Patsy McArthur

Patsy McArthur is a Scottish artist, now based in Brighton, who explores the grace and power of movement through her naturalistic drawings and paintings. Her depictions of figures in motion convey a sense of energy or potential energy through a static medium.

McArthur studied painting at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen, and was awarded the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross Scholarship to live and work in Florence upon graduating. In 2001, she received a Masters in European Fine Art from the Winchester School of Art Barcelona programme in Spain.

Patsy McArthur has appeared in exhibitions throughout the UK, and a substantial global presence has seen her work exhibited in China, Spain, Switzerland, and the US.

Artist Statement

"Through drawing and painting, I have long been interested in making imagery associated with the figure in motion: leaping, soaring, diving, falling and the associated emotions that these types of image can trigger in the viewer. In much of my drawing work, I am concerned with making images that convey a sense of power and energy or potential energy, and allude to movement through phsychological states. Drawing has been at the forefront of my practice since my student days and continues to play a crucial role.

"With my underwater imagery, I explore similar ideas of suspension and weightlessness and the curious connection between how the human figure can appear in both water and air. I'm interested in the "otherness" which comes from being submerged below the surface and the technical challenges associated with drawing and painting the figure through different transparencies of water.

"Mostly, however, I remain interested in creating evocative images associated with the human figure moving through water or air with energy, strength and freedom or simply relinquishing control to the space around it."

Education

2000 – 2001 Winchester School of Art, Barcelona, Spain – MA European Fine Art
1994 – 1998 Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen – BA(Hons) Fine Art

Exhibitions

2008

British Art Fair 20-21, Islington, London represented by Flying Colours Gallery, London
Art London, Chelsea, London represented by Flying Colours Gallery, London
Liquid Light: Underwater Aesthetics, Sesame Gallery, London – Patsy McArthur, Sarah Harvey, Oliver Wilson and Kim Yeon

2009

International Residency Program Exhibition, NY Studio Gallery, New York
El Mur, International Public Art Projection, Lleida, Spain
The Figure: Figurative Group Exhibition, Blackheath Gallery, London
New Faces Revisited, Leith Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

2010

Patsy McArthur and Dylan Lisle, Union Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Solo Exhibition of New Work, Flying Colours Gallery, Chelsea, London

2011

Women's Lines, Pantocrator Gallery, Shanghai, China
Figuratively Speaking, Blackheath Gallery, London

SWAB International Art Fair represented by Pantocrator Gallery, Barcelona
Paisley Art Institution Annual Exhibition, Paisley Museum, Scotland
Visual Arts Scotland Selected Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh

2013

SWAB International Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain represented by Pantocrator Gallery, Barcelona

2014

Patsy McArthur and Ian Hodgson, Naked Eye Gallery, Hove
Chelsea Art Fair, represented by Cameron Contemporary, Hove
Works on Paper Fair, London Science Museum, represented by Lilford Gallery, Canterbury

2015

Otherworld, Solo Exhibition of New Work, The Coningsby Gallery, London

2016

Patsy McArthur and Rebecca McGlinn, Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Oxford
Asia Contemporary, Hong Kong, represented by Decorazon Gallery (USA)
AAF New York, London, Stockholm represented by Decorazon Gallery (USA)

2017

Art Palm Springs, represented by Decorazon Gallery
Stillness in Motion – Patsy McArthur and Susan Leyland, Osborne Studio Gallery, London
London Art Fair, represented by Decorazon Gallery (USA)
AAF New York, Stockholm and London, represented by Decorazon Gallery (USA)

2018

Solo Show, Momentum, Le Salon Vert, Geneva
Reveal Art Fair, Saratoga Springs, New York represented by Decorazon Gallery
London Art Fair, represented by Decorazon Gallery

2019

Gallery Artists Mixed Exhibition, Decorazon Gallery, Terminal Warehouse, New York
Summer, Autumn and Winter Exhibitions, Cameron Contemporary, Hove

2020

ING Discerning Eye Juried Exhibition, UK
The Castlegate Prize Finalists Exhibition, Castlegate House Gallery, Cumbria, UK
Kronos Festival, Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona, ES
Monochrome Group Exhibition, Thompsons Gallery, London, UK
Pool Party, Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Oxford, UK
Rhythm and Movement, Solo Exhibition of drawings, Turner Barnes Gallery, Essex, UK

2021

Flux, Solo Exhibition of new drawings, Thompson’s Gallery, London

Context Art Miami, represented by Decorazon Gallery

2022

Society of Women Artists 161 st Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London UK
RSA Annual Exhibition, The Mound, Scotland
The Scottish Exhibition, Thompson’s Gallery, Harpenden, UK