Alice Macdonald
Alice Macdonald is an emerging, London-based artist whose diaristic paintings are informed by a broad range of sources spanning historical literature, classic films, myths, fairytales, memories, and friends and family painted from life. Fascinated by the complexities of human behaviour, emotion and relationships, she is attracted to the cinematic and the melodramatic, as well as the idea of role-playing. In her words: ‘I am interested in my subjects' psychological state and innermost thoughts and feelings but, dichotomously, I am also fascinated by the impossibility of knowing what these really are’.
Alice’s jewel-like works on paper form a core part of her practice, their smaller scale lending them an intense, voyeuristic quality. She has also recently started experimenting with ceramics; the malleable qualities of this medium relate closely to her dynamic painting style. The resulting works – including painted shell-vases and horse-shaped candlesticks – are gently surreal, and have a sense of the theatrical.
Alice studied at Falmouth University (2011- 2014) followed by the Royal Drawing School (2016 - 2017). Since graduating, she has undertaken several artistic residencies including the Dumfries House Residency, Scotland, the IIFA Teaching Residency, Modinagar, India and the Scuoloa Graphica Internazionale Printmaking residency, Venice, Italy. She has exhibited her work widely in the UK in group exhibitions including the Denton's Art Prize, London (2021) and the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (2019); in early 2022 a solo exhibition of her work was presented by Paint Talk in London. She was awarded the Great Art Prize, given at the National Original Print Exhibition, 2017 and most recently was presented with the RWS Young Artist Award at the Royal Watercolour Society Open, Bankside Gallery, London. Oliver Projects has presented her work in two group exhibitions; ‘Escape Routes’ in spring 2022, and ‘Power Play’ in spring 2023. We also launched new prints by Alice at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair in 2022 and 2023. Alice’s first solo exhibition outside the UK was held in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2023 at LKIF Gallery. Alice is based in south east London.
We are looking forward to presenting new work by Alice in our forthcoming group exhibition Almost Blue which opens on 6th June 2024. Please register your interest.