This autumn, an exhibition of new work by Stromnessian artist Teresa Borek opens at the Pier Arts Centre.

Water and Ground will be on display from 29 August until 7 November.

The exhibition brings together works by Borek that explore her deep interest in the connections between landscape, geology, memory, and sensation, and how they can be illustrated through the expressive possibilities of ink. Using primarily drawing inks, alongside acrylic and alcohol inks, Borek creates works on paper and glass that evolve through repetition, experimentation, and an openness to the unexpected.

Drawing on coastal environments, ancient rock formations, and the elemental qualities of land, sea, and weather, her work evokes a deeply felt sense of place rather than its surface appearance. Shifts between dark and light create layered and luminous works that reflect both material process and emotional response.

Working on surfaces including tracing paper, handmade paper, photographic paper, cartridge paper, and glass, Borek embraces the qualities of her materials. Her practice reflects a sustained engagement with landscape as a space for contemplation, growth, and transformation.

Teresa Borek has spent most of her life in Orkney, leaving only to study at Falmouth School of Art (1984-1987) and complete her teacher training in Aberdeen. On returning to Orkney in 1989, she was appointed itinerant art teacher, later joining Kirkwall Grammar School, where she taught art from 1993 until her retirement in 2021. She now lives and works from her home studio in Stromness, continuing a longstanding engagement with the landscapes and seascapes of Orkney.

Elsewhere in the gallery Through Their Eyes –The Pier Arts Centre Collection and the unfolding Asprey gift is a richly layered exhibition presenting a remarkable group of contemporary works, newly gifted to the Pier Arts Centre by publisher, arts patron, and collector Charles Asprey through the Cultural Gifts Scheme administered by Arts Council England.

The Scale of Things - Erin McQuarrie is rooted in Orkney’s landscape and heritage and follows the artist spending a month at Linkshouse in Birsay as part of the Royal Scottish Academy Residencies for Scotland programme in 2025.

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