned the growing number of empty shop fronts into an opportunity to promote talented young artists.

Glasgow is being transformed into an "open air art gallery" with vacant shop windows displaying artworks by up-and-coming painters alongside established figures such as Peter Howson.

The idea, inspired by artist Tracy Emin's takeover of a vacant shop during the early Nineties recession, is intended to cement the city's reputation as a hotbed of cultural activity.

Organisers also hope it will reduce the visual impact of the recession, encouraging shoppers to keep spending in those shops that survive the downturn.

One of the artists taking part, Frank To, will be displaying three pictures in an empty shop front in Glasgow's St Vincent Street, previously a food outlet.

Mr To, of Chinese origin but raised in Glasgow, said: "Every artist knows how difficult it can be to get work exhibited. Getting your stuff out there and seen is vital, it's the reason we do what we do.

"So having all these empty shops just sitting their doing nothing is frustrating for us. It's great to see something happening that allows us to use this empty space.

"Of course, if it can help improve the look and feel of the city, and encourage people to shop. It's quite depressing looking at rows and rows of empty shops. Hopefully we can brighten the city up a bit."

Jane Harrison, Glasgow's City Centre Initiatives Manager, said: "Vacant shop units are a magnet for fly posting and graffiti artists and this imaginative project keeps these empty units in the city centre looking presentable while prospective tenants are sought. It also allows dramatic artworks by Glasgow artists to be enjoyed by shoppers and visitors."

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.