264. Josie McCoy - Trinity (The Matrix)

2026
Oil on canvas on panel
15 x 15 x 3 cm

Josie McCoy paints luminous, intimate oil portraits inspired by cinema. Her work depicts female characters drawn from diverse film histories and cultures, exploring the female gaze and the enduring presence of these figures in collective imagination. Using traditional glazing techniques, she builds layered surfaces that create a glowing, screen-like effect. Working from film stills, her practice brings together painting, photography, and cinema, while close-up compositions invite emotional connection and sustained looking.

McCoy completed an MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, London (1998–1999), following a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Solihull College, Birmingham (1995–1997).

Recent exhibitions include Soho Open at GPS Gallery, London (2025); Contemporary Icons at Gloucester Room, London (solo, 2024); Unearthed at Joseph Wales Studio, Margate (2024); the RBSA Portrait Prize at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (2024); A Generous Space 3 at Huddersfield Art Gallery (2023); Muses, Mothers, Magicians and Murderers at Centro Cultural Melchor Zapata, Benicàssim (solo, 2022); The Muses of Josie McCoy at Buñol Castle, Spain (solo, 2022); Palinopsia with Francesca Ricci at The RW Project, Valencia (2022); Dirty Pink at Il Conventino, Florence (2022); Glow and Celebrity: The Philosophy of Josie McCoy at ATM Gallery, Gijón (solo, 2021); and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London (2021).

Earlier exhibitions include Intimate Strangers: Politics as Celebrity, Celebrity as Politics at Matucana 100, Santiago (2015); New Paintings at Eyestorm / Britart, London (solo, 2014); From Madonna to Madonna at Domus Artium (DA2), Salamanca (2013); Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Collection: The Next Generation at Kings Place Gallery, London (2012); Face Value at Oriel Mostyn, Wales (2008); and multiple appearances in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London (2000–2003).

Awards include an Arts Bursary from the Woo Charitable Foundation (2002), a commendation in the Open Painting Exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol (2001), and First Prize in The Centre of Attention Painting Prize, London (2001). Her work is held in collections including the BBC, The Ruth Borchard Collection of British Self-Portraits, the University of Wales Collection, the Standard Chartered Collection, and the Colección Ofelia Martín & Javier Núñez, Lanzarote.