Born 1969 in Plymouth, UK and lives in Valencia, Spain.
| EDUCATION | |
| 1998-1999 | MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, London |
| 1995-1997 | BA (Hons) Fine Art, Solihull College, Birmingham |
| 1991-1993 | HND Illustration, Swansea Institute, Swansea |
| 1988-1989 | Foundation Studies, Plymouth College of Art and Design, Plymouth |
| SOLO EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2022 | Shades of Limelight, Fresco Gallery, Almancil, Portugal |
| 2021 | Musas, Madres, Magas y Asesinas, Centro Cultural Melchor Zapata, Benicássim, Spain |
| Las Musas de Josie McCoy, Sala de Exposiciones El Oscurico, Buñol, Spain | |
| Íntimas desconocidas, Sporting Club Russafa, Valencia | |
| 2017 | Glow and Celebrity: The Philosophy of Josie McCoy, ATM Gallery, Gijón |
| 2016 | New Work, Sporting Club Russafa, Valencia |
| 2014 | Reflections, 10 Grosvenor Street, London |
| 2012 | Paint3d, Sporting Club Russafa, Valencia |
| 2007 | Las Chicas de Almodóvar, DF Arte Contemporanea, Santiago de Compostela |
| 2006 | New Work, Eyestorm Gallery, Exeter, Ipswich and Milan |
| 2004 | New Paintings, Eyestorm / Britart, 18 Maddox Street, London |
| 2001 | The Royle Variety Show, Notting Hill Arts Club, Notting Hill Gate, London |
| 2000 | EastEnders, The Centre of Attention, 15 Cotton’s Gardens, London |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2022 | Dirty Pink, Il Conventino Firenze, Florence
Palinopsia, a two-person show with Francesca Ricci, The RW Project, Valencia Cartography of Care, Spilt Milk Gallery, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh A Woman’s Place is Everywhere Ldn, The Cello Factory, London |
| 2021 | RA Summer Exhibition 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, London
A Generous Space, Hastings Contemporary |
| 2020 | John Lennon is not dead, The Stash Gallery, London |
| 2019 | Paint, PS Mirabel 2019 Painting Prize, Manchester |
| 2018 | The Ghost Tide, curated by Monika Bobinska & Sarah Sparkes, Thames Side Studios Gallery, London
Face to Face, Kunsthalle Hense, Armlandstr. 20, Gescher |
| 2017 | Political Poetical Petra Lossen Fine Art, Zurich |
| 2015 | Intimate Strangers: Politics as Celebrity, Celebrity as Politics, Matucana 100, Santiago de Chile |
| 2013 | From Madonna to Madonna, Domus Artium (DA2), Salamanca |
| 2012 | Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Collection: The Next Generation, Kings Place Gallery, London |
| 2010 | When Central Met Saint Martins, Central Saint Martins, Lethaby Gallery, London |
| 2008 | Seduced, The Windows Gallery, Central Saint Martins, London
Face Value, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno |
| 2007 | The Dream of Putrefaction, Metropole Galleries, Folkestone and The Fieldgate Gallery, London Stone.Plate.Grease.Water, International Contemporary Lithography, Museum for Modern Art for Wales, Machynlleth and Bankside Gallery, London
Dorian Gray Project: Happy Days, John Jones, London |
| 2005 | II International Painting Prize of the Castellon County Council, Espai D’Art Contemporani De
Castello, Spain |
| 2004 | Vector Vecteur, L’Espace d’animation des Blancs Manteaux, Paris |
| 2003 | Josie McCoy & Mimei Thompson, QUODart, Brighton
BP Portrait Award 2003, National Portrait Gallery, London, Aberdeen Art Gallery |
| 2002 | The Painting Class, The Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, London
BP Portrait Award 2002, National Portrait Gallery, London, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen Viva la Republique, The Centre of Attention, London Hunting Art Prizes 2002, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London |
| 2001 | RWA Open Painting Exhibition 2001, RWA, Bristol
BP Portrait Award 2001, National Portrait Gallery, London, Sheffield Galleries, Sheffield Salon The Centre of Attention Painting Prize, Identity UK, London |
| 2000 | Mighty Real, Dazed and Confused Gallery, Old Street, London
BP Portrait Award 2000, National Portrait Gallery and Aberdeen Art Gallery |
| 1999 | Artfutures, Royal Festival Hall, London
MA Degree Show, Central Saint Martins, London |
|
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY |
|
| 2011 | Sandy Nairne, ‘500 Portraits: BP Portrait Award’, National Portrait Gallery publication. |
| Antonio Nodar, ‘From Portrait to Self Portrait Vol. 1’. | |
| 2010 | Lee Morgan, ‘Workspace: Josie McCoy’, ArtsCulture, June 2010. |
| Systems Design Ltd, ‘Two Faced: The Changing Face of Portraiture’. | |
| 2004 | Illera, Lotte. ‘Second Glance: Paintings by Josie McCoy’ Bolz, Issue 6 2004. |
| 2002 | Dunning, Matthew. ‘A Brush with Fame’ Fable, February 2002. |
| 2001 | Greenstreet, Roseanna. ‘Questionnaire – Q & A Josie McCoy’, The Guardian Weekend |
| magazine, 12 May 2001. | |
| PRIZES AND AWARDS | |
| 2002 | Woo Charitable Foundation Arts Bursary |
| 2001 | Royal West of England Academy Open Painting Exhibition 2001 – commended The Centre of Attention Painting Prize – awarded first prize |
| COLLECTIONS | |
| 1999 | BBC |
| 2003 | Jeremy Mogford Collection |
| 2005 | The Borchard Collection of British Self-Portraits in the 20th Century |
| 2007 | Collection of University of Wales |
| 2010 | Standard Chartered |
| 2017 | Colección Ofelia Martín & Javier Núñez |
ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint portraits of recognisable women from popular culture.
Film and television characters can act as a means of communication and connection. I am interested in what viewers bring with them, in terms of their personal memories and references, when looking at a painting of someone they have seen in another context, and how blurred the line between fiction and reality can become.
I focus on strong female subjects in response to the way women have been represented
throughout art history, where they have been the ‘passive’ subject of art. Through their gaze and expression, I aim to present them as active protagonists with agency and power.
The photos I choose to paint are often close-up shots which tend to signify highly emotional and poignant moments in the storytelling.
Using oil paint like watercolour and building my portraits in thin layers of very diluted paint, makes the surface of the paintings glow in an imitation of the cinema screen. I use a green skin colour to reference traditional painting techniques where green was used as under-painting to give luminosity to the surface colour. I also use pale blue, to imply the gleam of a television on someone watching.