Identical twin sisters Nicola Coutts and Tracy Skelton, who began their creative journey together at Edinburgh University, are reuniting on the gallery walls for the first time in more than 30 years.
The long-awaited reunion is being showcased at Halliwell’s House in a new exhibition titled Land & Bloom.
Phoebe Stewart, exhibitions and access lead for Live Borders, said: “There is something incredibly special about seeing Nicola and Tracy’s work together again after more than 30 years.
“Land & Bloom feels like a conversation—sometimes a contrast, sometimes an echo—between two artists who share a remarkable history but have developed their own distinctive ways of seeing the world.
“We are delighted to bring this work to Halliwell’s House and hope visitors will take the time to come and experience the colour, texture and atmosphere of the exhibition for themselves.”
The exhibition, which opens on August 29, explores the many facets of the natural world through two very different but deeply connected artistic lenses.
It runs until October 31.
Ms Coutts’ paintings are a celebration of spring and summer, bursting with colour and life.
Working predominantly in oils and incorporating printmaking, she layers colour, collage, and expressive marks to create luminous, textured works.
Her art is inspired by flowers in full bloom, radiant heat, and shifting sunlight, capturing the hazy beauty of imagined paradise gardens.
Ms Skelton takes visitors on a quieter, more reflective journey through autumn and winter.
Her mixed-media works are shaped by her walks in the countryside, exploring textured surfaces, subtle colour shifts and gestural marks.
Her landscapes are less about specific places and more about impressions—memories shaped by weather, movement and mood.
Together, the sisters’ work creates a powerful dialogue between abundance and stillness, light and shadow, summer and winter, bloom and landscape.
Despite their differing approaches, both artists share a sensitivity to nature and an understanding of its ability to evoke emotion, memory and a sense of belonging.
Land & Bloom is a rare opportunity to witness what happens when two artistic paths that began side by side reconnect after more than three decades.
The exhibition takes place at the Robson Gallery in Halliwell’s House.
As Halliwell’s House welcomes these two artists home, the exhibition offers visitors a chance to experience the meeting point of memory, nature and creative expression.
It is an invitation to wander through gardens of light and winter landscapes, to pause and reflect, and to celebrate the enduring power of art.