Biography

France-Lise McGurn was born in Glasgow. She graduated with a BA in Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College, Dundee in 2005. That year she was awarded a John Kinross Scholarship by the Royal Scottish Academy, which allowed her to spend time developing her painting practice in Florence, Italy. There, she was immersed in the art of the Italian Renaissance. Jacopo Pontormo’s large-scale altarpiece Deposition from the Cross (1528) in the Church of Santa Felicita, influenced her work Bachelorette (2020). In 2012, McGurn gained a Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London and undertook an exchange to Hunter College of Art, New York. McGurn’s work is underpinned by an intuitive approach to making. She has become recognised for her vibrant and lyrical paintings, populated by archetypal figures drawn from her imagination. As well as painting on canvas, she frequently paints directly onto the wall to create a whole environment. As well as finding stimulus in historic Italian painting, McGurn takes inspiration from twentieth-century art history, popular culture, contemporary magazines and newspapers.