Josie McCoy
British artist Josie McCoy paints famous actresses and characters from film and television. Working from film stills, McCoy’s portraits beautifully capture fleeting moments and present contemporary icons in a vulnerable, unfamiliar light. Her unique approach entails applying numerous successive layers of oil paint in pastel colours, lending her subjects an ethereal glow reminiscent of TV screen. She has painted numerous characters and celebrities including Leeloo of The Fifth Element and Jane Smith of Mr and Mrs Smith, as well as creating studies of the cast of Desperate Housewives. Increasingly acclaimed, the BBC commissioned portraits of the cast of Eastenders in 2007, from which McCoy’s Cindy Beale featured as major plot device in a Friday night episode of the show.
McCoy is a graduate of Central St Martins, London. She took part in the Castellon Painting Prize 2005 at Municipal Art Centre of Alcorcon, Madrid and exhibited in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London. She has exhibited widely, having shown in London, Paris and Milan.
Education
1999 MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, London
1997 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Solihull College, Birmingham
Exhibitions
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS & AWARDS
2009 Josie McCoy, Off The Wall, Cardiff
2007 Contemporary Icons, Opus Art, Newcastle upon Tyne
2007 Las Chicas de Almodóvar, DF Arte Contemporanea, Santiago de Compostella
2006 New Work, Opus Art, Newcastle upon Tyne
2006 Castellon Painting Prize, Municipal Art Centre of Alcorcon, Madrid
2005 II International Painting Prize of the Castellon County Council, Espai D'Art Contemporani De Castello
2003 Lexmark European Art Prize
2003 BP Portrait Award, shortlisted
2002 BP Portrait Award, shortlisted
2001 The Royle Variety Show, Notting Hill Arts Club, London
2001 BP Portrait Award, shortlisted
2000 EastEnders, The Centre of Attention, London
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & ART FAIRS
2009 Christmas Exhibition, Opus Art, Newcastle upon Tyne
2009 SCOPE Art Fair, Miami
2009 Visiones de Anhelo, Galería Espacio, Valencia
2009 Perfect Present, 242 Cambridge Heath Road, London
2009 Lo que cuenta(s), Galería Espacio, Valencia
2008 Face Value, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno
2008 Kounter Kulture, Opus Art, London
2008 Siteshow, 31 Warwick Square, London
2008 Pulse Art Fair, New York
2008 Mothers, Sartorial Contemporary Art, London
2008 Suburbia, The Foreign Press Association, London
2008 Seduced, The Window Gallery, London
2007 Dorian Gray Project, John Jones, London
2007 STONE - PLATE - GREASE - WATER, London, Belfast and Machynlleth
2007 Inspire, Opus Art, Newcastle upon Tyne
2007 The Dream of Putrefaction, The Metropole Galleries, Folkestone and The Fieldgate Gallery, London
2006 SCOPE Art Fair, London
2006 Sensuous Panorama, Lounge, London
2004 Bob's Your Uncle, Eyestorm Britart Gallery, New York
2004 Vector Vecteur, L'Espace d'animation des Blancs Manteaux, Paris
2004 Mothers, Oxford House, London
2004 Love 'n' Bullets, Transition Gallery, London
2004 Reduced, Century Gallery, London
2004 London Art Fair, London
2003 Flinch, Seven Seven Contemporary Art, London
2003 Science Fiction: Double Feature, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, Birmingham
2003 Josie McCoy and Mimei Thompson, QUODart, Brighton
2003 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London,Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen
2003 Pop Culture, Beatrice Royal, Eastleigh
2003 Foad Glorious Foad, Camberwell Art College, London
2003 Don't You Forget About Me, Studio Voltaire, London
2003 New Directions: Art vs Mainstream Visual Culture, New Directions, Leeds
2003 Faces, Mark Jason Fine Art, London England o England, Artjunky, London
2002 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen
2002 Viva la Republique, The Centre of Attention, London
2002 15, Red Gate Gallery, London
2002 Dislocation, Notting Hill Arts Club, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2002 Salon; The Centre of Attention Painting Prize, Identity UK, London
2002 14 x 14, Mafuji Gallery, London
2001 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London,Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen
2001 Rowe and Maw, Fleet Place, London
2001 Directions 2000, The Lethaby Gallery, London
2001 Artfutures, The Barbican Centre, London
2000 Mighty Real, Dazed and Confused Gallery, London
