Making a home for the art of Bob Stewart

It's a simple story really. On a dreich Glasgow Sunday in April of last year we happened upon the Open House Festival while having a coffee in Mono, Glasgow's hippest record shop and bar. A small event was taking place and, as we warmed ourselves over a coffee and pored over the festival brochure, the conversation went something like this: "This festival is a really cool idea, wouldn't it be great to take part next year? Could we show some of Robert Stewart's work?" From such random thoughts, a seed was planted and an idea grew. But, in truth, Stewart had been on my mind for a while.

The previous summer, while staying as weekend guests at Stewart's daughter Veronica's home, I'd been introduced to the work of a man of whom I knew nothing, but found myself immediately smitten by his playfulness and diversity of styles. I've always been fascinated by post-war British art and culture, or "mid-century" as it is now known. I suppose somewhere in my head it's a style that stirs late-1960s childhood memories of growing up in a small village that was changing. It was a place where older men, smoking pipes, stood outside the village pub wearing caps and overcoats while my fashionable mum, with me in tow, shopped for mini-skirts in the recently opened boutique next door.

As I began my research (and if you're minded to read about him, I recommend you start with the authoritative text by Liz Arthur), Robert Stewart (1924 - 95) struck me as being a thoroughly modern man. First and foremost, he was an inspirational teacher and, according to his family, it was this role of which he was most proud. He taught for 35 years, from 1949, at Glasgow School of Art, rising to Head of the Design School and then Deputy Director of GSA. By all accounts Stewart was, by nature, anti-establishment and he revolutionised the printed textile course. In a 1964 external audit report he was described as "the best teacher of printed textiles in the country".

As Liz Arthur says: "His enthusiasm and open mindedness in his cross-disciplinary approach enabled him to inspire a generation of students to become designers and artists, some of whom developed international reputations. Without doubt he was one of the top two textile designers in Britain in the 1950s and his work is of the highest quality, still looks fresh, is quirky and imbued with a sense of fun."

And then there was another life away from academia: that of an innovative and explorative artist who pioneered the use of new materials and methods to create art and design that over 40 years captured the zeitgeist of a Britain that was changing beyond all recognition. His work is impossible to categorise, such was the diversity of genres he so expertly mastered. He was a prolific designer of fabrics for the likes of Pringle and Liberty of London, had his own range of ceramic kitchenware, was an innovative painter and latterly designed large scale murals and tapestries in public spaces. His work is still all around us and, if you can't make it to our Open House event, you only have to visit the reception area of Glasgow City Chambers, Glasgow Cathedral or the foyer of Motherwell Concert Hall to see his work for free.

Open House was nothing but encouraging of our idea to display someone else's work in our home. The idea behind the festival is simple: it encourages people to open their doors to show art. If it can be free, all the better. As one of Glasgow Open House's directors, Laura Campbell, says: "This exhibition really captures the spirit of Glasgow Open House. To put on an exhibition in your own home for the benefit of the public is a true reflection of this city's art community. In a way, it's poignant that Robert Stewart's work should feature in the festival with the majority of participating artists having such a strong connection to Glasgow School of Art where Stewart studied and taught."

The majority of venues are the homes of artists displaying their own work, so what we're doing this weekend is something a little different. We're diving in to the deep end and curating an exhibition that is by no means a retrospective (our hall simply isn't big enough) but merely gives a taste of a remarkable man's extraordinary career. And we feel very privileged to be doing so.

Is it easy to curate an exhibition? It certainly helps that we have a number of friends who are generous of their time and knowledge of the art world. And having access to the Stewart family archive was obviously key to this happening. Veronica Stewart, who so graciously leant us the majority of the works on show, was unfailing in her enthusiasm to help us make this small-scale exhibition happen, always suggesting additions and providing the names of other contacts who might help it all come to fruition. And then of course there is Glasgow's artist community who always seem happy to help with both counsel and practical assistance.

Our friend, the artist Toby Paterson, was one of the first people we turned to for advice. And what do you know? His grandfather, Lennox Paterson, was a friend and colleague of Stewart, and Toby had inherited two pieces, one of which he has kindly donated to the exhibition. In addition, he offered to help with the hanging of the artworks. Toby says: "I knew Bob Stewart simultaneously through his work and through family lore relating to his friendship with my grandfather. He was probably one of the first artists I was ever aware of who worked naturally across media. As a child I was exposed initially to his painting and graphic work but as I became more aware of artworks made for a specific context, it seemed somehow natural that I encountered Bob's tapestries and mosaics in some of Glasgow's public buildings. Although I never directly experienced the expansive educational dimension that was so integral to his idea of what it is to be an artist, his work nevertheless made a great impression on me as a youngster and it continues to surprise and delight me to whenever I encounter it."

Would Robert Stewart have approved of this grassroots approach to exhibiting art? We like to think so. Back in the 1970s he encouraged his students to take their skills to the streets of Glasgow for Activities Week, with screenprinting taking place on Sauchiehall Street. His widow, Dr Sheila Stewart said: "Bob was always against the snobbery of the fine art world and anything that made art more accessible to ordinary people he would see as a good thing."

For Sally and me, the experience of curating an exhibition of a man who has become such a part of our lives over the last year has been quite something. It's been a steep learning curve for us both and has introduced us to a world of which we knew little. But we have met some wonderfully enthusiastic people and made some new friends along the way. More than anything, we hope that anyone curious about the work of Robert Stewart will join us, in our home, to celebrate the life and work of this most thoroughly modern man.

Robert Stewart: A Thoroughly Modern Man is at 11a Lansdowne Crescent, Kelvinbridge, Glasgow, Saturday to Monday, noon to 6pm

It is now 20 years since Robert Stewart's death from emphysema and his youngest daughter, Dr Louise Stewart, ran the London Marathon 2015 for the British Lung Foundation in his memory. To contribute, please visit: www.virginmoneygiving.com/LouiseCunningham1